The Open Group releases O-PAS Version 2.1 Preliminary Standard

 The Open Group, the vendor-neutral technology consortium, announced the publication of the O-PAS Version 2.1 Preliminary Standard. Developed by The Open Group Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF), this release represents a key milestone toward testing and field trials of the O-PAS Standard, enabling greater interoperability and portability in manufacturing control systems.

The O-PAS Standard defines a reference architecture and information model that will enable a distributed and heterogeneous ecosystem of industrial process automation resources to interoperate. The aim of the Standard is to stimulate innovation, lower system lifecycle costs and provide end-users with more freedom when managing obsolescence within systems.

Created with the direct involvement of more than 105 OPAF member organizations, Version 2.1 progresses the overall information model of Version 2.0, while also adding new configuration portability capabilities.

“This latest advancement of the O-PAS Standard reflects the overall consensus of industry leaders: open, secure and interoperable architectures are the irrefutable and inevitable future of industrial process automation systems,” said Aneil Ali, director of the OPAF. “The sense of urgency among product managers and sales teams to achieve this goal is therefore well-founded, with end-user test beds, prototypes, and field trials already up and running.”

Alongside Version 2.1, a certification program for the O-PAS Standard – due to launch in the first half of 2022 – is being developed against the various profile-based requirements. As part of this work, test tools are currently being beta tested with suppliers.

“The updated version of the O-PAS Standard empowers end-users to look more closely at product roadmaps for O-PAS inclusion,” Ali added. “As suppliers work to adopt the standard within these roadmaps, OPAF is open to as much industry collaboration and feedback as possible.”

Following a finalized Version 2.1 Standard, scheduled for publication in Q1 2022, OPAF will work toward Version 3.0, which will address system orchestration, application portability and further detail the physical distributed control platform.