A yseries in cooperation with KEM:

Why it’s worth switching to open, Linux-based platforms now

This article kicks off a four-part series on the topic of “Future-Proof Automation,” for which I am co-operating with Michael Corban, editor-in-chief of KEM Konstruktion/Automation. In parallel, KEM is conducting a trend survey titled “Do open, Linux-based automation platforms make it easier to meet CRA and Machinery Regulation requirements?”, in which Bosch Rexroth, Keba, Phoenix Contact, and Weidmüller have participated.

Coincidentally, the Smart Automation market overview on this portal has also been updated.

Author Ulrich Sendler

The Basics – What Is an Open, Linux-Based Automation Platform, and What Are Its Benefits?

In industry, for good reasons, it takes longer than in other sectors for technologies to become established. This is also the case in industrial production, where hardware and software are used to directly control and monitor physical devices, processes, and infrastructure — a field also known as OT, or Operational Technology. While consumers and office users have accumulated decades of experience with IT and now consider the use of apps from the cloud or from Linux-based servers to be perfectly normal, the same cannot be said for OT. Open, Linux-based automation platforms have been available for several years now. With these, this technology is finally making its way onto the shop floor — bringing with it many advantages, as well as new challenges.

What is state-of-the-art in OT in 2026?

For many years, software has been the most important driver of innovation in automation as well. However, to ensure the functionality and safety of machines and devices in production, manufacturers have traditionally kept their product software proprietary. Proprietary, manufacturer- and hardware-specific software is likely in use today in more than 90 percent of all industrial machines and devices.

One of the key reasons for this was the specific requirements for security, availability, real-time capability, and stability: In the production hall, at the machine, on the conveyor belt, or with a robot, downtime is extremely costly and therefore unacceptable — and not infrequently even life-threatening. That is why the reliable availability of the software — unlike with desktops or mobile phones—plays a central role here. Simply rebooting the system is simply not an option.

Like MS Windows or Mac OS, Linux was not originally capable of real-time operation. Device manufacturers and suppliers of industrial PCs did, however, widely use the operating system that is the global standard in offices: MS Windows. However, for the direct control of drives of all kinds, additional hardware-specific, real-time-capable software was used: embedded software, typically integrated directly into the hardware. The outstanding performance of these programmable logic controllers (PLCs) was, for decades, a key factor in the success of machines and hardware “Made in Germany.”

Apart from desktop computers (less than 5%), Linux has become the standard in many areas. For example, between 34% (explicitly stated) and 65% (estimated by experts) of all websites run on Linux. In Germany alone, 70 to 80 percent of all smartphones and tablets use Linux as their operating system, which is primarily due to the market penetration of the Linux-based Android. The adoption rate is highest among servers and supercomputers. For instance, all of the 500 fastest supercomputers worldwide run on Linux.

Its adoption in industry has increased in recent years, particularly in the automotive industry and various other large corporations. Overall, however, there are still very few surveys on this topic.

We refer to an open, Linux-based platform when Linux serves as the operating system for software that is open to extensions and modifications. The platform provider typically makes functionalities available in the form of tested apps. Often, the providers also handle the security of apps provided by customers and others.

Numerous German and Austrian companies have brought such platforms to market. On the one hand, these are experienced automation providers that previously sold their hardware with proprietary software and have now transitioned to hardware-independent software. Examples include Bosch Rexroth and Weidmüller. On the other hand, there are new companies founded specifically to offer open platforms. These include TTTech Computertechnik and Flecs Technologies. All known providers are represented in the independent market overview Smart Automation:

Bosch Rexroth with ctrlX AUTOMATION, FLECS Technologies with FLECS, German Edge Cloud with ONCITE DPS, Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation with netFIELD, KEB Automation KG with NOA, KEBA AG with Kemro X, Phoenix Contact with PLCnext Technology, SALZ Automation with SALZ Controller, TTTech Computertechnik AG with Nerve, WAGO with WAGO OS and WAGO ctrlX OS, and Weidmüller with u-OS.

Almost all of them are open to using their platform with hardware from any manufacturer. And all of them are open to apps from various sources: from end users, such as machine operators; from manufacturers of devices or machines; or from other developers pursuing a business model in the fields of automation and the Internet of Things (IoT).

With these platforms, manufacturers are positioning themselves as software providers. Access to the platform is available separately from any hardware. For most providers, this is still an unfamiliar business model. And for the time being, it is also a business that—especially when compared to machines, devices, and engines—generates very little revenue directly.

The major advantages

Independence: Using a Linux-based platform opens up a world for the user comparable to that of a smartphone. Apps and tools of all kinds can be easily downloaded for free or at affordable prices. There is no need to contact the manufacturer for new functionality. Instead, users can choose from freely available, standardized apps.

