Virtual PLCs and AI Reshaping the PLC Market Landscape
According to ABI Research analysis, the PLC market is undergoing significant transformation driven by virtual PLCs (vPLCs), AI, and Open Software Defined Automation (OSDA). Until 2023, only Beckhoff and CODESYS offered vPLCs. Now, a range of companies including Siemens, Emerson Electric, and Schneider Electric offer vPLCs, with vPLC revenue expected to become 16% of the total PLC market by 2030 .
From a programming perspective, Agentic AI enables generating PLC code autonomously, making the Integrated Development Environment a much less important differentiator. A push from Schneider Electric, Phoenix Contact, and the Universal Automation Group is promoting OSDA and IEC 61499 adoption, aiming to make all software and hardware interoperable .
The true beneficiaries of these developments are IPC providers with technologies that enable vPLCs and have the capacity to power compute-intensive tasks such as AI, along with players that offer both IPCs and PLCs like Siemens, Beckhoff, and Rockwell Automation .
