Imagine the scene in a modern manufacturing plant: a seasoned engineer, armed with a tablet/mobile in hand, weaving through rows of machinery to commission a new production line. With each passing moment, the pressure mounts as he grapples with a slew of software tools, juggling compatibility issues, deciphering complex protocols, and navigating clunky interfaces.

This struggle is all too familiar across industries worldwide, from manufacturing to energy production, where professionals face the daunting task of keeping operations running smoothly amidst the ever-evolving landscape of technology. But what if there were a guiding light — a tool to simplify this intricate journey?

Introducing Mobile App Copilot, a revolutionary tool in Product Engineering design, which is developed based on a proven technology used to build 50+ mobile applications on different platforms such as Android, IOS, and Windows. Unlike any other tool, it’s an innovation that simplifies app development for both technical and non-technical users. It’s a game-changer designed to transform the development of Operational Technology (OT) applications for mobile devices.

Envision a world where creating OT applications is no longer a challenge but a streamlined process. With the Mobile App Copilot, this becomes a reality. By automating the creation of OT tools that support multiple requirements simultaneously, it empowers engineers to easily develop adaptable apps across various platforms and protocols.

The Sample Use Cases:

1. Streamlining Field Device Diagnostics for OEMs/ISVs/MSME

Problem Statement:
In the realm of industrial machinery, ensuring the health and performance of field devices is paramount for operational efficiency. However, when service engineers/supervisors encounter issues with field device health, accessing the necessary tools for diagnostics can often be a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Traditional methods of generating mobile apps for field device diagnostics often involve lengthy development cycles and delays, leading to prolonged downtime and decreased productivity.

Solution:
With Mobile App Copilot installed and accessible to the admin or technical support team at the OEMs/ISVs/MSME, the process of creating a mobile tool for field device diagnostics becomes seamless and efficient.

When a service engineer submits a request for a mobile tool to connect to field devices and perform health and diagnostics checks, the admin or technical support team can leverage the capabilities of the Mobile App Copilot to swiftly develop and enhance a mobile app tailored to the specific needs of the service engineer.

By defining variables, communication structures, and user interfaces, Mobile App Copilot automates the creation of a mobile application that supports multiple industrial standard protocols and mediums, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of field devices.

2. Empowering End Customers with Scalable Mobile App Solutions

Problem Statement:
For end customers in industrial settings, keeping pace with evolving technology and expanding device compatibility can be a challenge. When faced with the need to support more devices, they often encounter the dilemma of either developing a new mobile app or modifying the existing one, both of which can be time-consuming and costly endeavors. Additionally, reliance on technical expertise for app development further complicates the process.

The Solution:
Utthunga’s development team leverages Mobile App Copilot to create a mobile app solution that supports packages on the fly.

When an end customer requests support for additional devices, our development team springs into action. Leveraging the capabilities of Mobile App Copilot, they develop and package the required functionalities to seamlessly integrate with the existing mobile app.

The Mobile App Copilot is designed to consume runtime packages, allowing for dynamic integration of new device support without the need to modify the app itself. This ensures that the end customer can easily access the latest functionalities without any disruptions to their workflow.

The Benefits of Mobile App Copilot

• Streamlined Development:
  With its low-code, no-code interfaces, Mobile App Copilot accelerates development, reducing time-to-market and allowing teams to focus on innovation rather than coding.
• Cross-Device Compatibility:
  Mobile App Copilot supports multiple platforms, protocols, and mediums, ensuring seamless integration across devices and environments.
• Versatility:
  From commissioning to diagnostics, Mobile App Copilot adapts to a wide range of industrial applications, providing a versatile solution for diverse needs.
• Ease of Use:
  Intuitive interfaces make Mobile App Copilot accessible to both technical and non-technical users, empowering teams to collaborate effectively.
• Efficiency:
  By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining processes, Mobile App Copilot boosts efficiency, allowing engineers to focus on high-value activities.
• Scalability:
  Whether deploying a single app or managing a fleet of devices, Mobile App Copilot scales effortlessly to meet the demands of any project.
• Cost-Effectiveness:
  By reducing development time and minimizing the need for custom coding, Mobile App Copilot offers a cost-effective solution for OT application development.
• Mobile App Creation On-The-Go:
  With Mobile App Copilot, engineers can create and deploy apps from anywhere, ensuring flexibility and responsiveness in today’s fast-paced industrial environments.

The Conclusion:

Mobile App Copilot isn’t just a tool—it’s a catalyst for innovation, empowering industrial professionals to navigate the complexities of app development with confidence and ease. From concept to execution, Mobile App Copilot provides an end-to-end solution for On-The-Go App generation, revolutionizing the way we approach mobile OT applications in the industrial sector.

