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This episode is brought to you by Canary Labs, and Cirrus Link Solutions. Canary Labs - The industrial historian platform that captures your plant and process data the moment it is generated and makes it instantly accessible across your entire operation. Learn more: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/canary-labs --- Node-RED is running in factories, renewable energy systems and smart buildings all over the world. Most of the industry has no idea who built the protocol packages that made it production-worthy. Klaus Landsdorf, CEO of Iniationware and creator of PLUS for Node-RED (P4NR), joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes for ten years of industrial Node-RED contribution. He first looked at Node-RED in 2015 as a favour to Schneider Electric France, found that queued Modbus messages fired as fast as the runtime could send them, and rebuilt the package from scratch so it could be trusted on a factory floor. Ten years and a thousand-plus commits later it is one of a small number of Node-RED packages carrying a certified designation, and nothing ships below 92% code coverage. Topics covered: - Rebuilding Modbus for real industrial timing, and the quality gate that followed - OPC UA built as an educational package rather than an abstraction - ISA-95 as a 30-year framework that already describes unified namespace and edge computing - The GPL v3 model behind P4NR, public three-tier pricing, and funding node-opcua - Node-RED next to n8n, and why versions 1 and 2 did not belong in production - BACnet, Modbus TLS, and the security requests coming from industry - Why digitisation keeps growing while efficiency does not - AI in Node-RED development: giving back the 80% that was always boilerplate Guest: - Klaus Landsdorf - CEO and co-founder, Iniationware; creator of PLUS for Node-RED (P4NR) Resources: - PLUS for Node-RED: https://plus4nodered.com/ - P4NR community: https://p4nr.com/ - Iniationware: https://www.iniationware.eu/ Episode page: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-61-open-source-industrial-scale-node-red-iiot-with-klaus-landsdorf Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:32 Meet Klaus Landsdorf - Iniationware and P4NR 03:08 ISA-95: the 30-year framework most teams skip 06:04 Discovering Node-RED - the Schneider Electric Modbus ask (2015) 07:27 Rebuilding Modbus for real industrial timing 09:35 Why flow-based programming won him over 11:05 2016-17: "you cannot stop" - and the message from Brazil 13:23 IT or OT? Node-RED as the bridge, and the v1/v2 problem 15:58 Node-RED next to n8n: where each one belongs 17:04 Protocol reality: Modbus, OPC UA and the SDK ecosystem 19:39 A certified package, and how many nodes is too many 21:55 What makes these nodes different: the 92% coverage gate 24:18 Modbus at 47 years, and renewable energy 25:10 Open source or commercial: GPL v3 and the P4NR model 26:26 Sharing the cost: funding node-opcua, three-tier pricing 28:29 AI and Node-RED: what the models already know 30:43 Hype cycles and what actually gets built 33:07 BACnet, Modbus TLS, and what industry keeps asking for 34:57 Buzzwords against ISA-95: unified namespace and edge computing 40:34 Digitisation against efficiency: process beats tooling 42:09 AI giving back the 80%: quality and testing 43:57 Closing - where to find Klaus and P4NR --- Cirrus Link Solutions - MQTT and Sparkplug software that connects OT to IT and cloud systems. Visit: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/cirrus-link

This episode is brought to you by Cirrus Link Solutions and Canary Labs. Cirrus Link: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/cirrus-link Canary Labs: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/canary-labs --- Arlen Nipper — MQTT co-inventor and President & CTO of Cirrus Link Solutions — returns for his third appearance on Unplugged. Twenty-five years after co-inventing MQTT to connect an oil pipeline over a satellite link in the Middle East, Arlen walks through the current state of the protocol: 15 million tags in a single deployment at millisecond SLAs, a UNS market that has grown to $2B+, and why data centre operators are choosing MQTT 3.1.1 over MQTT 5. Topics covered: - The UNS market arc: from cryptic tags to $2B+ and what changed - 15 million tags at a 3-second SLA: report-by-exception at scale - Nextera Energy: 524 solar, BESS and wind sites in one Remote Operations Centre - How data centres became AI factories — and why MQTT won - A large customer's white paper rejecting MQTT 5 entirely - The AI + UNS framework: decouple, define the UDT, train AI on the live feed - Sparkplug v4: alarms over MQTT and event pipelines - The ProveIt! Lifetime Award and the NVIDIA acceptance speech - ICC 2026: what to expect from the AI-first year Guest: Arlen Nipper — President & CTO, Cirrus Link Solutions | MQTT co-inventor Episode page: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-60-mqtt-sparkplug-unified-namespace Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 05:00 Co-inventing MQTT in 1999 12:00 From cryptic tags to $2B+: the UNS market 18:00 15 million tags at a 3-second SLA 25:00 Nextera Energy: 524 sites in one ops centre 32:00 Data centres become AI factories 40:00 AI + UNS: the single source of truth 47:00 Sparkplug v4: alarms over MQTT 52:00 MQTT 3.1.1 vs MQTT 5 57:00 The ProveIt! Lifetime Award 61:00 ICC 2026 --- Cirrus Link Solutions: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/cirrus-link

