HMS identifies industrial networking trends for 2017

The maker of Anybus devices, HMS Industrial Networks is closely involved with communication networking. Their latest report reveals significant growth in sales of Industrial Ethernet and Wireless devices continue. They believe the driver to be the increasing need for industrial devices to get connected to the Industrial Internet of Things.

Their annual study of new devices shows that Industrial Ethernet now accounts for 42% of node sales, up from 38% in the previous year. Similarly, wireless technologies are also increasing strongly. They represent 6% of the market, up from 4% a year earlier. Together, Industrial Ethernet and Wireless now account for 52% of the market, whilst traditional fieldbuses are at 48%.

HMS is an independent supplier of products and services to the industrial communication market. This gives them a good insight into the industrial networking market enabling them to rapidly identify trends.  The demand for Industrial Ethernet is driven by the need for high performance, integration between factory installations and IT-systems, as well as the Industrial Internet of Things in general.

Installed base

The traditional fieldbus market is growing, but more slowly. They still the most widely used due to their installed base, and account for 48% of new sales. They are important for many customers requiring the traditional simplicity and reliability offered by fieldbuses, but the growth rate is slowing down, currently at around 4% compared to 7% last year. The dominant fieldbus is PROFIBUS with 14% of the total world market, followed by Modbus-RTU and CC-Link, both at 6%.

Geographical trends

The joint leaders are EtherNet/IP and PROFINET, with PROFINET dominating in Europe, and EtherNet/IP leading in the Americas. After the leading two come EtherCAT, Modbus-TCP and Ethernet POWERLINK.

In Europe and the Middle East, PROFIBUS is still the leading network while PROFINET has the fastest growth rate. Runners up are EtherCAT, Modbus-TCP and Ethernet POWERLINK. The US market is dominated by the CIP networks where EtherNet/IP has overtaken DeviceNet in terms of market shares.

In Asia, the network market is very fragmented, with no clear leader. PROFIBUS, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus and CC-Link are widely used. EtherCAT continues to establish itself as a significant network, and CC-Link IE Field is also gaining ground.

Connected World
Wireless is starting to redefine the networking picture. Wireless is growing by 32% a year and now account for 6% of the total market. WLAN is the most popular technology, followed by Bluetooth. According to HMS, Wireless is increasingly being used by machine builders to realise innovative automation architectures. They offer new choices for connectivity and control, including Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) solutions via tablets or smartphones.