Let’s discuss on the 6 biggest trends I observed at SPS Fair 2025 that are shaping the future of our industry 👇
1. Industrial AI becomes real#
AI is no longer a POC playground: It’s becoming a core criterion for automation platforms.
From chatbots and code generation in engineering to AI agents and MCP servers as interface in operations
2. Openness & Co-Creation take the lead#
Customers no longer settle for „marketing openness“. True open automation ecosystems empower choice, speed and resilience. While closed platforms increasingly reveal their financial and operational downsides.
3. Power to the edge#
Why send data to the cloud if insights can happen right where machines run?
AI inference and analytics shift towards edge devices enabled by accelerators and flexible software support for models.
4. Software-defined automation & Industrial DevOps#
Control software transitions from one-off engineering artifacts to continuously improved digital products.
SDA is evolving from a vision to reference architectures, app-based engineering, version control and automated deployment accelerating development cycles dramatically.
Special hardware gets replaced by software functions and allows PLC, Robotics and Vision software on one industrial controller.
These automation software apps can be deployed on edge controllers, IPC or servers; directly bare-metal or virtualized.
5. Security and sustainability as hard contraints#
Both OT security and energy efficiency have moved from compliance checkboxes to non-negotiable design principles. Future-proof equipment must deliver resilience and performance right from day one.
6. Invest in next-gen engineering talent#
Formats like the SPS Makeathon, Young Talents Day and initiatives like Edudemos are fostering practical skills in automation and IIoT to address the labor need.
Summary and Comments#
I summarized everything visually in this document. It’s worth a swipe if you’re planning your roadmap for 2026+.
