A while back the OPC Foundation conducted a survey of OPC vendors on their knowledge and plans for OPC UA, and those of their customers.  The results are out, so here are some comments on them…

The first question dealt with what sort of issues most customers are facing with classic OPC; DCOM, security, cross-platform, lack of integration, etc.   I’ve always said that the OPC UA adopters seem to fall into three basic categories:  Those who… 1)  want to get rid of DCOM  2)  want to be on Non-Windows platforms  and 3) want an integrated, enterprise connectivity solution.  Usually in that order.   The questionnaire results back that thinking, with the most popular reasons being DCOM, Reliability and Windows Security related problems.  The next major grouping related to non-Windows and Embedded OS support.   Enterprise integration and richer information models rounded out the feature set customers are looking for.

Not surprisingly, the results on vendor awareness of the OPC UA specifications, existing OPC UA products and available training courses and webinars were all overwhelmingly positive.  Seems the OPC UA message is getting out loud and clear.

The remaining questions focused on the development platforms and transport options vendors are looking to support.   The numbers planning on using C#/.NET verses C/C++ or Java reflected similar numbers to the earlier question on issues.   Most vendors will continue to target Microsoft platforms, with strong support showing for cross-platform languages.    In terms of transport options, it’s not surprising that most vendors plan to support both the high-performance binary methods, as well as the more flexible XML/HTTP type implementations.

The survey results not only show the OPC UA deliverables are in synch with vendor expectations, they are also backed up by solid actions.   The recent OPC UA Developers Workshop and Plug-fest where both maxed out on seating capacity.  The Workshop was so popular another one to be held in Europe shortly is already being planned.  If you missed out on the first one, your next chance is coming soon.

Of course the biggest indication of OPC UA support are the products that have been or are soon to be released.  Off the top of my head I know of OPC UA products from ABB, ICONICS, Kepware, Matrikon and Softing.   There are others as well  (if I missed your company, drop me a comment and I’ll stick you on the list J ).

The point is OPC UA technology is here and being adopted.  Where is your company on the adoption curve?