According to a recent industry-wide survey, a staggering 92% of industrial companies consider application modernization a critical priority for enabling business transformation. Yet, most organizations are still struggling to make significant progress, owing to the shackles of their outdated tech stack.

But where do you start? How do you navigate the complex journey of transforming your monolithic applications into a sleek, future-proof arsenal? The answer lies in a comprehensive and structured approach that addresses not just the technological aspects but also the organizational and cultural changes required for a successful modernization. And recognizing the application modernization triggers is the first crucial step. These catalysts serve as the driving force for change, prompting organizations to embark on the transformative journey of modernization.

In this practical guide, we’ll provide you with a comprehensive checklist that covers the essential steps and considerations for a seamless application modernization process.

The Modernization Process Checklist:

1. Prioritize Applications – Not all legacy applications require an immediate overhaul. You can start by identifying the most critical systems that significantly influence your business operations. Then, prioritize these applications according to their strategic importance and the potential benefits they offer through modernization.
2. Align with Business Strategy – Modernization isn’t just an IT project; it’s a strategic business initiative to accelerate business transformation. Make sure that your modernization plan is in harmony with your organization’s overarching business goals and strategies. This will help you make well-informed decisions and prioritize initiatives that deliver the most value for your organization.
3. Involve Stakeholders – Application modernization is not a siloed endeavor. Engage key stakeholders, including business leaders, application owners, end-users, and IT staff, from the outset. Gather their input, address their concerns, and secure buy-in to foster a collaborative and inclusive process.
4. Plan a Phased Approach – Attempting a “big bang” modernization of all your applications simultaneously is a recipe for disaster. Instead, plan to modernize your applications in phases, prioritizing the most critical systems first. This incremental approach will help mitigate risks and allow you to learn and adapt as you go.
5. Focus on Minimal Viable Product (MVP) – For each phase, define the core functionality needed to meet your immediate business requirements. Build iteratively, starting with an MVP and then incrementally adding features and capabilities based on user feedback and evolving needs.
6. Implement DevOps Practices – Modernization is not just about technology; it’s also about adopting modern software development and delivery practices. Embrace DevOps principles by automating build, test, and deployment processes, fostering collaboration between development and operations teams, and implementing continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.

The Technology Checklist:

1. Assess Cloud Readiness – Evaluate whether your applications can be refactored for a cloud platform with minimal rework. Cloud-native architectures offer scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency that are essential for modern applications.
2. Review Integration Needs – Catalog all integration points between your applications and other systems, both internal and external. Ensure that your modernized applications can seamlessly integrate with these systems to avoid disruptions and maintain business continuity. Remember, your applications don’t exist in a vacuum; they’re part of a larger ecosystem.
3. Consider Containerization – Containerization is a powerful technique that can significantly enhance the portability and scalability of your applications. Explore containerizing your monolithic applications using technologies like Docker to simplify deployment and management. In fact, according to a recent Forrester survey, 74% of organizations are already using or planning to use containers.
4. Explore Microservices – Break down your monolithic applications into smaller, independent microservices that can be developed, deployed, and scaled independently. This approach fosters greater agility, flexibility, and resilience, enabling you to respond quickly to changing business needs.
5. Enhance Security – Modernization presents an opportunity to implement robust security practices that are often lacking in legacy systems. Embrace modern security principles like zero trust, encryption, and automated security controls to protect your applications and data from evolving cyber threats.

The People and Organization Checklist:

1. Establish Governance – Define clear governance processes and policies for your modernized applications across their entire lifecycle. This includes areas such as change management, incident response, compliance, and risk management. Trust us; you don’t want to be caught off guard when things go awry.
2. Manage Change – Change is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be disruptive. Proactively communicate upcoming changes to end-users, provide comprehensive training and support to employees, and address concerns to facilitate a smooth transition. Remember, people are the heart of any successful transformation.
3. Upskill Teams – Invest in training and development for your developers, operations teams, and other IT staff. Equip them with the skills and knowledge required to work with modern technologies, processes, and practices. According to a recent McKinsey report, 87% of companies face skill gaps in their workforce, so don’t let your team fall behind.
4. Embrace a DevOps Culture – Foster a culture of cross-functional collaboration, shared responsibilities, and continuous improvement. Break down silos between development and operations teams, encouraging them to work together towards common goals. It’s important to understand that DevOps is more than just a collection of tools; it represents a fundamental shift in mindset.
5. Partner with Experts – Engage experienced modernization partners who can provide expert guidance, augment your in-house teams, and help you navigate the complexities of the transformation process. It would be advisable not to go at it alone; instead, leverage the expertise of those who have been there before, such as the expert team of professionals at Utthunga.
6. Enable Analytics, AI/ML, and Data-Driven Insights – As you modernize your applications, build in capabilities for collecting and analyzing data, enabling advanced analytics, and leveraging AI/ML. These capabilities will empower you to make data-driven decisions and unlock new insights that can drive innovation and growth.
7. Evaluate Low-Code Options – In some cases, leveraging low-code development platforms can accelerate the modernization process and enable faster delivery of applications. Evaluate whether low-code solutions are appropriate for certain use cases and can help streamline your modernization efforts.

