Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and PLC-based Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs)

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and PLC-based PAC Market Research study delivers current market analysis plus a five year market and technology forecast. The study is available in multiple editions including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries.

PLC and PLC-based PAC Market Grows and Adapts to Industrial IoT

The Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) market recovered quickly by the end of 2021 after a sudden downturn in 2020 due to the pandemic. Most industries had recovered to 2019 levels, while a few like automotive will do so by the end of 2022. The market proved its resilience in 2021 as the world learned to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and demand slowly returned. Most PLC suppliers reported robust growth in 2021 that extended into 2022. PLCs have gained a lot of speed and new functionality in the past decade, allowing some users to switch to smaller PLCs. This tactic is especially popular with cost-conscious machine builders and is changing the market dynamics.

Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) Strategic Issues 

In addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the PLC and PLC-based PACs market research provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Explore Modular Production    

Thanks to Industrial IoT, future automation architectures will support modular machine construction and distributed control, fulfilling a dream of distributed architectures that dates back to the 1990s. In the process industries, consortia are developing specifications for machine type packages (MTP) that support standardization of modular architectures, most of which are based on PLCs. The success of standardized modular architectures will likely spill over to most other industries when the business benefits become clear.

Understand How the Cloud and the Industrial Edge Will Affect IT/OT Architecture    

The Industrial Edge is the space between traditional, closed automation systems and the modern, connected world. The Edge is quickly becoming the “safe space” for industrial users to connect their OT systems to the IT world. It is also the space where mission-critical apps and even virtual PLCs will be hosted in future automation architectures. End users can experiment and discover the practical side of Industrial IoT by using Edge devices to add new functionalities such as machine analytics to existing automation systems. Machine builders can differentiate their offerings by adding new functionalities before customers start demanding it. The key for both is to get ahead of the demand curve for the next generation of industrial machine control.

The cloud may be located far away from the Edge, but the two domains work hand-in-hand. The cloud is the space where most non-time-critical industrial software will be hosted in the future, giving supervisory software and analytics apps simple and secure access to data emanating from multiple plants. The Edge is where data are collected as they are generated. Apps at the Edge react quickly and locally, while apps in the cloud collect and evaluate large amounts of data from many sources. A reliable Edge-to-Cloud connection is important for daily operations but should not become a critical link for mission-critical operations. As users gain experience in both domains, they will learn which apps to run at the Edge and which to run in the cloud.

Keep an Eye on Evolving Automation Architectures    

The influence of commercial information technologies (IT) on automation systems grows every year. Automation architectures are becoming more “IT-like,” and connectivity is improving thanks to smart devices and open standards. Today, PLCs can be virtualized and consolidated on a server with other plant software where it can run in an environment that is better managed that on the shop floor. Soon machines may be run by networks of connected smart devices and systems that greatly improve access to machine and process data. But the road to the Industrial IoT will be more of an evolution than a revolution as acceptance grows.