Universal automation is the innovation gateway the industry sector needs now

Universal automation is the innovation gateway the industry sector needs now

The industrial sector is dominated by closed, propriety systems that are not designed for flexibility and prioritize vendor lock-in over innovation.

Failure to apply truly open, interoperable standards for automation tools is costly on all fronts and bold action is needed now to recover from COVID-19.

Change will only be achieved through global collaboration and we call on the entire industrial ecosystem to come to the discussion table for universal automation.



As the world strives to recover from the pandemic, industry has a golden opportunity to become a central pillar of global economic recovery. So, what will it take to get us there?

Even before the pandemic, industrial productivity growth was moving in the wrong direction - and lingering at just 0.7%. In Q2, amid the global shutdown, global manufacturing output dropped by 11.1%, only recovering somewhat in the second half of the year.

If we've learned anything from the disruption caused by COVID-19, it's that agility and resiliency are essential to modern industry. To see genuine changes in efficiency and sustainability, we need to make bold moves now.

Open is not enough

The industrial sector is ripe for disruption. It is dominated by closed, propriety systems that are not designed