Change was in the air at this year’s Ignition Community Conference (ICC). The new venue set the stage for fresh ideas while staying true to what ICC is known for: meaningful connections, practical knowledge-sharing, and thought-provoking discussions.
Our team was right in the middle of the action, clad in bold graphic shirts, contributing to table talks, huddles, podcasts, and even serving as Inductus the Gateway wizard.
Those engagements left us with plenty to think about. We’ve distilled the highlights into eight key takeaways that point to what’s next for Ignition and manufacturing.
Ignition Is Becoming More IT-Compatible
Historically, Ignition has been positioned primarily as an OT platform, but today, it’s evolving toward a more IT-oriented product. Several developments highlight this shift, including the introduction of a new file system structure, a greater focus on APIs, and new features designed with IT in mind.
Best Practices Are Being Emphasized
This year, we saw more manufacturers adopting computer science and data science best practices when developing in Ignition. This shift is evident in the growing use of advanced architectures and data models, which are essential for scalability.
There’s Been a Shift Away from ISA-95
ISA-95 has long been the reference model for structuring manufacturing ecosystems, but it no longer reflects the complexity of modern operations. Manufacturers are shifting toward models that better reflect today’s landscape. At ICC, one example that stood out was Inductive Automation’s New Paradigm.
Flexware Innovation employees leading a Table Talk at ICC 2025
Ignition Is Expanding to Other Domains
In today’s era of IT/OT convergence, Ignition’s role has grown well beyond manufacturing. When combined with modern practices like continuous integration, containerization, microservices, and cloud platforms, it becomes a versatile platform for building scalable, resilient, and maintainable solutions across industries.
More Manufacturers Are Automating Deployment Pipelines
Manual deployments slow things down and increase the risk of mistakes. That’s why there’s a growing push to automate the process, enabling faster and more reliable deployments.
Ignition’s Upcoming MCP Module May Be the Key to Unlocking LLMs
Large language models (LLMs) have enormous potential to transform manufacturing, but only if they are integrated with plant systems. Ignition is planning to tackle this challenge with a Model Context Protocol (MCP) module, designed to enable better communication between OT and IT systems.
SparkMES Architect Eric Moorman shares insights on a podcast at ICC
Hybrid Cloud/On-Prem Architectures Are Gaining Momentum
LLM processing happens in the cloud, so users have to push data up before getting results back. To account for this, there has been a shift toward hybrid cloud/on-prem architectures.
There Was a Sense of Falling Behind
Manufacturers are in a race to modernize, and ICC made it clear that competing priorities can leave teams feeling overwhelmed. There’s a sense that if you haven’t already adopted Unified Namespace (UNS) or MQTT, you’re falling behind. Effective road mapping is essential for helping these teams cut through the noise and get back on track.
ICC 2025 made one thing clear: Ignition continues to evolve, and so does the manufacturing ecosystem. The challenge isn’t just keeping up; it’s knowing how to apply new technologies in ways that create measurable results.
Flexware Innovation can help you navigate modernization with clarity and purpose, ensuring every step moves your business forward. Reach out to us to get started. And if you’re looking to get more familiar with Ignition, check out our Ignition Training classes.
