Box will link industrial users and OEMs to the cloud

Published: 09 October, 2015

At the SPS IPC Drives automation show in Germany next month, Siemens will be unveiling a gateway that transmits machine and industrial system data easily and securely to the cloud. The Connector Box (which is based on a Simatic industrial PC) will be able to extract and transmit data from control and drive systems from Siemens and from third-party vendors. These functions will also be integrated into Siemens’ portfolio of industrial communications products.

Data gathered in this way will be available for evaluation on Siemens’ open “Cloud for Industry” platform, which is based on SAP technology and is currently being pilot-tested. Users will be able to assess the state of their machines and systems, and to optimise them, using Web-based analysis services.

In the future, users will be able to use the Cloud for Industry, which is designed to operate as an open ecosystem, to develop their own Web services. These could be used as the basis for digital services such as predictive maintenance, managing energy and optimising resources.

Siemens' Connector Box will link machines and systems to the cloud, irrespective of their manufacturers

The platform will also allow OEMs to offer new digital services based on data gathered from fleets of machines, which may be scattered around the world. Monitoring and analysing the data from these machines will help the OEMs to cut downtime.