Application modernization is a complex and multifaceted endeavor, but by following a comprehensive checklist that addresses both technological and organizational aspects, you can navigate the complexities and emerge with a future-proof, agile, and scalable application portfolio.

So, are you set to transform your legacy applications into a strategic advantage? Download our free Modernization Checklist and take the first step towards a future-proof, agile, and scalable application portfolio. This guide will provide the actionable steps and considerations you need across every stage of the modernization journey, from prioritizing applications and aligning with business strategy to implementing DevOps practices and embracing a data-driven culture.

Don’t wait to be left behind in the dust. Start your modernization journey today and unleash the full potential of your applications to drive innovation, enhance customer experiences, and propel your business toward long-term success.

According to an eye-opening survey by Forrester, a shocking 73% of manufacturers have over half their applications still running on aging on-premise infrastructures and outdated mainframes. Once a source of stability, these legacy systems, with their antiquated technologies, rigid architectures, and cumbersome workflows, have become hazardous technical debts restricting agility, limiting functionality and scalability, and compromising security.

To compete in the era of intelligent manufacturing, data-driven operations, and disruptive innovation, industrial firms need to take a hard look at rationalizing and modernizing their application landscapes.

What is Application Modernization?

Application modernization is the process of migrating, optimizing, updating, and transforming applications to align with current technological standards, industry requirements, and evolving user expectations.

The first step in the modernization journey is a comprehensive evaluation of each application considering technical fit, operational costs, utilization, and business value. The analysis identifies which applications should be retired, retained, repurchased, rehosted, replaced, rearchitected, or rewritten.

The ultimate goal of application modernization is to create a streamlined, modern portfolio that aligns with the organization’s digital transformation needs now and in the future.

The Growing Technology Gap

Integrating newer technologies like AI, ML, IoT sensors, and advanced analytics with legacy systems has become exceptionally difficult, requiring extensive customized coding and integration costs. On average, your legacy systems take 2-3 times more effort to maintain and cost over five times more per transaction than modern cloud-based applications.

Agility and Innovation Demands

Legacy applications severely constrain business agility and time to market with inefficient release cycles and the inability to scale rapidly. Monolithic applications make even minor tweaks slow and painful, while homegrown tools built for niche use cases create fragmentation. As a result, technical debt accumulates, manual workarounds become commonplace, and siloed systems start to obstruct visibility.

Performance and Scalability Issues

Modern industrial operations require applications that provides real-time insights, processes vast amounts of data, and executes complex tasks efficiently and accurately. Legacy systems simply lack the scalability and elasticity to meet such spikes in demand, eventually forcing you to over-provision infrastructure.

Rising Costs and Tech Debt

Maintaining multiple legacy applications entails high operational and maintenance costs, redundant functionalities, and inefficient processes and demands for specialized skills and hardware. Consequently, technical debt accumulates, making it increasingly difficult to innovate at the pace required today. Let’s not forget the tremendous number of servers and systems required to support this portfolio.

Enhanced Security Requirements

With cybersecurity threats constantly evolving, legacy platforms pose enormous security risks, as over 70% of breaches are tied to vulnerabilities in outdated systems. Built on antiquated architectures and lacking modern security features, they are particularly susceptible to shadow IT, cyber-attacks, and data breaches.

Regulatory Compliance Mandates

Evolving regulations often necessitate revamping aging applications that fail compliance requirements. Non-compliance with regulations like GDPR due to legacy apps can lead to heavy penalties for industrial companies. For instance, your legacy ERP systems likely lack the necessary security safeguards for sensitive financial data, like customer payment information, that are now mandated by regulatory standards. These systems simply weren’t designed for today’s security needs.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Unexpected events such as natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and public health crises underscore the critical importance of business continuity plans. With their monolithic architectures and single points of failure, legacy applications can pose significant risks to continuity and resilience. Additionally, their inflexibility, coupled with poor failure provisions, may further amplify disruptions.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Industry leaders like Siemens emphasize data-driven manufacturing as the next frontier for exponential value creation. However, decades-old industrial legacy systems frequently lack the capabilities to fully leverage data and analytics, potentially impeding your organization’s capacity to derive actionable insights and make informed decisions.

