OPC UA connectivity and information modeling capabilities play key role in The Open Group Open Process Automation™ Forum decision to base its new O-PAS™ reference architecture on OPC UA
Scottsdale, AZ – April 2nd, 2019 – The OPC Foundation is proud to announce that The Open Group Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) based its new O-PAS™ standard on OPC UA. Given the ambitious OPAF mandate to standardize how fully federated process automation systems can be built using open and interoperable reference architectures, its decision to adopt OPC UA as the foundation is a testament to the importance OPC UA plays in the Industrial Internet of Things era.
Ed Harrington, Forum Director, OPAF and Steve Nunn, CEO, The Open Group commented on the scope, urgency, and importance of the OPC UA based O-PAS™ standard.
Mr. Harrington said, “The launch of the first OPAF standard demonstrates the growing need for practical guidance in the development of process control systems. Since the launch of the forum, we have seen more than 80-member organizations become directly involved with the development of this new Reference Architecture. The resulting O-PAS Standard will be a ‘standard of standards’ to bring greater unity and consistency in how process automation is achieved.”
Mr. Nunn added “End-user demand for standards enabling interoperability is increasing due to the business need to reduce capital costs for process control, along with making scalability and cybersecurity capabilities an inherent part of these systems.”
Stefan Hoppe, OPC Foundation President and Executive Director commented “The Open Group commitment to open standards is aligned with the OPC Foundation. OPC Foundation representatives and OPC UA suppliers have been and continue to work with OPAF to help ensure that the OPAF end-user community best realizes the value OPC UA has to offer in delivering complete information integration and interoperability from the embedded world to the cloud.”
Bernhard Eschermann, Chief Technology Officer, ABB’s Industrial Automation division: “We are happy to see OPC UA as the standard connectivity component agreed on by Open Process Automation Forum. This is an important step to get products from multiple process automation suppliers working with each other without the need for expensive interfacing and engineering. It will also enable suppliers to focus on value-add solutions for customers rather than having to implement multiple connectivity standards.”
About The Open Group Open Process Automation™ Forum: The Open Group Open Process Automation™ Forum (OPAF) is an international forum comprised of end-users, system integrators, suppliers, academia, and other standards organizations working together to develop a standards-based, open, secure, and interoperable process control architecture. Open Process Automation is a trademark of The Open Group. Based on a common goal, OPAF members worked closely together to develop version 1.0 of the O-PAS standard which, aims to proactively address the potential being unlocked by emerging data communications technology.
About the OPC Foundation: Since 1996, the OPC Foundation has facilitated the development and adoption of the OPC information exchange standards. As both advocate and custodian of these specifications, the Foundation’s mission is to help industry vendors, end-users, and software developers maintain interoperability in their manufacturing and automation assets. The OPC Foundation provides the best specifications, technology, process and certification to achieve multivendor, multiplatform, secure, reliable interoperability for moving data and information from the embedded world to the enterprise cloud. The Foundation serves over 670 members worldwide in the Industrial Automation, IT, IoT, IIoT, M2M, Industrie 4.0, Building Automation, machine tools, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, and Smart Energy sectors. For more information about the OPC Foundation, please visit https://opcfoundation.org.
For more information, contact:
Stefan Hoppe, President and Executive Director
OPC Foundation
Stefan.Hoppe@OPCfoundation.org
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