What Will You Modernize in 2025?
What Will You Modernize in 2025?
It’s a new(ish) year and the OpEx budget has been replenished. What will your organization be doing with this year’s allocated dollars?
Outside of the must-have operational costs, you may want to consider what equipment you could start to update this year through your OpEx budget. No matter where you’re at in your digital transformation, there are options to improve your connectivity.
When we mention the idea of updates and modernizations, you might jump straight to thinking of rip-and-replaces – which is a major investment. Some good news: With standalone modules, you can modernize in phases rather than making a massive investment in one fell swoop.
This type of modernization strategy takes some planning, but you’re able to customize it based on your budget and existing equipment. Making smaller, incremental changes means you can likely use your OpEx dollars. Planning ahead in this way also helps you ensure that your organization won’t need to make a massive modernization investment when the choice is outside of your control (for example, if the legacy equipment reaches its end of life when you least expect it).
So what can you update?
· Legacy Allen-Bradley systems: The modernization gateway essentially acts like your legacy equipment. Depending on what you need to update, you won’t need to change your PLC code, and can retain your I/O data from your legacy drive, FLEX I/O adapters, or PanelView HMI.
· DF1 equipment: Water and wastewater systems can be tricky to update but the work is made less stressful thanks to modules that can help you do so in phases, including one that helps you make the move from leased line modems to wireless radios (a must!).
∙ ControlNet or DeviceNet devices
What will you modernize this year?