Industrial Communication Will Become a Management Decision

Industrial communication is no longer just an interface issue. In factory automation, IT and OT are converging. Data has become a productivity factor. New requirements and technologies such as Gigabit Ethernet, TSN, and IIoT connectivity are changing the architecture of connected products. At the same time, integrating legacy systems and components remains a key customer requirement when expanding and optimizing production plants.

Expectations for security, update capability, and regulatory readiness are also increasing. Anyone defining the communication foundation today is no longer making a detail-level decision. They are defining the strategic framework for future product generations.

For OEMs and device manufacturers, this fundamentally changes the role of industrial communication. It is becoming a decisive factor in the success or failure of products.

At its core, the strategic challenge for decision-makers comes down to three points:

• Platform approach: What is needed is a common foundation for hardware, software, support, certifiability, maintainability, and migration capability.
   
• Multiprotocol capability: Different networks in machines and plants need to be consolidated on one common foundation in order to reduce risks, variants, and follow-up costs.
   
• New technology trends: Gigabit Ethernet, TSN, cybersecurity, and IIoT represent a deeper transformation. They help determine how data is used, how real-time communication scales, and which digital services will be possible in the future.

This makes industrial communication a strategic course-setting decision. The focus is no longer on the individual interface, but on whether the technological foundation will also support the requirements of tomorrow.

Against this backdrop, the new generation of communication controllers from Hilscher, netX 900, represents far more than just another product launch. It combines classic fieldbus and Industrial Ethernet networks with Gigabit Ethernet, TSN, IIoT, and integrated cybersecurity on one common platform.

• netX 900 Fits Into Hilscher’s Platform Promise
  As with previous netX generations, hardware, software, services, and tools for netX 900 all come from a single source. This reduces development costs and lowers risk.
   
• netX 900 Is Multiprotocol-Capable – for Controller and Device Applications
  In addition to common Industrial Ethernet protocols, netX 900 also supports legacy protocols as well as future standards for Gigabit applications such as Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN).
   
• A Secure Communication Platform – Also in the Age of the Cyber Resilience Act
  With netX 900, cybersecurity becomes a success factor because extensive security mechanisms are already implemented, including a hardware root of trust and hardware-based security policies.