4.0 Solutions

?? ?????????????????????? ????,??????+ ????????????????! ?? We are thrilled to announce that the????????? ????????-????????????, developed by?4.0 Solutions?with?Instructor Walker Reynolds and produced by?Zack Scriven, has surpassed?????,?????? ?????????????????since its launch just?4 years ago! ?? ????????? ???????? ?????? ???????? ????????-????????????? ?? ???????? ????????????:?Yes, our comprehensive IIoT Mini-Course is completely?FREE! ?? ???????? ?????????????? ????????:?Over?3,000 participants?have completed the course, achieving a?30% completion rate?and earning their?IIoT Credential. ?? ???????????????????????????? ????????????????:?Whether you're aiming for a promotion, launching a new project, or accelerating your MES journey from 2 years to just 2 months, our 8-week program is designed to help you?crush your goals. ?? ???????????? ????????????????:?Learn from industry leaders like?Walker Reynolds?and benefit from the exceptional support of our?Education & Community Outreach Specialist, Vaughn Turner. ?? ???????????????????? ??????????????????:?Connect with over 10,000+ professionals dedicated to mastering the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). ??????????? ?????? ?????????????????? ???? ???????? ????,?????? ??????????????????????????! Whether you're a manufacturer, an end-user, or a customer, our mini-course equips you with the skills and knowledge to excel in the rapidly evolving IIoT landscape. ?????????????????????? https://lnkd.in/gnsFDqz4 ??????????? ???????? ??????????????????????? If you have any questions or need assistance with enrollment, feel free to reach out to?Vaughn Turner?or contact us at?[email protected]. Best regards, The 4.0 Solutions Team Digital Transformation Experts IIoT University

What is digital transformation? How is it different than what we have been doing for 25-30+ years?

If the Right People Don’t Know About Your Solution, Does It Even Matter? For many industrial automation vendors, the biggest challenge isn’t the quality of their technology—it’s whether the right people even know it exists. At ProveIt!, vendors told us this was the best event they’ve ever been part of because the conversations weren’t just with executives—they were with the engineers actually solving real business problems. That raised a critical question: If you weren’t at ProveIt!, how do you get in front of the right people? For most vendors, there are four main problems. Here are two of the major barriers: ?? Brand Awareness – If your audience doesn’t know who you are, they won’t consider your solution. The problem isn’t that your technology isn’t valuable—it’s that the people who need it most haven’t heard of it. ?? Audience Access – The people making purchasing decisions aren’t always the ones using your product. But if the engineers and architects on the plant floor aren’t advocating for your solution, it won’t even be considered. That’s where most industrial marketing efforts fail—they focus on executives while ignoring the people who actually influence technology adoption. The problem with this strategy is, most executives aren't equipped to make decisions on the best solutions for the business. No matter how many quadrants you read. The Solution: 4.0 Solutions Sponsorships We built our Sponsorship Program to solve this exact problem. ? ProveIt! Mastermind Sessions – A live session where the community can see your solution in action. ? Webinars, Podcasts, and Q&As with Walker Reynolds and the 4.0 team. ? Exposure to our 100,000+ worldwide community members—not just decision-makers, but the people actually implementing technology in the field. We're focused on building real engagement with the people who drive technology adoption. If your company is struggling with brand awareness or audience access, we are here to help. Reach out to the team, or [email protected] to learn more.

Excited to lead the charge in the Fourth Industrial revolution! With our IIoT University boasting ????,?????? ????????????????, we're setting the standard in digital transformation education. ?? ?????? ??????????? Empowering professionals within our Mastermind community with the skills to execute Digital Transformation Maturity Assessments (DTMA) flawlessly. Not only do we equip our Mastermind members with the necessary tools and resources for DTMA execution, but we also leverage our extensive dataset of 1300+ companies ???????????? ???????????? ???? ???????????????? ??.?? ??????????????. This allows us to provide unparalleled insights into where your organization stands compared to industry peers. ?? Furthermore, we prioritize our integration partners within our Mastermind community for executing transformation initiatives, ensuring seamless execution every step of the way. Type '????????' below if you're ready to elevate your digital transformation game, and one of our solutions development managers will be in touch. Let's industry transform together! ?? #DigitalTransformation #Industry4 #DataDrivenInsights #IntegrationPartners #EngineeringFirm #ConsultingServices #FutureReady

