It isn’t that the terms programmable logic controller (PLC) and programmable automation controller (PAC) are necessarily divorced from IIoT; in fact they may form the very core of IIoT.
But early on, I want to get the term “IIoT” out of this discussion on PLCs/PACs and focus on what they do best: receive data from sensors, intelligently control a process (e.g., discrete, batch or continuous, motion control, robotics), orchestrate a group of subordinate controllers, and provide data about what they’re doing to other key information subscribers in the enterprise. We’ll cover more on the IIoT aspect in an online story—so stay tuned!