Industrial automation is facing a paradigm shift. Linux-based automation systems, including PLCs, industrial PCs and IoT devices, are changing the way users understand machines and their connection to existing infrastructures. This development is characterized by increasing consolidation and the opening up of systems for diverse applications. However, one obstacle remains: Many potential extensions and applications do not reach the systems, whether due to proprietary restrictions or a lack of know-how for integration and updating on a Linux basis.

With its Marketplace, Flecs sees itself as a distribution platform that not only makes standardized applications such as soft PLCs and database solutions accessible, but also individual software solutions that extend specific machine functions or add new features.

Overwhelmed by modern sales models?

"The challenge for many machine manufacturers lies not only in the development of such software, but also in its marketing. They traditionally have sales structures that are geared towards selling machines at high one-off prices," says Patric Scholz, Managing Director Sales & Finance at Flecs, adding: "In many cases, they are helpless in the face of the dynamism and flexibility of modern software sales models."

Flecs wants to break down these barriers by enabling machine builders to offer their extensions and applications via an e-commerce platform, whether free of charge, as a one-off purchase or as a subscription model. The marketplace not only aims to facilitate sales, but also provides support with billing and commissioning. "Machine operators benefit from the ability to order and install extensions themselves and keep them up to date. Thanks to the integration into existing billing systems and the fact that we take over the entire handling processes, machine builders and PLC manufacturers can introduce and implement new business models quickly and easily," says Scholz. And by fast, Scholz means periods of just a few weeks: "With our Accelerator program, machine builders and PLC manufacturers can integrate the Marketplace into their systems in just six weeks, add their own applications and fully adapt it to their needs. This allows users to react quickly to market changes and bring new pricing and sales models directly to the customer!"