New ARC Study Indicates Foundation Fieldbus Maintains Market Leadership

ARC Advisory Group, the well-known manufacturing research and advisory firm based in Dedham, MA, has released a new study entitled "Fieldbus Solutions in the Process Industries: Worldwide Outlook," which indicates Foundation fieldbus continues to lead the market in digital fieldbus communications for the process industries.
According to the new ARC report, Foundation fieldbus accounted for nearly three-quarters of the total digital process fieldbus marketplace in 2011. ARC also predicts ongoing expansion of the market for process fieldbus products and solutions, with continued double-digit growth over the next five years.
Foundation fieldbus provides an all-digital communication infrastructure for process automation, with powerful multivariable measurement capabilities, powerful device diagnostics, and the ability to integrate wireless devices across multiple networks. The block structure of Foundation fieldbus is unique, and provides true distributed functionality for implementing control in the field, improved data management, and alarm and alert management. Foundation technology is well prepared to take advantage of the growth opportunities in fieldbus technology over the next decade. ARC Analyst Kevin Crisafulli said, "Fieldbus technology has made further inroads into the culture of process automation, despite the negative impact that the global recession had on the market. Manufacturers are beginning to understand that the real value of fieldbus savings and increasing efficiency are more closely related to operating expenditures, which will drive growth going forward."
The Fieldbus Foundation's global marketing manager, Larry O'Brien, commented, "Thanks to the efforts of our supplier partners and the stringent testing & registration process at the Fieldbus Foundation, there is a wide range of products, systems, and components to choose from. With Foundation fieldbus expanding into more and more application segments such as Foundation for Remote Operations Management and Foundation for Safety Instrumented Functions, we are easily looking at a market opportunity in the billions of dollars on an annual basis for the foreseeable future."