---
title: "Replace proprietary controllers with a vPLC | logiccloud"
description: "Standard hardware instead of your own control electronics: less hardware effort, faster time to market and the technical basis for your CRA obligations."
url: https://logiccloud.com/en/solutions/replace-proprietary-controls/
language: en-GB
---

Use case · logiccloud CONTROL

Develop functions.\
Not electronics.
================

For manufacturers who develop, industrialise and maintain their own control electronics for years today.

With logiccloud CONTROL, proprietary control electronics are replaced by standard hardware and a resource-efficient vPLC: less hardware effort, faster time-to-market, more flexibility.

[Request a demo](https://logiccloud.com/en/demo/) [Supported hardware](https://logiccloud.com/en/hardware/)

Starting point

## Why proprietary electronics slow innovation down.

The actual machine function only emerges after a long hardware process: specify, develop the electronics, test prototypes, industrialise, procure and maintain.

- ### High development costs

  Know-how and capital flow into electronics instead of differentiating machine functions.

- ### Long time-to-market

  Hardware revisions and industrialisation stretch development cycles.

- ### Lifecycle risks

  Component end-of-life notices, variants and spare-part stocking increase the effort.

The paradigm shift

## The control function becomes software.

Standardise the hardware — differentiate your machine through software.

### Until now

HARDWARE

Hardware determines function and lifecycle.

- Machine function
- Proprietary electronics
- A dedicated hardware variant

### With logiccloud CONTROL

SOFTWARE

Software determines the function — the hardware stays interchangeable.

- Machine function
- logiccloud CONTROL
- Standard hardware

The runtime

## A small runtime. A big economic effect.

The vPLC’s low resource requirements make logiccloud CONTROL especially attractive for hardware replacement — no oversized computing platform required.

- 01

  ### Compact hardware

  Runs on suitable resource-efficient edge platforms.

- 02

  ### Lower unit costs

  Size the computing power to fit the application.

- 03

  ### A broad range of uses

  Attractive even where cost-sensitive proprietary electronics are used today.

## What does your company gain?

The customer benefit spans the entire product lifecycle.

- ### Less development effort

  Standard hardware reduces the need for custom electronics development.

- ### Faster to market

  Functions are implemented, tested and rolled out in software.

- ### Fewer variants

  One shared hardware base can cover several product variants.

- ### More independence

  Machine functions are less tightly bound to a proprietary electronics platform.

- ### Easier product maintenance

  Deliver new functions and optimisations by software update.

- ### Better scalability

  The software architecture carries over to suitable hardware and performance classes.

Cyber Resilience Act

## The CRA changes the machine lifecycle.

Cybersecurity becomes a task across the entire product lifecycle: reporting obligations have applied since 11 September 2026, full applicability from 11 December 2027. The question is no longer just “How do we control the machine?” — but “How do we keep it secure and up to date for years?”

- ### Master vulnerabilities

  Manufacturers must ensure effective vulnerability-handling processes throughout the support period.

- ### Enable updates

  Security-relevant fixes must be manageable, organisationally and technically, across the product lifecycle.

- ### Know your installed base

  Transparency about devices, software versions and support periods becomes strategically important.

  [To the CRA knowledge center](https://logiccloud.com/en/cra/)

The products behind it · CONTROL + ORCHESTRATE

## Future-proofing becomes architecture.

The vPLC makes the controller software-defined. ORCHESTRATE makes the installed base centrally manageable — roll out centrally, master the lifecycle, keep the future open.

1. Hardware Standardise
2. Control vPLC · HMI · Connectivity
3. Orchestrate Deploy · Update · Manage
4. Ecosystem 1 → 10,000 devices

A technological enabler for lifecycle and update processes — CRA conformity of the overall product remains the manufacturer’s responsibility.

## Frequently asked questions about replacing hardware

How small can the hardware be?

CONTROL needs Linux with a container runtime such as Docker or Podman, on x86 or ARM (32 or 64 bit). The documented minimum: one 700 MHz processor core, 500 MB of RAM and 1.5 GB of storage.

What about real time, motion and safety functions?

How hard a real-time requirement is met depends on the device and its operating system — we settle that when designing your application. Fast motion applications and certified safety functions will stay on dedicated hardware for the foreseeable future.

How do our inputs and outputs reach the controller?

Through device-specific connectors — such as the I/O of the WAGO CC100, the ctrlX Data Layer or the GPIOs of a Raspberry Pi — and through standard protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU or OPC UA. The full list is on the [connectors](https://logiccloud.com/en/products/control/connectors/) page.

How do updates reach delivered machines later on?

With logiccloud ORCHESTRATE: roll out in stages, stop on problems and log every change — the technical basis for the update obligations under the Cyber Resilience Act.

## Your machine function outlives the hardware.

Reduce proprietary electronics today. Tomorrow, switch hardware generations, update software centrally and keep new requirements manageable.

[Request a demo](https://logiccloud.com/en/demo/) [Try CONTROL for free](https://logiccloud.com/en/register/)