Hilscher Joins Next Level Mittelstand to Advance Digitalization in the SME Sector
Hattersheim, 07 September 2026 – Hilscher joined the Next Level Mittelstand GmbH initiative on 1 September 2026. The initiative brings companies together to advance digital transformation in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through practical approaches.
Hilscher contributes its long-standing expertise in industrial communication for fieldbus, Industrial Ethernet, and Industrial IoT (IIoT). Hilscher’s focus within the joint initiative is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on industrial applications. It also focuses on best practices for cybersecurity and digitalized processes.
Digitalization does not work in isolation. The past ten years have taught us that. The potential of digitalization lies in networking. That is why we need to discuss it together. The impact of AI on industrial practice will be particularly important in the coming years. This technology has the potential to transform production value chains radically.
Andreas Graf Gatterburg
Principal Technology Consultant at Hilscher
netFIELD Supports Machine Builders in Digitalizing Their Machine Fleets
Hilscher provides netFIELD as an IIoT solution that supports machine builders in their digitalization efforts. netFIELD enables secure and centralized management of edge devices, applications, and the software lifecycle. It connects the shop floor with the cloud and supports scalable device and container management. This makes netFIELD the foundation for digital services such as remote support, condition monitoring, and predictive maintenance.
Hilscher is currently expanding netFIELD with additional functions for lifecycle and security management of machine components. These include standardized product and lifecycle information through the Asset Administration Shell (AAS). They also include matching device and firmware information with security advisories and known vulnerabilities (CVEs). This provides greater transparency on which components may be affected by security vulnerabilities, which software versions are in use, and which updates the respective manufacturer provides.
These functions help machine builders address rising cybersecurity requirements for industrial products, including requirements related to the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) and NIS2. The goal is to manage the software and security status of machine fleets systematically. This also enables targeted lifecycle measures when updates or other actions are required.
Next Level Mittelstand: Driving Digitalization Together
Next Level Mittelstand (NLM) is an independent implementation community for the digital transformation of German SMEs (Mittelstand). The network brings together industrial companies, technology providers, start-ups, research institutions, and associations with the shared goal of advancing digitalization faster, more practically, and more sustainably.
At its core is the exchange of experience, the development of field-tested solution approaches, and the joint implementation of future topics such as artificial intelligence, data readiness, digital twins, and other digital technologies.
Through community events, workstreams, workshops, and concrete implementation projects, Next Level Mittelstand creates a space where companies learn from one another, share knowledge, and jointly develop solutions that translate directly into practice.
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With netFIELD, you benefit from Hilscher’s deep expertise in industrial communication—empowering reliable IT-OT convergence and Industry 4.0 implementations. The platform enables you to efficiently operate, manage, and scale edge gateways and IIoT applications—whether cloud-connected, hybrid, or fully on-premise.
An overview of our Managed Industrial IoT platform: netFIELD is your IIoT edge infrastructure for implementing Industry 4.0 solutions. It enables you to make your machine data accessible and the necessary software and hardware centrally manageable.
Customer Center / Sales Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH
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