The ProveIt! Conference showed us one thing—when vendors put their solutions in front of the right audience, it changes everything. ? The community left the event energized by the live sessions, real-world applications, and new product launches. ? But it wasn’t just the attendees who saw the impact. The vendors told us this was the best conference they’ve been a part of because the people they talked to were the ones actually solving the business’s problems. ? The impact was clear, but ProveIt! happens once a year. That raises two big questions: ? 1?? How do vendors keep that momentum going? ? 2?? If my company wasn’t at ProveIt!, how do I get my solutions in front of the right people? ? Most vendors face the same four main challenges: ?? The market sees them as one thing, when they’re actually much more. ? ?? People don’t know who they are or what they do. ? ?? New features and innovations aren’t reaching the right audience. ? ?? They need direct access to engineers and decision-makers but can’t break through the noise. ? That’s why we built our Sponsorship Program. ? ProveIt! Mastermind Sessions – A live session where the community can see your solution in action. ? ? Webinars, Podcasts, and Live Q&As with Walker Reynolds and the 4.0 team. ? ? Exposure to our 100,000+ worldwide community members, through our digital media channels and newsletter. ? In the video, Walker breaks down exactly how this program works and how it solves your problems . We’re not here to sell ad space. We’re here to solve real problems—helping vendors engage with the people who actually care about their solutions. ? If your company needs to keep the momentum from ProveIt!, or if you weren’t there but need to reach the right audience, let’s talk. ? Reach out to [email protected], for more info.

The Foundation of a Digital Factory—Where Do You Start? The biggest mistake companies make when pursuing Industry 4.0 is starting at the wrong place. They jump straight to dashboards, analytics, and AI, expecting instant insights—without first establishing a real-time, scalable data infrastructure. But here’s the reality: ? If your factory still runs on siloed, manual processes, real-time dashboards are just visualizing outdated data. ? If you’re still using polling-based, point-to-point connections, adding analytics won’t fix slow decision-making. ? If your machines, MES, SCADA, and ERP don’t communicate, automation is impossible. Digital Transformation starts with the right foundation. A true Digital Factory isn’t just about collecting data—it’s about structuring it, moving it efficiently, and making it accessible in real time. That requires: ? A Unified Namespace (UNS) – A structured, event-driven data architecture where all systems publish and subscribe in real time. ? Lightweight, scalable IIoT protocols (MQTT, AMQP, DNP3, etc.) – Eliminating the inefficiencies of traditional polling methods. ? A connected infrastructure – Ensuring IT and OT systems can communicate seamlessly. ? A data-driven approach to efficiency (OEE, predictive analytics, AI) – Once real-time data is available, optimizing operations becomes possible. This is why we created the IIoT Mini-Course—to give you the right starting point for building a scalable, future-proof digital strategy. It’s not about hype. It’s about understanding the core principles behind IIoT, Industry 4.0, and Digital Transformation so you can apply them effectively. Join the free IIoT Mini-Course today—link in the comments. What’s the biggest challenge your company faces in building a real-time digital infrastructure? Let’s discuss. #IIoT #Industry40 #DigitalTransformation #UnifiedNamespace #SmartManufacturing #RealTimeData #40Solutions #WalkerReynolds

After?ProveIt! Conference, Walker’s inbox was flooded with the same message over and over: "We've been doing this all wrong. What do we do next?" ?? ???????? ?????????????????? ???????????????? ???????? ?????????????? ???????????????????????????? ?????????????? ???? ?????????? ?????????? ????????????????: ? Wrong strategy ? Wrong technology and architecture ? Wrong partners At ProveIt!, Walker spent??????? ?????????? ???? ??????????—not just talking about technology, but about?????????????????????, ????????????????, ?????? ???????????????????? ??????????????????.?Because transformation starts with???????????????, ?????? ???????? ??????????. ?? If you walked away from ProveIt! feeling inspired but overwhelmed,????????????????????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????????????. The????????????????????? ?????????????????????? ???????????????starts next week. It’s a?????-???????? ???????????? ?????????????designed to fast-track your digital transformation journey,????? ?????? ??????’?? ???????? ???? ???????????? ???? ?????? ??????????. ?? Watch the video to learn more:?https://lnkd.in/gtJF8QYG ??????????? ?????? ????-???????? ???????????????????? ??????????????????????:?https://lnkd.in/gp7VXC75 #DigitalTransformation #Industry40 #Leadership #Mastermind #IIoT #ProveItConference

