{"id":128792,"date":"2025-01-16T13:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T19:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?p=128792"},"modified":"2025-01-16T13:18:21","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T19:18:21","slug":"creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Digital Transformation has become one of the most popular buzzwords in the automation industry, often used to describe any digital improvements to industrial technology. But what really is Digital Transformation, and how can your organization achieve it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The definition of Digital Transformation from the ARC Advisory Group is \u201cthe transformation of industrial products, operations, value chains, and aftermarket services that are enabled through the augmentation of people and knowledge through the expanded use of sensors, data, and analytics.\u201d In other words, it\u2019s more than just a technological upgrade; it requires a cultural shift that encourages organizations to continually challenge the status quo, innovate, and get comfortable with the quickly changing automation landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By taking a step-by-step approach, businesses can modernize incrementally, improving efficiency, scalability, and data accessibility along the way. One of the best ways to do this is by creating an accessible single source of truth for data, or a Unified Namespace (UNS). This blog will outline the essential steps to developing and executing a Digital Transformation roadmap with a UNS that thrives in the digital age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Benefits Of Digital Transformation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Transformation is essential for businesses aiming to compete in today\u2019s technology-driven market because it significantly enhances efficiency and streamlines operations by reducing manual work through automation and making data more accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, control systems were built with human machine interfaces (HMI) communicating directly with PLCs, proprietary supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems with middleware, a proprietary historian, and a limited number of licensed clients and tags. This limits your scalability and leads to higher expenses, more downtime, and a steeper learning curve when you finally upgrade your system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Transformation empowers businesses to improve customer experiences by leveraging edge and cloud technologies, data analytics, and emerging technologies like AI, ML, and predictive maintenance, which allows you to offer personalized services that meet modern consumer expectations. It also facilitates data-driven decision-making, providing insights into your enterprise and giving you the ability to grow and adapt to changes in the future without proportional increases in costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital Transformation also includes bridging the gap between OT and IT systems, which helps you improve interoperability, increase collaboration across various departments, break down data silos, and boost overall productivity. Ultimately, embracing Digital Transformation not only enhances operational efficiency and customer engagement but also positions your organization for sustainable growth and innovation in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Setting A Vision And Goals For Your Digital Transformation Roadmap<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very common obstacle to Digital Transformation is changing entrenched systems, such as proprietary software and siloed OT and IT environments. Digital Transformation is a continuous process, so to ensure it works, your OT and IT managers need to be on board with it. This often means a shift in your organization\u2019s culture and vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another common obstacle is balancing accessibility and security. To achieve Digital Transformation, your enterprise will need access to OT data, and younger workers often prefer using mobile devices, so you need a robust OT system with strong security and connectivity to open-source IT protocols. Also, tools like two-factor authentication and single sign-on ensure that only authorized users can access critical data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To guarantee your vision encompasses the diverse perspectives and needs across your organization, you should involve members from across departments and look at competitors in your industry. This allows you to derive actionable and measurable goals that focus on areas like improving customer experience, data accessibility, or enhancing operational efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, you should develop a detailed implementation plan that includes timelines and resource allocations based on your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full blog to see more steps you can take to achieve Digital Transformation with a Unified Namespace.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsored content by Inductive Automation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Digital Transformation has become one of the most popular buzzwords in the automation industry, often used to describe any digital improvements to industrial technology. But what really is Digital Transformation, and how can your organization achieve it? The definition of Digital Transformation from the ARC Advisory Group is \u201cthe transformation of industrial products, operations, value […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3604,"featured_media":128798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109325],"tags":[],"tracking-metrics":[],"display-location":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCreating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Digital Transformation has become one of the most popular buzzwords in the automation industry, often used to describe any digital improvements to industrial technology. But what really is Digital Transformation, and how can your organization achieve it? The definition of Digital Transformation from the ARC Advisory Group is \u201cthe transformation of industrial products, operations, value […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Control Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Control Engineering Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@controlengtips\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@controlengtips\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Control Engineering Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Control Engineering Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/23a1144d9b5d980be07d7f9539a674b2\"},\"headline\":\"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\"},\"wordCount\":628,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Inductive Automation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\",\"name\":\"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg\",\"width\":770,\"height\":500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\",\"name\":\"Control Engineering\",\"description\":\"Control Engineering covers and educates about automation, control and instrumentation technologies\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Control Engineering\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":93,\"caption\":\"Control Engineering\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/controlengtips\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/control-engineering-magazine\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/23a1144d9b5d980be07d7f9539a674b2\",\"name\":\"Control Engineering Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71b8c279c109855866696137da9e5ce8350c84b413aec20631de37d1abcf56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71b8c279c109855866696137da9e5ce8350c84b413aec20631de37d1abcf56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Control Engineering Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/author\/control-engineering-staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering","og_description":"Digital Transformation has become one of the most popular buzzwords in the automation industry, often used to describe any digital improvements to industrial technology. But what really is Digital Transformation, and how can your organization achieve it? The definition of Digital Transformation from the ARC Advisory Group is \u201cthe transformation of industrial products, operations, value […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/","og_site_name":"Control Engineering","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine","article_published_time":"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":770,"height":500,"url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Control Engineering Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@controlengtips","twitter_site":"@controlengtips","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Control Engineering Staff","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/"},"author":{"name":"Control Engineering Staff","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/23a1144d9b5d980be07d7f9539a674b2"},"headline":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace","datePublished":"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/"},"wordCount":628,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg","articleSection":["Inductive Automation"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/","name":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace - Control Engineering","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-16T19:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-16T19:18:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/inductiveautomation-sponsored-featured-image-january2025-article1.jpg","width":770,"height":500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/creating-a-digital-transformation-roadmap-using-a-unified-namespace\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Creating A Digital Transformation Roadmap Using A Unified Namespace"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/","name":"Control Engineering","description":"Control Engineering covers and educates about automation, control and instrumentation technologies","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#organization","name":"Control Engineering","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ce_logo.png","width":300,"height":93,"caption":"Control Engineering"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ControlEngineeringMagazine","https:\/\/x.com\/controlengtips","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/control-engineering-magazine\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/23a1144d9b5d980be07d7f9539a674b2","name":"Control Engineering Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71b8c279c109855866696137da9e5ce8350c84b413aec20631de37d1abcf56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a71b8c279c109855866696137da9e5ce8350c84b413aec20631de37d1abcf56b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Control Engineering Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/author\/control-engineering-staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3604"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128792"},{"taxonomy":"tracking-metric","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tracking-metrics?post=128792"},{"taxonomy":"display-location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.controleng.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/display-location?post=128792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}