ABB’s Automation Extended: Flexible, Open, Sustainable by Mark Sen Gupta, ARC Advisory Group. Original source: arcweb.com
Overview
ABB’s Automation Extended program is a response to the evolving needs of the process industries, where the imperative for openness, modularity, and customer empowerment has never been greater. The company’s strategy, which is anchored in open standards, containerization, and a more collaborative approach to the automation marketplace mirrors the trends ARC has documented across the automation landscape. This is less about technology for its own sake and more about enabling customers to adapt with confidence in a rapidly changing environment.
The practical benefits of this approach are clear: improved interoperability, the flexibility and agility to adopt new technologies incrementally, and a lower risk profile for modernization projects. ABB’s willingness to participate in industry initiatives signals a recognition that future success will depend on collaboration and adaptability, not just technical innovation.
Key findings include:
- ABB’s alignment with user initiatives (OPAF, NAMUR Open Architecture, NAMUR Modular Automation) and adoption of open standards (OPC UA, PA-DIM, Ethernet APL, Margo) directly address industry demands for interoperability, modularity, and flexibility.
- The dual-track approach (long-term support plus modular extension packs) minimizes disruption and supports installed running systems.
- ABB Automation Extended’s automation ecosystem enables integration of best-in-class solutions from both ABB and third parties.
- ABB’s strategy reflects the priorities and best practices identified in ARC’s ongoing research.
ABB’s vision for automation
ABB’s automation vision is rooted in the recognition that the process automation market is undergoing significant transformation. For years, most Distributed Control Systems (DCS) were seen as commodities, but the rise of digitization, open standards, and new user initiatives have shifted the technology landscape creating deeper potential value to end users. Customers face challenges like the energy transition, an aging workforce, and the need for greater data access to differentiate and operate efficiently. In response, ABB has focused on breaking down traditional interoperability challenges by embracing open standards and supporting initiatives such as NAMUR Open Architecture, NAMUR Modular Automation, and Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF). This approach ensures that customers can integrate best-in-class components, extract data freely, and avoid being tied to proprietary solutions, all while maintaining the reliability and security of their core control systems.
ABB’s strategy centers on a gradual transition from proprietary, hardware-defined control systems to fully software-defined, open, and virtualized architectures, enabled by the incremental delivery of Automation Extended functionality in containerized form. With the advent of Ethernet-based networks and open standards like OPC UA and PA-DIM, ABB is decoupling control engines from proprietary hardware, allowing compute resources to be deployed wherever needed. This shift is particularly important for hazardous environments, where new technologies like Ethernet APL enable safe, direct connectivity to field equipment. The company’s vision centers on seven essential requirements for modern automation: modularity, standards-based design, interoperability, security, reliability, affordability, and simplicity. These principles guide the evolution of ABB’s offerings, ensuring that customers can adapt to changing market demands without sacrificing operational stability.
To bring this vision to life, the company is implementing its Automation Extended concept across its promoted brands: ABB Ability System 800xA, ABB Ability Symphony Plus, and Freelance. This involves a stepwise introduction of new technologies such as containerization and software-defined automation (SDA) into existing platforms, allowing customers to modernize at their own pace. By delivering new features in a controlled, non-disruptive, stepwise manner, ABB gives customers the flexibility to innovate without risking the integrity of their running plants.
Ultimately, ABB Automation Extended is about enabling customers to thrive amid industry change. The company prioritizes openness, lifecycle management, and a clear separation between core control, digital monitoring, and optimization layers. This approach is intended to empower users to adopt new technologies, leverage best-in-class applications, and future-proof their operations. The company believes this strategy not only addresses today’s challenges but also positions its customers to capitalize on emerging trends in automation and digitalization both in the core control and digital layers.
Automation Extended: materializing the vision
ABB Automation Extended is the practical realization of its automation vision, intended to help customers modernize at their own pace while protecting their existing investments. Rather than forcing a disruptive overhaul, ABB is integrating new technologies, such as containerization, open standards, and network-centric architectures, into their established systems through a stepwise approach. This approach is why ABB believes customers using ABB’s promoted brand systems will be able to benefit from the latest innovations and technology advancements without sacrificing the stability and reliability of their current operations. ABB refers to this as Innovation with Continuity.
Automation Extended introduces a NOA-aligned “separation of concerns” automation ecosystem with clear separation between core control and the digital environment. These two distinct environments are securely interconnected and interoperable. Built with containerization functionality and open standards, core control is focused on safe, reliable plant operation, while the digital environment becomes the space for advanced analytics, and integration of best-in-class applications from ABB or third parties. Lifecycle management tools and services are extended to both layers, so customers can monitor, update, patch, and maintain their systems with confidence, regardless of where applications are running. All together, these three key pillars: the digital environment, control environment, and lifecycle services, holistically ensure the supervision, control, optimization, and management of the automation system.
