Rockwell Automation and PTC have launched their first collaborative offering, the FactoryTalk InnovationSuite, software that promises to speed up the digital transformation of industrial enterprises. The announcement follows the revelation of the historic strategic partnership between the major companies this June.

According to a joint press release, the software suite integrates technologies from both companies to enable industry “to optimise their industrial operations and enhance productivity by providing decision makers with improved data and insights. The new suite delivers complete visibility of operations and systems status from one source of information inside the organisation.”

The manufacturers argue that the product will accelerate digital transformation strategies for greater productivity through simplification of complex processes in industrial businesses. Essentially, the product improves connectivity to operational technology (OT) devices on the plant floor, natively supporting the rapid, scalable, and secure connection of the most commonly used industrial equipment. Combined with data from information technology (IT) applications and systems, decision makers can now gain a complete digital representation of their industrial equipment, lines, and facilities from anywhere in the enterprise.

Rockwell Automation Chairman and CEO Blake Moret described the partnership between Rockwell and PTC as the “embodiment of the convergence of IT and OT.”  

“Software is all they do. And Rockwell has deep roots in the operational technology on the plant floor,” he said.

Highlighted features of the software suite include intuitive, user-friendly interfaces, automated advanced analytics of IT and OT sources and augmented reality technology. It includes the FactoryTalk® Analytics and MOM platforms, as well as PTC’s ThingWorx® Industrial IoT Platform, which includes industrial connectivity from Kepware, and the Vuforia ® augmented reality solution.

“We’re moving the needle on how leading-edge technology is applied in industrial environments,” said PTC Head of Strategic Alliances Catherine Knicker. “Manufacturers have seen digital technology rapidly change, but their execution continues to follow practices established for the legacy business. This bundled offering will help organisations accelerate time to value and reinvent how they compete by News Release breaking down barriers across their operations through a comprehensive approach to operational intelligence.”

Both the FactoryTalk InnovationSuite and the ongoing partnership between its two developers look set to make a tangible impact across the rapidly transforming and increasingly automated industrial sector.