{"id":27055,"date":"2026-03-27T11:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T11:43:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T11:43:54","slug":"opc-the-industrial-communication-standard","status":"publish","type":"insights","link":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/","title":{"rendered":"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

OPC (originally OLE for Process Control) is the industrial communication standard that was developed in 1995 by a group of major automation vendors to promote interoperability between their systems. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

The standard was initially based on Microsoft\u2019s then-popular COM\/DCOM protocol. Over the following years, OPC evolved into the most widely used method for communication between different automation systems. Its capabilities expanded from real-time Data Access (DA) to Alarms & Events (AE) and finally to Historical Data Access (HDA). <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

Ultimately, these three standards were unified into a new, overarching, model-based standard that no longer relies on COM\/DCOM: OPC UA \u2013 Unified Architecture.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

Client\/Server Technology<\/h2>\n<\/div>
\n

OPC operates on a client\/server architecture. One or more servers wait for data requests from one or more clients. Once a server receives a request, it responds and then returns to standby mode. Clients can also instruct the server to automatically send updates as soon as new data becomes available. With OPC, the client decides when and which data the server retrieves from the underlying systems. This also applies when the client subscribes to updates: the client determines how frequently the server should check those systems. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n
\"The
The diagram shows the communication between an OPC server and client, as well as PLCs and other control devices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

Classic OPC vs. OPC Unified Architecture (UA)<\/h2>\n<\/div>
\n

Today, we distinguish between two different OPC standards. The classic standards are OPC DA (Data Access), OPC A&E (Alarms & Events), and OPC HDA (Historical Data Access). These standards are based on COM\/DCOM and are therefore limited to Windows operating systems. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

The current and modern industrial communication standard is OPC UA (Unified Architecture). OPC UA is platform-independent and no longer tied to Windows systems. Consequently, the meaning of OPC has also evolved\u2014from \u201cOLE for Process Control\u201d to \u201cOpen Platform Communications.\u201d OPC UA is based on a multipart specification comprising multiple sections, such as Data Access (DA), Alarms and Conditions (A&C), and Historical Access (HA). Another key feature of UA is its support for data structures or models. This allows data tags or points to be grouped and contextualized, greatly simplifying management and maintenance. These models can be requested at runtime, giving a client the ability to query the available data structures directly from the server. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>
\n

The diagram on the right illustrates the differences in communication between the various standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
\n

Standardized and Secure Communication for Industrial Automation<\/h2>\n<\/div>
\n

Today, OPC is the most widely adopted form of industrial communication. Seamless communication between machines, plants, and systems forms the foundation for Industry 4.0 and digital transformation. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

Most plants and machines consist of both new and legacy controllers from different vendors, each with different functional and communication requirements. In some cases, new machines rely on technologies that were not available when the oldest machines were built. Additionally, older devices sometimes prevent direct integration for safety reasons. Integrating data across machines and systems of different generations is therefore a challenging task. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

OPC interoperability provides the solution. Through the OPC server, you can access data from IoT platforms, IoT gateways, and sensors in a single standardized language that the entire system understands. This ensures a seamless flow of information between different devices, automation equipment, process databases, and software systems, providing users with a single source of truth for all information. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The OPC standard standardizes and optimizes the communication flow between devices, systems, and controllers from different vendors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","insight_category":[],"class_list":["post-27055","insights","type-insights","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Novotek Industrial Data\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-27T11:43:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/\",\"name\":\"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/22\\\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-27T11:42:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-27T11:43:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/22\\\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/22\\\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/insight\\\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/\",\"name\":\"Novotek Switzerland\",\"description\":\"Connect - Digitalize - Optimize\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.novotek.com\\\/de\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard","description":"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard","og_description":"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/","og_site_name":"Novotek Industrial Data","article_modified_time":"2026-03-27T11:43:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/","url":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/","name":"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png","datePublished":"2026-03-27T11:42:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-27T11:43:54+00:00","description":"OPC is the industrial communication standard that enables the exchange of data between systems from different vendors.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/Novotek_OPC_grafikk_-1024x640-1.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/insight\/opc-the-industrial-communication-standard\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"OPC \u2013 The industrial communication standard"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/","name":"Novotek Switzerland","description":"Connect - Digitalize - Optimize","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights\/27055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insights"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insights"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"insight_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.novotek.com\/de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight_category?post=27055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}