Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients
HOW SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC’S FOXBORO SDA ADVANCES OPEN, APPLICATION-CENTRIC CONTROL ARCHITECTURES WHILE ENABLING PHASED MODERNIZATION OF LEGACY DCS ENVIRONMENTS.
Industrial automation is entering a structural transition. As process environments grow more complex and increasingly integrated with enterprise systems, traditional hardware-bound architectures face mounting pressure. Software-Defined Automation (SDA) represents a meaningful shift in how control systems are designed, deployed, and maintained.
In a recent episode of ARC’s Digital Transformation Viewpoints podcast, Craig Resnick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group, spoke with Tina Volkringer, Vice President, Systems Offer Management for Process Automation at Schneider Electric, about how Foxboro Software-Defined Automation reflects this broader industry evolution.
Listen to the podcast here:
Why the Industry Is Ready for Software-Defined Automation
The case for software-defined automation is rooted in converging industry forces. Over the past four decades, IT architectures have embraced virtualization, abstraction, and containerization. Industrial automation, by contrast, has largely remained hardware-centric and proprietary.
Resnick described software-defined automation as:
“An approach to industrial automation that shifts control and functionality from proprietary hardware to open, software-centric platforms.”
Several pressures now make that shift both necessary and feasible:
Increasing complexity across distributed and interconnected systems.
Workforce skill constraints and shrinking experience pools.
Hardware obsolescence and lifecycle cost pressures.
Supply chain volatility.
Growing reliance on AI, analytics, and predictive maintenance.
The accelerating convergence of IT and OT.
Traditional DCS and PLC architectures often require hardware interventions for upgrades or expansion. Software-defined models decouple control logic from specific hardware, enabling centralized orchestration, rapid updates, and more flexible deployment.
Application-Centric Design and Digital Continuity
A central theme of the discussion was Foxboro SDA’s application-centric engineering model. Instead of tightly coupling logic to individual controllers and building HMIs separately, the architecture promotes modular, reusable control objects.
This approach enables:
Faster engineering cycles.
Reduced rework.
Improved reuse across lines and sites.
Shorter commissioning times.
For multi-site operators—such as water utilities or distributed process industries—the ability to replicate validated applications without reengineering can significantly reduce lifecycle costs.
The architecture also supports digital continuity: maintaining connected, consistent data from design through operations and maintenance. This continuity strengthens integration with analytics and enterprise systems while reducing engineering fragmentation.
Open Software-Defined vs. Proprietary Software-Defined
While many vendors reference software-defined automation, implementation depth varies. Some solutions remain effectively proprietary ecosystems despite abstracting software from hardware.
Volkringer addressed this distinction directly:
“A lot of software-defined automation solutions are still proprietary. They’re software-defined, but not open.”
Foxboro SDA aligns with universalautomation.org, emphasizing open interoperability across a qualified ecosystem rather than confinement to a single vendor stack.
In an environment shaped by hardware refresh cycles, AI-driven compute demand, and supply chain risk, true hardware abstraction combined with openness provides organizations greater flexibility to adopt new compute platforms without reengineering control applications.
Cybersecurity by Design
Industrial control systems govern essential infrastructure. Security must therefore be foundational rather than additive.
Foxboro SDA embeds cybersecurity across its architecture and development lifecycle, incorporating:
Multi-layer protection (device, network, and application).
Role-based access and least-privilege principles.
Secure default configurations.
Certificate-based authentication.
End-to-end encryption.
This “cyber by design” approach anticipates threats during system design rather than responding after deployment, aligning with evolving regulatory expectations and operational risk management practices.
Convergence, Not Disruption
Modernization strategy is often the determining factor in adoption. Rather than positioning software-defined automation as a wholesale replacement of legacy DCS systems, Schneider frames Foxboro SDA as a convergence pathway.
Key elements include:
Reuse of eligible servers, workstations, and switches.
Protection of existing I/O investments.
Coexistence via OPC UA during migration.
Phased transition aligned with customer timelines.
Given the long lifecycle expectations typical in process industries, this incremental approach reduces modernization risk while enabling software-defined capabilities.
Enabling IT/OT Convergence and Autonomous Operations
Foxboro SDA supports native integration with IT systems through APIs and standard protocols such as MQTT and OPC UA. Containerization allows control applications to run across compatible compute environments, whether at the edge or within data center infrastructure.
High-availability disruption avoidance—through primary, backup, and spare compute layers—enables dynamic workload migration without operational interruption. This architecture reduces maintenance downtime and supports progress toward autonomous operations.
As industrial environments adopt AI, advanced analytics, and machine learning, positioning control systems as scalable platforms rather than fixed hardware assets becomes increasingly important.
Availability
Foxboro SDA builds on EcoStruxure Automation Expert, introduced in 2020. While foundational components are already deployed, the complete Foxboro Software-Defined Automation system, including the AP310 platform, is scheduled for broader release in the second quarter of this year.
Why This Matters
Software-defined automation represents more than controller virtualization. It reflects a rethinking of control architectures in response to complexity, workforce constraints, cybersecurity demands, and lifecycle flexibility.
Foxboro SDA illustrates how established DCS platforms can evolve toward open, software-defined models while protecting installed investments. For manufacturers, the implications include reduced lifecycle risk, improved resilience, greater scalability, and stronger alignment with AI-driven initiatives.
The broader shift toward software-defined control is underway. The differentiator will not simply be abstraction—but openness, interoperability, and practical modernization pathways.