Scalability and Flexibility Requirements

As you expand your industrial operations and enter new markets to serve increasingly diverse customer needs, scalability and flexibility become crucial. Legacy monoliths may limit your ability to scale on demand, adjust to dynamic needs, and enable organizational agility. Moreover, point solutions grown organically over generations could further constrain flexibility.

Customer Experience Expectations

Today’s consumers expect seamless omnichannel experiences with real-time responsiveness. Yet, legacy applications, burdened by fragmented data and inflexible interfaces, face considerable hurdles in meeting these expectations. The integration of modern customer experience features exacerbates this challenge even more.

Competitive Pressure

Legacy systems and outdated applications can hinder your organization’s agility, affecting innovation, time-to-market, and responsiveness to market trends. As competitors adopt advanced technologies and processes, you may find your existing systems struggling to support new products, meet customer needs, or data-driven insights, potentially leaving you behind in the game.

Addressing Your Modernization Triggers

All the above triggers point towards one vital truth: staying stagnant puts your competitive edge at risk. But fear not! Utthunga’s Application Modernization services help you navigate this complex digital terrain and unlock the true potential of your applications. We go beyond simple updates, offering comprehensive solutions to meet your unique industrial requirements.

We understand that every company’s needs are unique. Whether you’re facing technical obsolescence, demanding performance needs, cost pressures, enhanced security requirements, regulatory compliance, or evolving business goals, our team of experts is equipped to help you navigate the journey toward a truly modern application landscape. And we have more to offer.

Our Unique Value Propositions that Drive Real Change:

Our Modernization Expertise

Utthunga’s application modernization services cover a wide range of solutions for various applications, including:

ERP: Streamline your core business processes with modernized ERP systems.

CRM: Enhance customer relationships and boost sales with robust, modern CRM solutions.

MES, MOM, MDM, Digital Logbooks, IIoT Platform, CMMS, Traceability Apps: Optimize manufacturing operations and gain valuable insights with cutting-edge technologies.

Decision Support Systems, Supply Chain Apps, Workflow Management, Manufacturing Analytics, Alarms and Event Apps, Historian, KPI Dashboards, PaaS/SaaS Applications, Quality Monitoring Apps: Gain data-driven insights and improve decision-making across your organization.

Our Team of Experts: We don’t just offer services; we provide seasoned professionals who understand your industry and challenges. Our application modernization team comprises:

SME & Architect Pool: System architects, solution architects, cloud architects, IoT platform architects, IT architects, cybersecurity architects, domain/industry experts, business analysts, and program and project managers.

Engineers: Application engineers, cloud engineers, data engineers, QA engineers, DevOps engineers, cybersecurity engineers, UI/UX engineers.

Why You Should Partner with Utthunga?

• Tailored Solutions: We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. We work closely with you to understand your specific needs and goals, developing a customized plan that aligns with your unique IT landscape and industrial objectives.
• Future-Proof Technology: We leverage the latest technologies, including cloud, IoT, and AI, to ensure your applications are not only modern but also scalable and adaptable to future needs.
• Reduced Costs: Modernization can save you money in the long run by reducing technical debt, improving operational efficiency, and minimizing security risks.
• Enhanced Security: We prioritize security at every step of the process, ensuring your applications meet the highest industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Faster Time to Market: By streamlining your application portfolio, you can accelerate development and innovation, bringing new products and services to market faster.

Ready to Modernize Your Applications?

Modernizing legacy systems and streamlining your application portfolio boosts efficiency today while establishing a foundation for greater agility and faster rollout of future innovations. The results? Improved processes, better user experiences, and a stronger business overall, rebuilt from the ground up.

Our application modernization services go beyond just upgrading systems. We help you prevent future technical debt accumulation while ensuring easy integration of new innovations. At Utthunga, we keep the big picture in mind to future-proof your business and ensure you are always ahead of the curve.

So don’t let outdated applications hold you back. Contact us today and let our team of experts help you unlock the full potential of your industrial application portfolio. We’ll guide you through the process, mitigate risks, and ensure a smooth transition to a modern and future-proof application landscape.

To learn more about our capabilities, click here.

Think about a production plant or a manufacturing unit, it is a visual cacophony of machines, robots, assembly lines, drives and many more parts, and yet completely (almost!) synchronized and working together. Bringing all of them together is the Industrial Internet of Things coupled with the open, Ethernet-based OPC UA communication standard that forms an critical part of the industrial automation landscape.

