In this episode of Ctrl+Alt+Mfg, Gary Cohen and Stephanie Neal sit down with John Dyck, CEO of CESMII, and John Harrington, chief product officer at HighByte, to talk about why interoperability is one of the biggest barriers to smart manufacturing.

As manufacturers invest in connected systems, cloud platforms, analytics and AI, many are still struggling to turn that technology into real business value because their data remains trapped in silos. Dyck and Harrington explain why interoperability has become more than just a technical challenge, how legacy systems and one-off integrations have slowed progress and why a more open, standardized approach is critical for scaling digital transformation across the enterprise.

The conversation also dives into CESMII’s Industrial Information Interoperability Exchange (i3X), the role of collaboration between manufacturers and software providers and why interoperability could be the foundation for the next generation of industrial AI.

• (00:00:00) - The Importance of Interoperability in Manufacturing
• (00:04:20) - Introduction to Smart Manufacturing Institute
• (00:10:55) - Understanding Smart Manufacturing vs Digital Transformation
• (00:12:33) - High Byte's Role in Data Integration
• (00:18:01) - Challenges of Data Silos in Manufacturing
• (00:20:03) - Industrial Information Interoperability Exchange Initiative
• (00:21:24) - Collaboration Among Competitors
• (00:23:11) - Integrating Industrial Data
• (00:24:59) - Advancements in Specification Implementation
• (00:26:47) - The Importance of Abstraction in Technology
• (00:29:09) - Shifting Mindsets in Technology Providers
• (00:30:37) - Ecosystem of Specialists in Manufacturing
• (00:33:09) - AI's Role in Scaling Manufacturing Operations
• (00:34:35) - An Inflection Point in Manufacturing Innovation
• (00:36:27) - Interoperability as an Accelerator
• (00:38:47) - The Future of Smart Factories
• (00:45:00) - The Human Element