OPC UA

OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture, IEC 62541) is the reference industrial protocol for data exchange between OT equipment and IT systems. Successor to OPC Classic, it is cross-platform, vendor-independent, natively secure (TLS encryption, certificate authentication), and carries a structured information model (companion specifications) that standardizes data semantics by sector. We use it on nearly all our modern automation projects to connect controllers, SCADA, MES and data platforms. Pharma companion specifications (for example OPC UA for Pharma 4.0) accelerate integration by standardizing data models for filling, lyophilization and weighing equipment. Combined with PubSub (since version 1.04), OPC UA also covers real-time needs and cloud architectures, making it the backbone of pharmaceutical industry 4.0.