From the idea to the running plant: cloud-native automation with logiccloud
Develop automation once, choose hardware freely and look after applications centrally: how IDE, CONTROL, ORCHESTRATE and DELEGATE connect engineering, control and operation.
Develop automation once, choose hardware freely and look after applications centrally across their whole lifecycle: logiccloud brings engineering, control, operation and AI-assisted workflows together in one continuous cloud-native platform for industrial automation.
A new machine function often comes together across several separate tools. The PLC program is developed, the visualisation built and the communication set up. Installation, commissioning and documentation follow. After delivery come updates and service calls – across different devices, software versions and customer sites.
Every hand-over costs time. Information has to be passed on, changes agreed and results checked. As the number of delivered systems grows, so does the effort for engineering and service.
logiccloud connects these tasks: the logiccloud IDE is for development, CONTROL runs the automation application, ORCHESTRATE organises its deployment and operation, and DELEGATE supports workflows with AI agents. The result is one continuous path from the requirement to an application that is looked after for the long term.
Cloud-native – from engineering to operation
Cloud-native automation brings the principles of modern software platforms to industry: applications are decoupled from dedicated hardware, deployed as containers and managed centrally. That way they can be installed, updated and run repeatably on suitable infrastructure.
At logiccloud this approach covers both the edge and the data centre. Where something runs is chosen to suit the application: functions with local real-time requirements run directly at the machine. Suitable control and coordination tasks run on central server or cloud infrastructure.
For machine builders and operators this means more freedom in choosing hardware, less duplicated development and one consistent approach to running their applications.
Develop in the browser: the logiccloud IDE
The path starts in the browser-based logiccloud IDE. PLC program and web HMI are created in the same project. Developers program in IEC 61131-3 Structured Text, use libraries and build the operator interface by drag and drop. Simulation and online debugging help check the application.
Conventional development environments built on proprietary technologies can often only be fitted into such a workflow with considerable integration effort. Separate tools, closed project formats and manual hand-overs via proprietary file transfer procedures interrupt the continuous workflow from development to operation. The logiccloud IDE provides a shared development base on which applications can be developed, tested and prepared for deployment without these extra hand-overs.
That makes it easier to coordinate control development and visualisation. Functions can be prepared and tested before they are deployed to the target hardware. Because the development environment runs in the browser, there is no local IDE installation.
The team can start on the actual automation task sooner and develop applications for different target platforms. Proven function blocks and operator interfaces can then be reused in further projects.
Choose your hardware freely: logiccloud CONTROL
logiccloud CONTROL runs the application. The Automation App contains virtual PLC, web HMI and connectivity in one container. Control logic, operation and communication are therefore available as one application that is deployed together.
CONTROL Edge runs directly on the device at the process, with local I/O and independent of an internet connection. For suitable applications it supports soft real-time down to a 3 ms cycle time, depending on hardware and system load.
CONTROL Cloud runs the Automation App as a cloud-native workload in the data centre. Supported environments include your own servers, Kubernetes and OpenShift. This lets you run, for example, building and infrastructure applications, energy and load management, and suitable machine and plant functions centrally.
Which way of running fits is decided by the requirements for response times, availability and process connection. The automation software can be used for the long term while the infrastructure is chosen to suit the task.
Cycle times of a few milliseconds – the process connection decides
CONTROL Cloud runs automation applications in powerful server environments. These usually have enough computing resources to achieve cycle times of a few milliseconds with a suitably configured runtime environment.
The real bottleneck is therefore usually the process connection. Network latency, jitter and the update times of the I/O systems largely determine how quickly signals travel from the sensors to the controller and from there to the actuators. Round-trip times of around 10 ms can be achieved today with suitably designed network infrastructure. What matters is that these times are met reliably under load too and fit the response-time requirements of the application.
For the design, the whole path from the input signal to the reaction at the process counts. If this connection is fast and reliable enough, control tasks with short response times can also run centrally in the data centre. Functions whose real-time requirements cannot be met over the available process connection run with CONTROL Edge directly at the machine.
Bundle automation tasks in the data centre and cut costs
With CONTROL Cloud, suitable automation tasks can be moved consistently from individual devices into the data centre. There, many applications share a powerful infrastructure whose resources are allocated as needed.
So not every control function has to run on its own hardware that needs looking after separately. That can significantly reduce the need for dedicated control hardware, control cabinet space and spare devices. At the same time installation, maintenance and software care are organised centrally.
Especially with many similar or geographically spread applications, there is considerable potential for savings: computing resources are used better, hardware can be consolidated and recurring service work needs a site visit less often. The necessary I/O infrastructure stays at the process; suitable control functions run centrally.