OPC UA does the job of integrating the IT/OT technologies with the diverse products, solutions and services across the entire OEMs, factory and process systems. Whether it is the security measures, networking, establishing standardized communication or needing a vendor and platform neutrality, OPC UA lays the foundation for a digitized industrial automation .

Source: Opcfoundation.org, OPC UA Interoperability for Industry 4.0 and IoT.

Connecting machine data to the enterprise

It is a fact that automation in the industrial world open doors for new business opportunities, enhanced solutions and services. But, the reality faced is how to effectively transfer the raw data generated from the shop floor equipment to the business applications like ERPs, CRMs; and draw insights to take actionable decisions for a competitive advantage.

Having a fully automated OEM unit or process system means having real-time and accurate information from these systems for analysis, machine alerts, maintenance notifications etc. based on your priorities. OPC UA provides two paths for this integration process:

1. Via customized development solutions and services through OPC UA stack APIs
2. Providing COTS solutions such as connectors, servers, clients etc. that connect your machines, field devices and other equipment etc. to the enterprise

OPC UA is the open source communication standard protocol designed specifically for industrial automation. It acts as a bridge that connects the IT with the OT, for information exchange between machines, devices or within devices. Implementation of this magnitude needs extensive software and hardware support through the OPC SDK that helps the stakeholders to overcome the various development and integration challenges associated with this process.

Consisting of APIs, OPC UA stack, protocols and sample implementations that support different platforms like Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and programming languages like C, C# and Java; the SDK makes your devices, products and applications to be OPC enabled.

Meeting the Industry 4.0 requirements

Industry 4.0 mandates interoperability and standardized data connectivity for meeting its specific requirements including but not limited to

• Integration across all levels.
• Secure transfer and authentication at user and application levels.
• Conformity to industry standards.
• Scalability.
• Semantic mapping of various information models to represent the actual products and their production steps.
• Ability to plug-and-produce (instant discovery mechanisms that identifies OPC UA enabled devices and their functions when added to a network)

OPC UA serves as the common data connectivity and collaboration standard for local and remote device access in IoT, M2M, and Industry 4.0 settings. It supports OPC UA Server development, OPC UA Client Development and OPC UA Nano Server development for various communication mechanisms:

1. OPC UA client/server Model:

This one-to-one communication mechanism is used extensively in automation. The OPC server transfers the data to the OPC client based upon request in a secure, encrypted and reliable manner using the communication protocols such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus, etc.

2. OPC UA PubSub Model:

In the network, one-to-many or many-to-one communication mechanism is established. The data is available from the publisher, which can be accessed by multiple subscribers. Along with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) and cloud environment, OPC UA PubSub enables real-time communication at the control level (sensor, actuator or embedded devices) and meets the demands of time-critical applications.

3. OPC UA over TSN:

While OPC UA provides a standardized mechanism for data communication in a secure way; TSN is the infrastructure of vast array of sensors, actuators and other automation devices that extends the OPC UA information model down to the field level. TSN provides interoperability to the data link (layer 2) of the communication network. Thus, allowing guaranteed, optimized and scalable bandwidths for real-time capability and low latency in the network.

Utthunga’s OPC Spectrum

Utthunga’s comprehensive integrated automation service portfolio extends from the field-level devices to the enterprise-level systems. Enabling in this endeavour is Utthunga’s uOPC Suite, OPC product portfolio; and consultation and development services that help manufacturers to take advantage of all the modern technologies like AI, mobile devices, big data, machine learning, predictive maintenance, machine vision and more to create a smart industry automation environment.

As a flexible partner for OPC UA, our OPC offerings designed by experienced and certified professionals provide both horizontal (between devices from different vendors on different networks) and vertical support (from the factory floor to the enterprise level) thus enabling the industry 4.0 ecosystem.

Our technical and domain expertise in embedded, mobile, multi-platform and cloud connectivity for OPC UA Server development, OPC UA Client Development and OPC UA Nano Server development using the uOPC Suite helps in planning, executing, and delivering high-grade services and turnkey projects. It is designed to drastically reduce time and efforts to build custom solutions with easy integration and configuration.

Partners, end users, and customers can leverage our IP to deliver mix of solutions and services for:

• Building products using out accelerators (protocol stacks, edge connectivity stack – uCOnnect, cloud application framework- Javelin)
• Connecting heterogeneous system using our industry protocols stacks (HART, FF, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP etc.)
• Creating field device integration and connectivity (FDT/DTM, FDI, OPC) solutions

Please visit our website or contact us directly to learn more about our OPC UA capabilities.