--- This episode is brought to you by Canary Labs, and Cirrus Link. Canary Labs — The industrial historian platform that captures your plant and process data the moment it's generated and makes it instantly accessible across your entire operation. Learn more: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/canary-labs --- Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes sit down with Kyle Van Eenennaam (BW Design Group) to explore what it actually looks like to work at every level of the Ignition ecosystem. Kyle has taught Ignition at Inductive Automation, presented at ICC, and now builds systems at BW Design Group. In this conversation, he maps the four types of organisations in the Ignition world, walks through the history of industrial automation from IR1 to Industry 5.0, and gives a practical guide to learning Ignition from scratch in 2026 — including what Ignition 8.3, Git integration, and AI tools are changing for SCADA engineers. Topics covered: • The four Ignition ecosystem buckets: integrators, end users, consultants, IA/partners • Kyle's journey from IA support and training to ICC presenter to BW Design Group • The cold call that turned into a full Ignition transformation • A brief history of industrial automation: IR1 to Industry 5.0 • How to learn Ignition in 2026 — install first, use the Design Challenge, build with the designer • Ignition 8.3 and Git: managing the full gateway in version control • What CI/CD really looks like for SCADA teams starting small • AI in Ignition development: MCP servers, automated commits, and the dream of closed-loop delivery • CSS, Perspective, and what Kyle is learning next Guest: • Kyle Van Eenennaam — BW Design Group Resources: • How to Learn Ignition From Scratch: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U-QOARK7izqJnXgIr6ITT3ysxw9usIrxsKCHQhJX_dc • ICC 2025 presentation: https://inductiveautomation.com/resources/icc/2025/history-of-industry-from-00-to-50 Episode page: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-59-every-seat-ignition-table Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 The four buckets of the Ignition ecosystem 08:30 Kyle's career journey 10:00 The aha moment 14:00 History of Industrial Automation: IR1 to Industry 5.0 23:00 Learning Ignition from scratch in 2026 31:00 Ignition 8.3 and Git 36:00 CI/CD for SCADA 43:00 AI in Ignition 48:00 Phil's prediction 50:00 CSS and what's next --- Cirrus Link Solutions — MQTT and Sparkplug software that connects OT to IT and cloud systems. Visit: https://unpluggediiot.com/go/cirrus-link

Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes sit down with David Ariens (Analytics For Industry / AVEVA) and Willem van Lammeren (Syensqo) to explore why IT/OT convergence fails — and what organisations actually get right when convergence works. They discuss the cultural and technical silos that keep IT and OT teams divided, common misconceptions on both sides, and the practical changes that make integration stick in industrial environments. Topics covered: • Why convergence projects stall or fail • Breaking silos without burning bridges • What good IT/OT integration looks like in the field • Making OT data usable for IT and business intelligence • Real lessons from practitioners on both sides of the wall Guests: • David Ariens — Analytics For Industry / AVEVA • Willem van Lammeren — Syensqo Episode page: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-58-breaking-the-silos-itot-convergence Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 03:00 The unlikely path into the IT/OT gap 13:00 Why convergence keeps failing: it’s not the technology 25:00 Seven patterns that actually work 37:00 Stories from the plant floor: BASF lessons 45:00 Building the IT/OT Academy + where IT/OT is heading 48:30 Outro This episode is brought to you by Canary Labs and Cirrus Link. Canary Labs — Canary Labs builds the industrial historian platform that captures your plant and process data the moment it's generated and makes it instantly accessible across your entire operation. Learn more: https://unpluggediiot.com/partners/canary-labs --- Cirrus Link Solutions — MQTT and Sparkplug software that connects OT to IT and cloud systems. Visit: https://cirrus-link.com/unplugged

