Inductive Automation and FreeWave Technologies Team Up to Provide Users with Increased Data Visibility and Enhanced Network Reliability

Feb. 15, 2019
Collaboration helps companies make better decisions through sensor queries, analytics and intelligence placed at the “edge” where operational devices reside

Inductive Automation, an industrial automation software innovator with a focus on transforming the user experience, and FreeWave Technologies, a leader in long-range wireless radios and edge computing platforms, are taking charge to advance the true benefits of IIoT networks by providing increased data visibility and a more reliable data network for industrial IoT customers with remote assets.

Ignition Edge MQTT, an edge-of-network software solution from Inductive Automation and Cirrus Link Solutions, can run on FreeWave’s hardened, C1D2 ZumIQ™ Edge Computer and the ZumLink™ IQ Intelligent Edge Radio to flawlessly perform edge-based data collection using various industrial protocols and data publishing using MQTT. This publish/subscribe, or pub/sub, architecture provides granular data to anyone on the network and the proven ruggedness of the Zum platform provides a reliable home for applications that place analytics and intelligence alongside remote assets. As a result, the ZumLink IQ is an all-in-one solution that provides both secure data transmission over long distances and application deployment.

“This collaboration with FreeWave will provide real benefits to users,” said Don Pearson, chief strategy officer for Inductive Automation. “Today’s industrial users are certainly on a quest for more data, and edge computing is a big part of satisfying that demand.”

The two companies span many common verticals to include oil & gas, utilities, and agriculture markets that require the reliable collection of sensor data for process optimization, preventative maintenance, and compliance reporting. “The ZumLink hardware platform is a perfect example of why we developed the Ignition Edge MQTT product,” said Arlen Nipper, CTO and president of Cirrus Link Solutions, a leading innovator of pervasive computing technologies, and co-inventor of the MQTT messaging transport. “Having a modular platform with tools that are already SCADA/OT-aware is extremely important in any digital transformation journey. Having a mature set of tools on the Ignition platform that can run on ZumLink solves numerous migration strategy issues.”

“In the simplest analogy, we are the ‘I’ in ‘IoT,’ and Inductive Automation’s holistic approach to delivering automation solutions is not like any other software provider in the marketplace today,” said Kirk Byles, CEO, Freewave Technologies. “Our joint focus on enabling industrial customers with data platforms that can transform their operations while improving productivity and reducing operating costs is of paramount importance to both our companies’ missions. It’s a unique hand-in-glove type of relationship and it has many automation integrators excited about the endless opportunities that can be created from our partnership.”

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