How large the savings are depends on the application, the existing infrastructure and the requirements for network and redundancy. The economic benefit comes over the whole lifecycle – from purchase through operation to modernisation.
High availability through clusters and application redundancy
A redundantly designed Kubernetes cluster lays the foundation for highly available operation. Combined with suitably designed application redundancy, instances already running on other nodes can take over the control tasks without interruption.
For this, controller states must be synchronised and the process connection must support a clear, safeguarded switch-over. Under these conditions, hardware failures or planned maintenance can be absorbed without interrupting the automation function.
High availability comes from the interplay of cluster infrastructure, control application and process connection. These components are designed together for the availability requirements of the plant in question.
Run delivered systems reliably: logiccloud ORCHESTRATE
Delivery marks the start of a major part of the lifecycle. Applications have to stay up to date, devices have to be monitored and service cases handled. With many customers and sites, every manual one-off installation becomes recurring effort.
logiccloud ORCHESTRATE brings onboarding, application deployment, updates, rollbacks and monitoring together in one central platform. ORCHESTRATE uses the MARGO standard for vendor-independent orchestration of industrial edge applications. That makes it easier to integrate compatible devices and applications from different vendors and reduces the effort for custom integration work.
Besides logiccloud CONTROL, compatible apps from other vendors and in-house applications can also be deployed and looked after centrally – for example for machine vision, inspection, quality control, IoT or data analysis. Companies can thus run different industrial applications on one shared platform and bring their own software into their edge ecosystem.
For service this means: grasping the state of a system faster, deploying changes in a targeted way and going back to a previous software version when needed. Secure access to a device’s web interface without a VPN connection makes remote diagnosis easier.
Granular user rights control who may access which systems and make changes. The audit trail documents the actions and supports the traceability of maintenance and software changes as well as preparing the evidence that is required.
That way a growing installed base can be looked after with fewer manual one-off steps.
Delegate tasks: logiccloud DELEGATE
logiccloud DELEGATE adds AI-assisted workflows to the platform. Users describe which function is needed, what the operator interface should look like or which changes an existing application needs.
AI agents support the work: they prepare control programs, HMI and interfaces, run tests and keep working on the results. The experts check the results, make the decisions and release changes.
A customer request thus becomes a structured process in which requirements, work, tests and approvals belong together. Documentation accompanies the work from the first description to deployment.
Automation teams can therefore prepare more tasks in parallel and deploy their specialists more purposefully. Their experience is focused on the requirements, the quality of the solution and the release for operation.
One shared process from requirement to service
A typical scenario shows how the products work together: a machine builder is to extend an existing function on several plants and adapt the operator interface.
The requirement is described and worked on with the help of DELEGATE. Control program and HMI are developed and checked in the IDE. After technical approval, CONTROL runs the application on the right target platform.
Functions with local real-time requirements stay directly at the machine. Suitable control tasks run as cloud-native workloads in the data centre. ORCHESTRATE supports controlled deployment and the subsequent care of the systems. Additional applications for image processing, inspection or IoT can be deployed and maintained over the same platform.
The thread is never lost: a technical requirement leads to a checked application that is rolled out in a targeted way and kept up to date in operation. Changes can be taken repeatably from development into the installed base this way.
Data sovereignty and customer sovereignty are part of it
An industrial automation platform has to fit the customer’s IT and operations strategy. logiccloud therefore supports different operating models.
The control runtime can run on your own devices and servers. ORCHESTRATE can also be run in your own environment, for example on OpenShift. If you use logiccloud’s cloud operation, you get it in Europe.
Customers therefore decide where their applications run and where their data lives. A combination of local execution, your own data centre and cloud operation can also be shaped to suit your operational requirements.
Keep your software. Choose your hardware freely. Simplify operation.
With IDE, CONTROL, ORCHESTRATE and DELEGATE, logiccloud provides an AI Automation Platform that connects development, execution and operation.
Applications can be developed for different hardware platforms, run on suitable infrastructure and looked after centrally. By moving suitable control tasks into the data centre, companies can consolidate hardware, use resources better and lower service costs. The MARGO standard supports vendor-independent orchestration at the edge – including compatible applications from other vendors and in-house developments. AI agents support the work while experts decide on quality and release.
That makes cloud-native industrial automation usable across the whole lifecycle – from the first project to a growing edge ecosystem.
Describe your automation project to us. Together we will look at which functions stay directly at the process, which tasks can be bundled economically in the data centre and how you can simplify engineering and service.