What changes when the assets you operate stop being centralised and predictable, and start being distributed, intermittent and weather-dependent? The old operations playbook breaks — and most digital programmes are still designed for the old one. Dr Hema Wadhwa, Associate, Data & Analytics | Asset Management and Performance at Aurecon, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to talk about building digital asset intelligence for the energy transition. Hema's career is a live map of that transition: she started as a Floating Systems Engineer in global oil and gas, moved through subsea engineering and power generation operations, and now leads digital strategy and analytics for mixed energy asset fleets. Key topics in this episode: - The unplanned career arc — floating production systems and subsea engineering into renewable operations - "Are you here to take my job?" — what digital transformation actually feels like from inside the control room - Why the solution providers have to evolve, not the operators - One gas turbine versus a hundred wind turbines: why renewable fleets break the old operations model - No standard across vendor SCADA screens and UIs, and what that inconsistency costs - Why there is no AI magic without the data groundwork first — and why selling it that way isn't ethical - Cognitive load: lean frontline teams, PDF report fatigue, and tools that land as a burden - OT/IT convergence and the cybersecurity questions that come with opening it up - OEM warranties and whether asset owners really have access to their own asset data - Recording data when it changes, not on a fixed scan rate - One source of truth, different views per role — data presented so it guides a decision - Predicting failures months ahead: cranes, spares, and turning downtime into planned work - BESS as a trading platform, not just another renewable asset - Why the real cost driver is people, and why it only stacks up if it scales across assets Made possible by FlowFuse. Connect with Hema on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drhemawadhwa Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes Sign up for the Unplugged newsletter: unpluggediiot.com/newsletter Learn more about Aurecon: aurecongroup.com

Every IIoT project starts the same way: you need data out of a PLC. The standard answer is OPC-UA — but what if that protocol is overloading your PLCs, eating bandwidth, and costing you thousands in upsized hardware? In this episode, Christofer Dutz — creator of Apache PLC4X and CEO of ToddySoft GmbH — joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to explain why speaking the native tongue of your PLCs is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than wrapping everything in OPC-UA. Chris shares how PLC4X pulled 2,600 data points every 200 milliseconds at just 2–3% CPU overhead — compared to OPC-UA choking at 200 data points every two seconds on the same hardware. The conversation covers the origin of PLC4X (a "JDBC for industrial automation"), the not-invented-here syndrome that created today's protocol mess, why open-source adoption in OT is still painfully slow, the role of Apache IoTDB as a time-series storage engine handling 1.5 billion insertions per second, and Chris's new commercial venture ToddySoft — bringing production-grade Rust-based drivers to platforms like Inductive Automation's Ignition. Whether you're an automation engineer drowning in protocol adapters or an IT architect trying to bridge the OT gap, this episode is packed with practical insight from someone who has spent a decade making PLCs talk. Connect with Christofer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christoferdutz Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes Sign up for the Unplugged newsletter: unpluggediiot.com/newsletter Learn more about ToddySoft: toddysoft.com Learn more about Apache PLC4X: plc4x.apache.org

In the final part of our FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes close out with Kristopher Sandoval of FlowFuse on what happens once you can build fast: how do you scale, govern and standardise industrial applications across plants, lines and teams? Kristopher explains why Expert doesn't replace developers — it removes repetitive setup so engineers can focus on operational problems, business logic, architecture and deployment strategy. We cover scaling via FlowFuse pipelines (build once, roll out to hundreds of devices), granular RBAC that persists across instances and sites, air-gapping and data sovereignty for regulated environments, and the bring-your-own-key/model future. The throughline: without FlowFuse's governance, versioning and standardisation, AI-generated apps just become technical debt. Chapters: - 0:00 — Welcome back: the changing role of industrial teams- 1:00 — Expert removes repetitive setup; engineers focus on operational problems- 5:00 — Augmenting vs replacing developers- 9:00 — Enterprise governance: self-hosted, BYOK, guardrails- 12:00 — Scaling across teams and sites with FlowFuse- 15:00 — Advice for closing the application gap today- 17:00 — Learning segment- 18:00 — Closing and outroConnect - Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krsando/ - FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs - Phil Seboa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ - Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/ FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. For more Info about Flowfuse Expert visit https://flowfuse.com/ #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #Governance #Scaling #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT

