More than 10,000 industrial professionals are in attendance at the 25th annual Automation Fair event from Rockwell Automation in Atlanta to discover how a more connected industrial business can improve its ability to compete globally. Hosted by Rockwell Automation and its PartnerNetwork members, the Automation Fair event is the largest educational forum and trade show dedicated to industrial automation and information.

“The combination of technology innovation and application expertise is transforming industrial processes, making it possible for companies to become more integrated and competitive,” said Blake Moret, president and CEO, Rockwell Automation. “Our vision – called The Connected Enterprise – brings together power, control and information solutions to respond to the increased demand for global productivity.”

Central to achieving The Connected Enterprise is the need to converge information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT). Historically, these functions worked independently. Today, the convergence of IT and OT are critical to the success of an industrial enterprise, enabling businesses to gather, analyze and transform data into actionable information for deriving tangible business outcomes, and making production safer, predictable and more sustainable.

Building on the company’s rich 110-year history as a leader in industrial automation and information, Rockwell Automation has expanded its information-enabled offerings. This expansion is designed to help companies connect, manage, validate and optimize manufacturing and production with scalable analytics, information-driven solutions and collaboration tools. By digitally enabling machines, lines and plants through integrated control and information, customers will be able to transform their operations yielding higher productivity and competitiveness.

The 2016 Automation Fair event features more than 100 exhibits showcasing the latest innovations in automation. It also includes nine industry forums, 19 hands-on labs and 93 technical sessions designed to expand attendee knowledge and use of the latest control, power and advanced manufacturing and enterprise information technologies.