Since the community of container app developers is vast, there are already ready-made and field-tested apps available for a wide range of functionalities and features. This saves users a significant amount of time and money that would otherwise have been spent on in-house development or ordering from hardware suppliers. And, of course, this also results in enormous savings for platform providers, who do not have to develop everything themselves.

Speed/Flexibility: The path to meeting a new requirement is extremely short. Instead of the user having to engage in lengthy negotiations with the supplier of a proprietary system and wait for traditional software development and testing, even a small in-house team can very quickly find a suitable app or develop and install one themselves.

For both users and platform providers, the development of container apps follows the latest software development methodologies, which enable faster and automated application deployment via Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD).

Networking/Community: Users and providers of open Linux platforms are no longer on their own. They can draw on the experience and knowledge of a very large community. Providers have often established their own communities for their partners and customers, which specifically support knowledge sharing.

Use of IT, including AI, for automation: With open platforms, the end of the isolation of OT from IT is in sight. Tools and solutions available in the IT world can be used with and on these platforms. The most important aspect here in the near future is likely to be the use of AI for production automation—and the use of security tools.

With Kubernetes, Docker, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) from Industry 4.0, and Margo, there is already a range of standards that facilitate the shared use of apps in manufacturing.

Use of hardware data for IoT: IoT, the Internet of Things, predates Industry 4.0. However, the siloed OT environment has made it extremely difficult to access data from hardware and the operation of machines and devices for intelligent use. Open Linux platforms are now opening the door wide for this. The only task remaining is to ensure that data usage is secure and meaningful. But even for this, IT tools that have already been tested can now be utilized.

Scalability: With app platforms, industry is now also able to reuse software once it has been created as often as desired, even with different hardware, or to share it with partners. Scalability is arriving in automation.

Costs: In the long term — or even the medium term, that is, excluding the costs immediately required for the switch to open Linux platforms (such as hiring new specialists or training) — the solution is more cost-effective because a large amount of affordable or even free software is available instead of expensive, proprietary systems. But the greatest benefit will come from the fact that opening up the shop floor to IT enables smart automation that saves time and money, for example through predictive maintenance. And it enables new business opportunities in the IoT, which builds on the abundant data from hardware operations.

Geopolitical independence: The political upheavals around the world, the disruptive changes to the global order, the complete unpredictability of the world’s most powerful man, Donald Trump, and the hyperscalers closely linked to him — from Amazon to Microsoft — the open, Linux-based platforms also offer the chance to become independent of the major IT manufacturers.

The Challenges

Of course, so many advantages don’t come for free. Employees at machine manufacturers or automation companies who have previously worked with embedded software and PLCs are primarily well-versed in the specifics of the hardware and software from the manufacturers a company has worked with so far. For them, container software is often a foreign concept, let alone Linux, Docker, AAS, or Margo.

But these experts are easier to find than experts in proprietary systems. For one thing, the terms mentioned above are by no means foreign to entry-level professionals. On the contrary, they expect exactly that from a good employer: that they can immediately and effectively apply the knowledge gained during their training. For another, IT experts will now also be applying for these job openings. Even the platform providers themselves have specialists on their teams who come from entirely different fields of application.

In the near future, the situation will actually be the opposite: Companies that rely on outdated, monolithic systems rather than open standards will struggle to retain their staff and attract new talent.

And yet: The mindset required for the transition to open platforms is different. Software-Defined Automation (SDA) has become a buzzword. But the reality in industrial companies — from discrete manufacturing to robotics to the process industry — looks different. Familiarity has shaped the mindset of automation teams. Revenue is still primarily generated by products in which apps played no role. But the new is already evident everywhere.

“We are currently witnessing a veritable awakening in the industry. Suddenly, standards like open-source Linux, AAS, Kubernetes, and Docker are in high demand. Catena-X and, above all, Manufacturing-X are becoming practical solutions. Perhaps these very topics will also contribute to a new upswing in the manufacturing industry and to a ‘democratization’ of production, independent of individual large vendors.” So says Uwe Schnepf, who is responsible for the netFIELD product segment at Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation, a career changer in the manufacturing industry with decades of IT and cloud experience.

Werner Paulin, now an independent consultant with VarionImpact following his time at automation companies B&R and Lenze, is certain: “The time is ripe for open automation. Anyone in the industry who realizes this too late will face problems very soon. Investments in this transformation are a key part of the solution that will help the industry emerge from the current valley of uncertainty.”

For this series of articles, KEM and the author are in intensive dialogue with numerous experts who, drawing on their own work, offer insights into the current shift toward open platforms.