Rockwell Automation’s new Factory Talk “Analytics on the Edge”

Rockwell Automation’s decade-long OSIsoft partnership includes embedded storage technologies that the company uses in many of its products. Rockwell is focused on the IT/OT convergence and what it refers to as “The Connected Enterprise. According to the company, this involves moving data from intelligent devices seamlessly through the client’s organization to the people who need it in a way that is meaningful for them. Rockwell enables people to have access to information and data – when they want it, on whatever device they are using. Working with OSIsoft, Microsoft and Cisco, Rockwell Automation seamlessly moves data for analysis and value.

The company has a new edge analytics device designed to work with the customer’s network and self-discover all intelligent devices (e.g. automatically configure), pull the available data and information, and surface it to the people in the organization that can gain the most value and act on it. All done in auto connect, auto configuration and more. 

Rockwell Automation and OSISoft Partnership

In one case example, Rockwell Automation worked with Great Lakes, a Midwest brewer that wanted to use FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices to minimize downtime determining what went wrong with any devices and take corrective action. The solution automatically configures and is ready to use after the user answers a few questions about security, time zone and language. The software includes easy-to-understand dashboards and Action Cards that describe what needs attention and what action should be taken to fix the issues.

In just minutes, FactoryTalk Analytics for Devices helped Great Lakes Brewing discover more than 100 smart devices on the network and identify 23 potential issues for the maintenance team to take action on. Rockwell Automation continues to work with OSIsoft in many other areas, and are shipping over 2,000 products embedded with OSIsoft technology a year. ARC believes that Automation’s ability to auto connect and utilize OSIsoft’s new infrastructure built on the edge can provide significant value for manufacturers.