Again, ABB Automation Extended is about giving customers flexibility and control. By decoupling Monitoring and Optimization from the core system, ABB allows users to modernize incrementally to accelerate digital transformation initiatives, leverage open systems, and future-proof their operations, all while maintaining the operational continuity that process industries demand. This strategy is designed to empower customers to address today’s challenges and seize tomorrow’s opportunities, with ABB as an automation partner for the long haul.
Automation Extended: enabling modular innovation and long-term reliability
ABB’s long-term system support strategy is intended to give customers peace of mind and operational continuity, even as technology evolves. With each major system release, ABB provides a stable, long-term supported platform that aligns with the lifecycle of the underlying operating system (like Windows). This means that customers can count on ongoing security patches and corrections for years, without being forced to adopt new features or risk disruptions to their running plants. The long-term support (LTS) version is focused on reliability: it receives only essential updates, not functional changes, so customers can maintain their operations with confidence.
At the same time, ABB recognizes that many customers want to take advantage of new technologies and features as they become available. This is where containerization expands the possibilities for customers. By introducing a containerized platform alongside the LTS base system, ABB enables customers to add new capabilities, delivered as “extension packs,” without disturbing the stability of their existing installation. These extension packs are cumulative and modular, allowing users to adopt innovations like HTML5-based operator clients, virtualized execution engines, and advanced analytics at their own pace. The containerized environment acts as a safe “sandbox” for innovation, ensuring that new features can be deployed, updated, or rolled back independently of the core control system.
This dual-track approach (i.e., stable LTS base plus flexible containerized extensions) means that customers can modernize incrementally, rather than facing disruptive “big bang” upgrades. As previously discussed, ABB’s strategy centers on a gradual transition to software-defined, open architectures so customers would benefit from the best of both worlds: the reliability of a proven control platform, and the agility to adopt new technologies when and how it makes sense for their business.
Industry marketplace and collaboration
The company’s approach to the automation market is grounded in openness and collaboration. Rather than customers relying on proprietary solutions, ABB has long embraced open standards and actively participates in industry initiatives that promote interoperability and flexibility. For example, ABB was a founding member of the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) and is currently deeply involved in the Margo initiative, which focuses on enabling interoperability at the industrial edge to accelerate scalable value creation. This commitment ensures that customers can integrate best-in-class solutions, regardless of the source, into their automation environments, supporting both innovation and operational continuity.
Industry collaboration is not just a talking point for ABB; it is a strategic priority. ABB’s Joerg Schubert, Global Head of Product and Portfolio Management, emphasized that the company’s participation in standards bodies and working groups is driven by a desire to balance openness with the need for robust, reliable control. ABB selectively engages in standardization efforts that deliver real value to customers, such as OPC UA for secure, interoperable communications, while focusing its resources on areas where open standards can accelerate innovation, especially at the digital edge. By working with partners like Red Hat for containerization infrastructure and supporting open application environments, ABB believes it helps customers avoid the pitfalls of vendor lock-in and positions them to benefit from the latest advances in automation technology.
Conclusion
As the automation sector continues to evolve, ABB’s Automation Extended approach positions customers to balance reliability with the need for progress. The emphasis on openness, modularity, and ecosystem collaboration aligns with industry trends and best practices. Industrial automation managers should consider how this incremental, dual-track strategy can support their modernization goals, mitigate risk, and enable the integration of advanced digital capabilities, ensuring their operations remain competitive and resilient in a rapidly changing landscape.
The introduction of containerization and long-term support models address a persistent industry challenge: how to modernize without jeopardizing operational continuity. By deploying a “separation of concerns” automation ecosystem with clear separation of the digital layer from core control, ABB is enabling users to adopt new capabilities like advanced analytics, AI, and digital twins in an incremental fashion and with less risk. This approach is increasingly seen as the best practice for balancing reliability with the need for progress.
It is also notable that the company’s strategy is not just about technology, but about process and governance. The company's participation in open technology communities and its support for third-party applications signal a recognition that no single supplier can deliver all the answers. For end users, this means more choice and the ability to make future-proof investments in a rapidly changing landscape, and yet manage the system as one because ABB’s lifecycle management tools and services are extended to both the control and digital application layers.
Overall, ABB’s direction is well-aligned with the trends shaping the next era of industrial automation. The focus on openness, incremental modernization, and ecosystem collaboration is not unique to ABB, but the company’s execution positions it as a credible player in the ongoing transformation of the automation market. Customers evaluating modernization strategies would do well to consider how these themes map to their own operational priorities and risk tolerance.
