Interview with Managing Director Dr. Wilfried Wessner
For several years now, there has been a growing consensus that Linux can be an excellent solution for the industry’s digital transformation. Linutronix recognized this as early as 20 years ago. With IGLOS, the company now offers a standardized platform that enables more than just automation. This has also led Linutronix to be included in the Smart Automation market overview.
Ulrich Sendler: Dr. Wessner, when Linutronix joined the Linux community twenty years ago, the open-source operating system was just beginning to make waves in the IT world. In industry, there were hardly any ideas for initial applications—not only because real-time capabilities were still lacking. But your company saw Linux specifically in the context of industrial embedded software?
Dr. Wilfried Wessner: Indeed, we were one of the first companies to recognize the enormous potential of Linux in industry. And since real-time capability is an absolute must for many industrial applications, we played a leading role in the development of Real-Time Linux. Specifically, Thomas Gleixner, who founded our company with Heinz Egger in 2006.
Dr. Wilfried Wessner, Geschäftsführer Linutronix (Foto Linutronix)
Sendler: Thomas Gleixner is, so to speak, part of the core team within the open-source community that develops the real-time Linux kernel. In late 2024, heise online published an article titled “After 20 Years of Painstaking Work: Linux Kernel Now Real-Time Capable,” which stated: “Gleixner from the German company Linutronix is the main driving force behind real-time support for the standard kernel.”
Since the end of last year, Gleixner and Egger have transitioned from operational roles at Linutronix to advisory positions. And you moved from head of R&D to managing director. Where does Linutronix stand today?
Wessner: We now have 35 employees, about a third of whom continue to work on Linux development. But beyond that, we have become a key service provider for industry when it comes to developing real-time Linux applications. And under the IGLOS brand, we have established a standardized platform based on real-time Linux where anyone can develop and securely run their own apps.
Sendler: This means Linutronix is now one of the providers of open, Linux-based platforms listed in the Smart Automation market overview. How does IGLOS differ from the other platforms?
Wessner: I’ll put this delicately, but we’re proud that several of the providers listed in the market overview have built their platforms on our work. We see ourselves a bit as the original. Our focus is clearly on developing a technically sound, robust, and secure foundation.
Sendler: Why doesn’t the market know about this?
Wessner: Because most of our customers have so far been very, very reluctant to share information about the fundamentals of their Linux developments. You could also say that technology development isn’t that sexy; it’s the product that makes it attractive. However, industrial software on Linux is obviously a competitive advantage that no one wants to reveal too soon. Just recently, some of our customers agreed to be listed as references, and the Linux Foundation has called for a list of real-time Linux applications. Hopefully, this will lead to a lasting change and a shift in thinking.
Sendler: What are the application areas you’re focusing on?
Wessner: In principle, of course, it could be anything. But we see a particular need in the area of connected devices and systems. Many companies have the in-house capabilities to develop control software—essentially the core of automation. But when it comes to intelligently connecting facilities such as a wind farm or another type of energy supply—think cloud or edge computing, also in conjunction with real-time networks—that’s where our support is in high demand. In other words, what is commonly referred to as the Internet of Things. And then, of course, there’s the issue of security.
Sendler: Are you referring to the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)?
Wessner: The CRA is just one example of a whole series of regulations that will very soon require the industry to specify, in very concrete and precise terms, how machines, systems, robots, and other hardware are protected against cybercrime and equipped for automatic updates.
This is where we see one of our major strengths. We are certified by TÜV Süd according to IEC 62443, which allows us to guarantee our customers security for their own apps running on our tested platform.
Sendler: Where is Linutronix headed? What role will the platform play in the future, and what role will the services play?
Wessner: Our goal, of course, is to have IGLOS account for about half of our business in the near future. At the moment, however, our focus is still very much on our consulting services.
Both the platform and consulting services are designed to minimize risk for our industrial clients. We want to offer more and more of these services through the standardized platform.
Sendler: At present, the industry as a whole still doesn’t seem to be embracing Linux. Why is it that so many continue to use the proprietary OT solutions provided by their hardware suppliers?
Wessner: I believe it’s due—in addition to the inertia of habit—to the fact that management hasn’t yet engaged sufficiently with these issues, but instead leaves them to the in-house technical experts. If I’m not mistaken, however, this is gradually changing. We want our work to contribute to that.