Summit strengthens community and innovative spirit in the PLCnext Technology Ecosystem

The Community Summit focused on technological innovations and practical insights. The participants received up-to-date information on new features in the PLCnext Store and Release 25.0, discussed the effects of the Cyber Resilience Act on industrial applications and exchanged views on integration solutions with technologies from Festo and Yaskawa.

Partnership accelerates innovation cycles

"Our growing partnership with Phoenix Contact and PLCnext Technology enables us to accelerate innovation cycles. As a manufacturer of automation technology, we have enormous innovation potential, especially when it comes to software: It allows our customers to integrate different automation components faster and easier as well as to commission and program machines and systems more quickly. The open architecture of PLCnext Technology is exactly the right basis for such innovations," explained Gerhard Borho, Member of the Management Board Information Technology and Digitalisation at Festo.

Festo is currently launching one of these innovations on the market: the CEPE Edge Controller. It is based on the open operating system PLCnext Technology and goes beyond the limits of a traditional PLC: CEPE enables flexible app integration, seamless interoperability with third-party components and secure cloud connectivity.

Exchange at Mini-Expo and in the Open Space

A special highlight was the Mini-Expo: community members presented their innovative devices, apps and services. The direct exchange with developers and sales teams enabled a lively dialogue in which ideas, feedback and visions took centre stage.

In the concluding Open Space, the most important findings of the event were summarized and concrete ways were shown how each individual can actively shape the ecosystem. With a clear commitment to openness and collaborative progress, the entire community was invited to continue to get involved and play a key role in shaping development.

Empowering the community

The feedback from the participants and the topics discussed make it clear that the PLCnext Community Summit was not only a successful event, but also a decisive step towards further strengthening the community spirit and the willingness to innovate in the PLCnext Technology Ecosystem.