The results are in from Automation World magazine's 10th annual Leadership in Automation program.

Opto 22 has once again been recognized as a First Team supplier in automation for 2021. Hundreds of Automation World subscribers cast their votes during the past year which required them to write-in their ballot choices with unaided recall. Over two dozen categories were featured, representing a wide variety of automation technologies, software, and products used by today's manufacturing professionals across the discrete, batch, and continuous process manufacturing industries.

We're starting the new year by welcoming 8 new automation and integration companies to the OptoPartner program.

We've introduced several new OptoPartner integrators this past year, and that list continues to grow in 2021. Opto 22 is pleased to partner with more automation experts in the field who have a proven track record of success. We asked these new partners to introduce themselves to the Opto community and this is what they shared:

The latest firmware release for all SNAP PAC controllers and brains introduces new features as well as addresses important bug fixes.

For all you SNAP PAC users, an important update is available now! SNAP PAC firmware 10.4c is ready for download.

This latest maintenance release has some noteworthy updates you'll want to review. You can check out the README for a complete list of enhancements and bug fixes. It lists revision changes made to the firmware used in SNAP PAC S-series, R-series, and SoftPAC controllers; SNAP PAC EB-series and SB-series brains; and G4EB2 and G4D32EB2 brains.

The upcoming 5-day virtual event is your chance to learn, engage and discuss CODESYS tech innovations and engineering in real-time.

CODESYS is a free, platform-independent IEC 61131-3 programming tool for industrial automation systems. And if you use groov EPIC controllers, you already know EPIC supports CODESYS as a control programming option and runtime engine. CODESYS GmbH is one of Opto 22's valued Technology Partners, so we jumped at the invitation to be a part of their annual user conference.

Terry Orchard is back in his studio to give you a video overview of the Secure Shell Access (SSH) feature on groov  EPIC.

Whether you're already using Opto 22's groov EPIC or have been researching its features, it's important to note the extensive programming options it comes with. You can use the easy flow chart-based PAC Control, the familiar IEC 61131-3 compliant languages of CODESYS, or build Node-RED flows to move data.

But, did you know EPIC allows you to build your own custom applications using languages you know like Python, C/C++ and run them on an open, Linux^®-based operating system? That's the topic of Terry Orchard's latest video, part of the new Opto 22 Developer series.

Download the latest Opto 22 library package for the CODESYS Development System on your groov EPIC.

If you've activated a license (GROOV-LIC-CRE) for the CODESYS Runtime Engine on your groov EPIC processor....good news! We've just released an update for your CODESYS Library.

Couldn't get into our HiveMQ webinar? You can still try out the live demo for yourself! Just follow along with this recording.

Integrating and sharing data between different systems and services is a key challenge to IIoT applications. Many IIoT architectures become a complex set of integration "spaghetti," as  Dominik Obermaier, CTO and co-founder of HiveMQ, explains. Even with MQTT as the hub of an IIoT system, true interoperability can be difficult to achieve.

We are always looking for ways to help you solve that challenge and build your own robust IIoT systems, so we teamed up with HiveMQ to present an Introduction to MQTT Sparkplug - Plug 'n Play Interoperability for IIoT.

Firmware and software updates were released this month to help you get the most from your groov systems.

January 2021 started off with some important new releases from the Opto 22 engineering team. There are significant groov View updates that affect the groov family of products: groov EPIC, groov Box and groov Server for Windows.  We've even updated the PAC Project software suite to version 10.3003.  Here's a quick recap of what you need to know. 

New OptoU online training series covers PID in PAC Control

The instructors/engineers at OptoU are kicking off the new year with some exciting new PAC Control training lessons. Based on feedback and popular demand, we've released a new series in Opto 22's online training that covers everything related to PID control.

Building industrial MQTT networks at scale with edge computing.

We promised that 2020 would be a big year for MQTT at Opto 22, and with the launch of groov RIO, we've renewed our commitment to this transformative communication standard. But, in spite of its popularity—already used in everything from mobile chat to smart energy management—and the advantages it provides for IIoT, there are significant challenges to bringing MQTT into an industrial environment. In this new white paper, we show you how (and why) to make it happen.