DATA INTEROPERABILITY: WHY OPEN SYSTEMS MATTER

By Trudi Hable, Chief Revenue Officer, North America 

In asset-intensive industries, data should be (is) the most valuable operational asset inside the business. But for most organizations, it’s trapped: locked inside proprietary systems, stranded on aging equipment, or scattered across plants and platforms that can’t interact.    

Interoperability isn’t a feature. It makes production, maintenance, quality, and business systems speak the same language in real time so data can move, be trusted, and drive action—regardless of vendor, protocol, or site.  Interoperability is the foundation of industrial intelligence. And without it, digital transformation stalls before it starts. 

After two decades working across engineering, manufacturing, and industrial tech, I’ve learned a simple truth: organizations don’t struggle because they lack data; they struggle because their data can’t move. Interoperability unlocks that movement. 

In this article, you will learn: 

• Why data interoperability is critical for improving productivity, managing risk, and improving ESG outcomes in asset-intensive industries 

• How Radix connects multivendor systems, to unify fragmented data and create pragmatic recommendations for business 

• What role interoperability plays in unlocking Industrial AI, predictive analytics, and enterprise-wide operational intelligence 

Why interoperability is the new competitive advantage in 2026 

Every executive I speak with (be they a CIO, COO, CFO, or ESG leader) is facing the same pressure: Show measurable improvement in productivity, cost, risk, and sustainability outcomes. 

Of course, if their data is locked in siloed infrastructure, that’s simply impossible! Open, connected systems give organizations the ability to: 

• See operations clearly across sites, vendors, and equipment 

• Act predictively, instead of reacting to failures or compliance issues 

• Quantify value by linking operational insights to financial outcomes 

• Scale digital initiatives, instead of rebuilding integrations plant by plant 

• Faster decisions (minutes, not days) 

• Fewer manual handoffs & errors 

• Higher uptime and throughput 

• Cleaner compliance & audit trails 

• Lower total cost to integrate new apps 

Data interoperability is not a system design choice. It is what moves the needle on margins, uptime, safety, and ESG reporting. 

The reality: most industrial data is still stuck 

Most industrial systems were not designed with modern connectivity in mind. SCADA and PLC architectures were built for control and protection, not cross-platform data exchange. Vendors built proprietary protocols to optimize performance for their own ecosystems, not for multivendor integration. 

Over time, organizations adopted: 

• Legacy control systems that still perform critical functions 

• Vendor-specific communication standards 

• Custom integrations that are difficult to maintain 

• Distributed point solutions for specific use cases 

Executives want enterprise-wide visibility, but the technology stack they inherited gives them only fragments. 

Interoperability is how we bridge that gap. 

How Radix helps organizations build connected ecosystems 

At Radix, interoperability is a core discipline. My team focuses on building the partnerships and frameworks that help customers create multivendor, multi-system environments that operate as one. 

That includes: 

• Vendor-neutral platforms that unify HVAC, power, SCADA, PLCs, historians, and ever-more diverse and complex systems 

• Protocol-agnostic architecture that bridges BACnet, Modbus, OPC UA, MQTT, SNMP, amongst others 

• Edge intelligence that brings context and structure to raw equipment data 

• Centralized data repositories that eliminate duplication and misinformation 

• Technology partnerships that bring customers best-in-class analytics, modeling, and AI 

• Industry standards participation that shapes the future of data exchange 

A unified data ecosystem creates sustainable, continuous transformation, rather than singular projects. 

Why this matters to the C-suite 

Executives need results: the wish to interrogate their data, and more dashboards are not the solution. By creating open systems, we enable interoperability that drives the outcomes they seek: 

• Operational efficiency: fewer surprise failures, faster troubleshooting, better asset utilization 

• Risk reduction: better visibility, fewer regulatory surprises, stronger safety performance 

• Financial performance: lower operating costs, smarter capital allocation, measurable ROI 

• Sustainability proof: traceable, auditable data that stands up to regulatory and investor scrutiny 

• Scalability: the ability to replicate wins across the entire organization 

When systems connect, data becomes intelligence. Interoperability is how operational excellence scales. 

Interoperability is the foundation for industrial AI 

AI delivers value by ‘seeing’ the full picture. Everything from predictive analytics to prescriptive maintenance, to digital twins, and real-time ESG reporting all depend on clean, connected, and contextualized data.  

By connecting assets, systems, and teams, interoperability provides the comprehensive, trustworthy data your AI platform needs to deliver effective recommendations for business. This data allows you to predict equipment failures before they happen, optimize processes across multiple sites, and make data-driven sustainability decisions that withstand regulatory and investor scrutiny. 

In other words, interoperability turns AI from an interesting experiment into a scalable, enterprise-level capability. It’s what allows companies to transform operational data into measurable business outcomes, from higher uptime and lower costs to stronger ESG performance.  

Without interoperability, AI is guesswork; with it, AI becomes a strategic advantage. 

The future is open 

Openness is the key to industrial transformation. By adopting open standards, integrated systems, and collaborative networks, asset-intensive industries will activate operational intelligence across people, processes, and assets.  

This approach builds resilience, efficiency, and measurable business value. Closed systems hold back progress. Open systems accelerate it. Interoperability isn’t just the backbone of digital transformation; it’s the engine of reliability, profitability, and sustainable growth. 

Turn fragmented data into enterprise insight 

We work with asset-intensive organizations to create interoperable ecosystems that connect operations, engineering, and finance. The goal is simple: give leaders the visibility and confidence to make better decisions across every site. 

[Explore Radix capabilities →] Link to: https://www.radixeng.com/solutions  

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About Radix  

Founded in 2010, Radix is a privately held technology solutions and services company operating globally, empowering customers with consulting, engineering, operations technology, and digital solutions. Radix combines key capabilities and practices to enable our worldwide customers to thrive in their technology journey. With North American headquarters in Houston, TX, and headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including offices in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte, Radix provides technology-based, data-driven solutions to asset-intensive industries. Radix's robust capabilities extend to more than 30 countries worldwide. Learn more: www.radixeng.com 

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