In Part 2 of our FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes get practical with Kristopher Sandoval from FlowFuse. We move from “what is the application gap?” to what it looks like to close it on the shop floor. Kristopher walks through real operational use cases—OEE dashboards, shift handover workflows, quality validation, and asset monitoring—starting with the operational problem and then showing the working application. We also dig into the technical mechanics: how FlowFuse Expert turns plain-language requirements into Node-RED nodes and flows, updates to the immersive editor in FlowFuse 2.30, and the governance layer (snapshot comparisons, change review, and deployment management) that helps teams keep changes production-ready. Anchor use cases (agreed with FlowFuse) OEE: “Build me an OEE dashboard for three production lines with downtime tracking and shift comparison.” Shift handover: “Create a shift handover workflow where operators log production issues, actions taken, and outstanding risks.” Quality validation: “Create a workflow that validates production data and alerts operators when thresholds are exceeded.” Asset monitoring: “Create a dashboard showing machine status, downtime, and maintenance alerts.”Draft chapters (confirm after split) 0:00 — Welcome back: real operational use cases 1:00 — Shift handover, quality validation, asset monitoring, Modbus-to-UNS 5:00 — From operational problem to working application 9:00 — Technical mechanics: how Expert translates needs into flows 13:00 — Immersive editor improvements in 2.30 16:00 — Governance: snapshot comparisons, change review, deploymentConnect Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): LinkedIn (TBC) FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs Phil Seboa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/Disclosure: FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #OEE #ShopFloor #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT

In this first episode of a 3-part FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, hosts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes sit down with Kristopher Sandoval of FlowFuse to unpack the application gap in industrial operations — the growing distance between how many applications industrial teams need and how fast their developers can build them. Kristopher explains why so many operational workflows still live in spreadsheets, local scripts and one-off dashboards, and how the Node-RED → FlowFuse → FlowFuse Expert stack is changing the equation. We cover what FlowFuse Expert actually is — an AI co-pilot that builds industrial applications on a Node-RED workspace from a plain-language description — why it's built on MCP (Model Context Protocol) for real industrial context instead of generic LLM guesswork, and how it can compress tasks that once took 10–20 hours down to around an hour, without replacing the operators and OT engineers who know the plant best. If your team has more ideas than capacity to build them, this episode is about closing that gap. Chapters 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availability 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availabilityConnect Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krsando/ FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs Phil Seboa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/Newsletter Sign up: www.unpluggediiot.com/newsletter FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT #ManufacturingTech #OEE

What does it take for AI to actually deliver on the factory floor? In this episode, we explore why most manufacturing AI pilots never make it to production, and what changes when you get the data architecture right. Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and Co-Founder at Critical Manufacturing, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss MES as the foundation for manufacturing AI, why context beats compute, and what regulated industries need before they can trust AI in production. Key topics in this episode: What MES is and why it keeps expanding beyond process controlWhy Audi's 100+ AI initiatives failed to scale to production"Fat events": enriching IoT data with MES context for AI workloadsDesign-time AI vs runtime AI in regulated manufacturingThe first FDA warning letter for unauthorized AI useWhy this technology revolution gives no time for adjustmentThis episode is proudly made possible by FlowFuse. FlowFuse is the industrial application platform that helps operations, maintenance, and IT teams connect any machine, move data between systems, and scale industrial applications across sites. It is built on Node-RED, with the security and governance you need for real production environments. Learn more at flowfuse.com. Connect with Francisco on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/falmadalobo Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philseboa Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edfuentes Learn more about Critical Manufacturing: criticalmanufacturing.com Book mentioned: "Agentic Artificial Intelligence" by Pascal Bonnet

Howard Sachs joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss how de-risking industrial technology, championing sovereign manufacturing, and first-principles leadership are shaping Australia's industrial future. Key topics in this episode: Why de-risking matters more than product specifications in industrial salesHow the Dulux Industry 4.0 project succeeded through collaboration and leadershipAustralia's sovereign manufacturing challenges and the COVID-19 vaccine pushPockets of innovation across traditionally conservative industriesWhy mentorship from every direction accelerates learningConnect with Howard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsachs/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Universal Automation Solutions: https://universalsystems.com.au ------

Most industrial AI projects fail before they produce anything useful. The models are ready, the dashboards look great, and the executive presentation landed. But on the shop floor, nobody can get clean data out of the PLC without calling the vendor. The missing piece is a data foundation. Alexander Kruger, co-founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on this episode, powered by PLCnext Technology, to explain why factory AI stalls without the right infrastructure underneath it, why boring technology beats shiny platforms, and how open source tooling is putting data ownership back in the hands of the people who run factories. Key topics in this episode: Why most factory AI projects fail at the data layer before they reach the model layerHow UMH went from systems integration with McKinsey to building open source data infrastructureThe five-step process for connecting machines, modeling data, and serving it to applicationsWhy Kafka and Postgres beat purpose-built IoT platforms for long-term reliabilityHow containers and Kubernetes solve high availability problems OT has wrestled with for yearsThe open source bet on forerunner power users who change organizations from within-------------------------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Connect with Alexander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-krueger/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about United Manufacturing Hub: https://umh.app

