The edge gateway simplifies and accelerates IT/OT convergence so that manufacturing companies can merge operational data from heterogeneous sources more conveniently and access relevant information as context for analysis. This information includes process conditions, time stamps, machine and other production statuses. Companies can use the cumulative data to gain important insights at company level. The FactoryTalk Edge Gateway not only enriches OT data with critical context where it matters most - at the edge - but also delivers the OT data to IT applications in a flexible data model.

The FactoryTalk Edge Gateway from Rockwell is an important foundation for an edge platform. It includes pre-configured models for data analysis, machine learning, customized applications and scalable algorithms. The gateway complements the FactoryTalk analytics suite, which is aimed at various industries and addresses many of the challenges of the Industrial IoT.

Industrial plants today consist of heterogeneous systems and facilities that generate enormous amounts of data at immense speed. The result is large data silos. Only those who network the silos can obtain a relevant OT data context. This determines whether more valuable, usable insights are achieved. The networked OT data should be linked in a logical data model that is understood by both IT and OT applications.

With its data management functions, the FactoryTalk Edge Gateway reduces the effort involved in preparing analysis data for users by up to 70 percent. At the same time, the quality of OT data increases. The underlying standardized data model is orchestrated by the comprehensive FactoryTalk Smart functionality FactoryTalk Smart Object. It can run efficiently on on-premises or cloud applications to enable predictive analytics across the enterprise. The FactoryTalk Edge Gateway integrates world-class system solutions such as Microsoft Azure and the FactoryTalk InnovationSuite, powered by PTC, and a variety of other big data, IIoT and cloud applications.