CC-Link Partner Association (CLPA), which promotes the widespread usage of the CC-Link open industrial network family, announced the creation of a global strategic advisor role for which it recruited Thomas Burke to fill.
Burke is the past president, executive director and founding leader of the OPC Foundation, which is focused on delivering the best specifications, technology, process and certification necessary to achieve multi-vendor, multi-platform, secure reliable information integration across disparate devices and applications from the factory floor to the enterprise.
CC-Link IE TSN combines the gigabit bandwidth of CC-Link IE with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) to meet future automation market demands, such as Industry 4.0. This provides flexible integration of Operational Technology (OT) and IT while further strengthening performance and functionality. A comprehensive portfolio of device development options also ensures that any vendor can easily add this technology to their product line-up. The aim is to improve efficiency and reduce time to market for Smart Factories utilizing the IIoT and the products they manufacture. As of April 2020, a year and a half after the announcement of the CC-Link IE TSN specifications, more than 100 partner products have been released or are under development.
In the role of global strategic advisor for CLPA, Burke is primarily responsible for:
- Increasing awareness and adoption of CC-Link IE TSN in the global marketplace;
- Advising CLPA leadership on industry trends, standards and market strategy;
- Sustaining and increasing the number of CLPA partners from North America;
- Facilitating collaboration with suppliers and end-users to maintain CLPA’s industry leading position;
- Collaboration with other industry standards organizations, focusing on harmonization across industry-standard organizations.
By leveraging his unique assets and experiences from the OPC Foundation, Burke will achieve the aim of CLPA global strategic advisor, the CLPA says. He will work synergistically with the other CLPA branches to help companies across a wide range of different industries such as automotive, semiconductor, machine tools, and food & beverage understand how the CLPA’s technologies provide a way to increase their competitive advantage, it adds.