Most industrial data projects fail before they start. The data is clean, the tools are connected, and the dashboards look great. But nobody can explain why the production line dropped 12% last Tuesday. The missing piece is human context. Bob van de Kuilen, CEO and co-founder of Thred, joins Phil Seboa to explain why knowledge graphs fill the gap that the Unified Namespace leaves open, and how pairing them with AI turns weeks of troubleshooting into minutes. Key topics in this episode: Why machine context alone cannot make industrial data meaningfulHow knowledge graphs go beyond UNS to connect cross-functional perspectivesA hydraulic failure diagnosed in three minutes instead of two weeksThe knowing-doing gap that keeps factories stuck despite having the right toolsWhy throwing an LLM over raw data without a knowledge graph causes hallucinations --------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠ --------------- Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-van-de-kuilen-a531403/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Thred: https://thredcloud.com

Containerization is quietly reshaping how factories deploy and manage software, but most OT teams never asked for it. In this episode powered by PLCnext Technology, we explore why containers matter for manufacturing and how to adopt them without the complexity. Neil Cresswell, Founder and CEO of Portainer, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss how his platform went from an IT tool to a factory floor essential, and why the technology behind it should be invisible to the people using it. Key topics in this episode: How Portainer evolved from an IT tool to an industrial platformWhy containers and Kubernetes are reshaping factory software deploymentThe global manufacturing competition driving modernizationReal-world use cases from John Deere, precision agriculture, and quality controlA bottom-up strategy for adopting new technology in your plant This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠ --------------------------- FlowFuse at Hannover Messe 2026 Discover how FlowFuse empowers you to build, deploy, and scale industrial automation -- your way. Visit FlowFuse at Hall 014, Stand K26 during Hannover Messe (April 20-24, 2026) and experience live demonstrations of FlowFuse connecting the entire industrial stack -- from PLCs on the shop floor to MES, ERP, and cloud services -- enabling real-time industrial connectivity, data integration, and AI-powered operations. Let's transform industrial data together -- live, integrated, and in real time. Claim your free pass and learn more: https://flowfuse.com/events/hannover-messe-2026/ --------------------------- Connect with Neil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ncresswell/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Portainer: https://www.portainer.io Episode Recap Article: https://unpluggediiot.com/episodes/ep-48-containers-without-complexity-it-tools-factory-floor

Carl Gould, CTO and co-founder of Inductive Automation, joins hosts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes for an in-person conversation recorded in Australia ahead of the Ignition Everywhere event in Brisbane. Carl traces Ignition's journey from FactorySQL in 2003 to the 8.3 release, which introduces file-based configuration, Git and GitOps compatibility, Perspective offline mode, and a new architecture for managing distributed OT systems at scale. He breaks down the three design principles that have guided the platform from day one (cost, convenience, and capability), shares his evolving take on AI in industrial automation, and explains why he calls the IT/OT divide "a fictional line." In this episode, we discuss: The 8.3 release: file-based config, GitOps, deployment modes, and Perspective offlineScaling from thousands of tags to millions with distributed, decoupled architecturesWhy AI in industrial automation is a means to an end, not a product in itselfThe community and culture behind Ignition's worldwide growth --------------------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/ --------------------------- FlowFuse at Hannover Messe 2026 Discover how FlowFuse empowers you to build, deploy, and scale industrial automation -- your way. Visit FlowFuse at Hall 014, Stand K26 during Hannover Messe (April 20-24, 2026) and experience live demonstrations of FlowFuse connecting the entire industrial stack -- from PLCs on the shop floor to MES, ERP, and cloud services -- enabling real-time industrial connectivity, data integration, and AI-powered operations. Let's transform industrial data together -- live, integrated, and in real time. Claim your free pass and learn more: https://flowfuse.com/events/hannover-messe-2026/ --------------------------- Carl Gould is the CTO and co-founder of Inductive Automation. He has been building and guiding the Ignition platform since 2003. Under his leadership, Ignition has grown from a SQL connectivity tool into a comprehensive platform used across industries worldwide for SCADA, HMI, MES, and IIoT applications. Connect with Carl Gould on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-gould Learn more about Inductive Automation: https://inductiveautomation.com Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/⁠ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/