Significant co-operation announcement by standards-based entities.

After years of close collaboration, FieldComm Group® and FDT Group™ the leading global standards-based non-profit entities have executed a term sheet to combine resources into a single business focused on creating device integration technology standards and products serving the user and vendor communities of industrial process, hybrid, and factory automation.

This term sheet outlines a plan to create a single business aimed at advancing integration technology and harmonizing control system applications across multiple protocol topologies supporting both process and factory automation. Subject to the completion of a definitive agreement, the new business will continue to support all existing FieldComm Group and FDT Group technologies, including Field Device Integration™ (FDI™), Field Device Tool / Device Type Manager™ (FDT/DTM™), Process Automation Device Information Model (PA-DIM®), HART®, and FOUNDATION™ Fieldbus. FieldComm Group will acquire all FDT® technology and resources, and an independent Strategic Integration Committee will be formed to guide future directions for protocol-independent device integration technologies.

This strengthened relationship represents a significant step forward in streamlining process automation and factory manufacturing device management, enhancing interoperability throughout the industry. The unified organization is pioneering a transformative vision where industrial device management seamlessly bridges the present and future, ensuring support for the current installed base while facilitating evolution towards harmonized technologies.

The new Strategic Integration Committee focused on a protocol-agnostic device integration approach will foster alliances with major field protocol organizations, including CC-Link Partner Association, EtherCAT Technology Group, FieldComm Group, ODVA, OPC Foundation, Modbus, Profibus/Profinet International, and others, spearheading innovations to improve engineering efficiency, plant uptime, and user satisfaction across various industrial automation fields. Within this strategic committee, cutting-edge technologies, tools, and certifications will streamline cost-effective adoption for members while providing a single device package compatible with any operating system that will enable effortless data access from field devices to cloud, edge, and mobile applications. This initiative promotes comprehensive integration between Information Technology and Operational Technology (IT/OT) systems.

“This collaboration is a strategic move aimed at providing the best service to our members and the industry at large,” emphasized Ted Masters, President and Chief Executive Officer of FieldComm Group. 

Steve Biegacki, Managing Director of FDT Group, echoed this sentiment, highlighting that “the enhanced harmonization of standards and technologies will significantly empower end users and manufacturers in their quest to achieve out-of-the-box Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities across their systems.”

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