Automation is improving the overall productivity of discrete manufacturing plants and facilities, delivering a range of goods from automobiles and electronics to furniture and toys to countless other items. The complexity of coordinating personnel, work procedures, material handling, and automated equipment – all while meeting production goals – make increasing digitalization and use of data across the enterprise and in production essential. Perhaps most important is the ability to put the control engineer, line worker, and design engineer in the middle of this critical data to derive actionable insights and provide real-time decision support. The constantly growing capabilities of digital technologies are creating more opportunities for discrete manufacturers to drive increasingly reliable and more efficient operations.