30 years ago, in December 1989, PI was founded out of a research project, funded by the German government. What happened afterward is well known. A success story in industrial automation.

Get up to date with the latest research from IHS Markit | Technology. Findings show the adoption of PROFINET in the industry. In terms of newly connected nodes, PROFINET represented a market share of nearly 30% in 2018, making it the world’s leading Ethernet-based communication solution for industrial automation.

It does not get easier than this. With the IODDfinder, files arrive from the Internet automatically – no fuss, no muss. This Internet platform for IO-Link description files – has become an established name in the market in just three years.

Under the new name 'Smart Production Solutions', SPS Fair 2019 was again a big success. The name change reflects the ongoing digital transformation and therefore the convergence of IT and OT. Many IT companies appeared at the fair to showcase their IoT solutions. It was a perfect setup for PI and our booth.

The FieldComm Group, ODVA, and PI announce that Emerson has joined the APL Project as an industry partner. The project’s goal is to develop an advanced physical layer for Industrial Ethernet, suitable for use in demanding applications in process instrumentation. Key updates in the development of the technology have been achieved this month.

Since the PROFINET specification V2.4 was released with integrated TSN functionality, PI has consistently been working on the implementation of further components for a successful market launch – upholding their motto, “Go digital. Go PROFINET.” PI’s I4.0 strategy is clear; TSN will be advantageously utilized as a future-proof common Layer 2 technology for PROFINET communication.

In cooperation with the OPC Foundation, PI has completed the technical work for "OPC Unified Architecture, Part 15: Safety". It allows for vendor-neutral failsafe machine-to-machine communication that until now had been missing.

Since 2006, the PROFINET Security Guideline has described the technical and procedural measures on the part of the manufacturer and users of PROFINET devices. PI is now developing supplemental measures to also protect PROFINET at the protocol level.