Why Your MES Will Fail Without a Proper Data Architecture Many manufacturers invest millions in a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), expecting it to provide real-time visibility, improve efficiency, and optimize production. But here’s the reality—most MES implementations fail to deliver value. Why? Because an MES is only as good as the data it receives. Too often, companies implement MES without first fixing their data architecture. The result? ? Disconnected systems—Data silos make it impossible to get a single, accurate view of operations. ? Delayed insights—MES relies on batch updates instead of real-time, event-driven data. ? High customization costs—Without a structured approach, every new integration requires custom engineering. ? Scalability issues—Adding new systems or expanding to multiple facilities becomes a nightmare. The Solution: Integrating MES with a Unified Namespace (UNS) Before deploying MES, you need a real-time industrial data architecture. A Unified Namespace (UNS) solves this by: ?? Providing a single source of truth—MES, ERP, SCADA, and all plant systems access the same structured, real-time data. ?? Eliminating point-to-point integrations—No more custom connectors; systems publish and subscribe to relevant data. ?? Enabling real-time decision-making—MES gets live production data as it happens, not after delays. ?? Standardizing data across the enterprise—Using ISA-95 Part 2 to create a scalable data hierarchy. An MES without a UNS is like trying to navigate a city with an outdated map. The data it relies on is incomplete, slow, and difficult to maintain. But with a properly structured UNS, your MES can finally do what it was designed for—delivering real operational intelligence. In the 12-Week Digital Factory Mastermind Accelerator, we teach you how to build a Unified Namespace and integrate it with MES, ERP, and SCADA systems the right way. If your MES isn’t delivering the results you expected, it’s time to fix your data architecture. #DigitalTransformation #MES #UnifiedNamespace #Industry40 #IIoT #Manufacturing #SmartManufacturing #UNS #WalkerReynolds #40Solutions

IT vs. OT – Who Owns the Data in Digital Transformation? ? One of the biggest roadblocks in digital transformation isn’t technology—it’s culture. And nowhere is this more apparent than the ongoing battle between IT and OT. ? For decades, IT has been a security and compliance organization. Their focus has been on protecting infrastructure, locking down systems, and mitigating risks. But in digital transformation, IT can’t just be the gatekeeper—they must become an enablement organization. ? Meanwhile, OT understands the realities of the plant floor. They know which problems need solving because they’re the ones facing them every day. The challenge? IT owns the infrastructure, but OT owns the process knowledge. This often leads to conflict: ? ? IT wants full control over the data, limiting OT’s ability to drive innovation. ? ? OT implements solutions that bypass IT, leading to security risks and shadow IT. ? ? Digital transformation projects stall because both sides are working against each other instead of together. ? How Do We Fix This? ? Shift IT’s mindset from security & compliance to enablement—their job is to provide OT with the tools they need, securely and efficiently. ? ? Implement a Unified Namespace (UNS)—a real-time, structured data architecture that allows both IT and OT to access the same single source of truth. ? ? Use MQTT & a cloud broker to ensure scalable, event-driven data flow while maintaining proper security and governance. ? ? Bridge the IT/OT divide through clear ownership—IT governs the infrastructure, OT owns the process, and both work together to enable transformation. ? Companies that fail to align IT and OT struggle to scale their digital initiatives. The companies that succeed understand that IT’s role isn’t just to protect systems—it’s to empower transformation. ? In the 12-Week Digital Factory Mastermind Accelerator, we teach you how to align IT and OT, implement a Unified Namespace, and create a scalable architecture that enables true transformation. ? #DigitalTransformation #ITvsOT #Industry40 #IIoT #SmartManufacturing #UNS #Leadership #Enablement #WalkerReynolds #40Solutions

I have had multiple calls this week with industry insiders who asked me my honest take on where I think Kepware, a PTC Technology fits, long term, in an Industry 4 ecosystem. I was asked about how they compare to Litmus and HighByte , MaestroHub and many others. I’m going to write a complete article with my thoughts… but here is a high level of my responses. 1. Kepware makes the best drivers in the industry - full stop. When it comes to the ‘connect’ of connect, collect, store, Kepware is the gold standard. But… 2. PTC acquisition has been a complete and abject failure, and PTC leadership are to blame for the slow innovation at Kepware and the uncertainty in the market about where they fit long term. 3. Kepware needs to be sold for a fair price to a company that can drive the development of lightweight, containerized drivers on the edge that seamlessly integrate into a data ops and management layer. PTC is not equipped to lead this development and it is clear they are not interested in doing so. 4. The folks at Kepware are second to none in the ‘connect’ space - but if we are being honest, they have hemorrhaged talent over the last 5 years and PTC is to blame. That trend must be reversed… and item 3 above is how to do it. 5. Kepware is an incredible company and Kepserver and associated drivers are still the best in the biz - but their competitors, especially Litmus have closed the gap at an astronomical rate… and that is 100% PTC fault. I am challenging PTC leadership to either step up or get out of the way - because Kepware is far too important to the future of Industry 4 for the trends over the last 5 years to continue. As always - anyone from PTC proper wants to come on the podcast and have a discussion — we will make it happen. I’ve had the conversations behind closed doors — now’s the time to have them in the open. ?? #iiot #unifiednamespace #industry4