Global automation and technology supplier Emerson is joining the Linux Foundation’s Margo, an open-standard initiative designed to make edge applications, devices and orchestration software work together seamlessly across multi-vendor industrial automation environments.
As process and discrete manufacturers implement enhanced digitalization, they encounter challenges at the edge due to multi-vendor and multi-technology devices, apps and orchestration environments that do not easily integrate. The Margo initiative addresses these challenges through the creation of practical reference implementation, open standards and testing toolkits.
This approach is designed to help remove obstacles and simplify the process of building, deploying, scaling and operating complex, multi-vendor industrial edge environments, helping manufacturers of all sizes build new and better digital operations or modernize existing ones.
“The modern OT edge is the backbone of our next-generation automation architecture, enabling the availability of data and computing closest to where it is needed,” said Peter Zornio, Emerson's chief technology officer. “Successful implementation will require open edge standards that will enable scalable, simplified and seamless interoperability among applications, edge devices and orchestration software, no matter the vendor technology.
Emerson is pleased to join the Margo initiative to help create a unified and cohesive edge management ecosystem, continued Zornio. “Our collective progress will make it easier, faster and less costly for our customers to develop digital transformation programs that realize the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and analytics at the edge,” he said.
The Margo initiative aligns with Emerson’s Boundless Automation vision for a next-generation, modern automation architecture designed to break down data silos and enable computing power where it is best suited, whether that’s in the field, edge or cloud.
Drawing its name from the Latin word for edge, Margo already is supported by automation and technology companies such as Microsoft, B&R, Siemens, Schneider Electric, ABB, Capgemini, Rockwell Automation and Intel. Emerson joins Margo as a steering member, along with industry peers to develop open and secure edge interoperability standards for industrial automation ecosystems.
The Margo project represents a significant industry collaboration to define mechanisms for interoperable orchestration of edge applications, workloads and devices. It is designed to deliver the promise of interoperability through an open standard, reference implementation and comprehensive compliance testing toolkit.
