“I don’t think i3X is possible if it wasn’t CESMII doing it. CESMII actively got all of the right people in the same room, including people who compete with each other. And I don’t think any other organization could have done it.”
Industrial Information Interoperability eXchange (i3X)
The Industrial Information Interoperability Exchange (i3X™) is an open, common API initiative proposed to address a growing interoperability challenge in modern manufacturing architectures: manufacturing data silo proliferation and API chaos. As manufacturers adopt heterogeneous software stacks from multiple vendors, the industry risks repeating past fragmentation seen with protocols, platforms, and namespaces — this time at the API layer.
In this episode, Jeff Winter sits down with three industry leaders, John Dyck, Jonathan Wise, and Walker Reynolds, to explore the convergence of Unified Namespace (UNS) and CESMII’s i3X. Together, they address the shared industry challenge that brought these frameworks together, why they complement rather than compete with one another, and what this means for the future of interoperable, AI-ready manufacturing. They also discuss the work that still lies ahead and how the manufacturing community can help shape what’s next.
Top 5 Takeaways
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UNS and i3X are complementary, not competing. UNS provides an architectural approach for organizing manufacturing information so it is open, contextualized, and accessible. i3X builds on that vision by providing a standardized way to discover, navigate, and interact with that information.
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Industry 4.0 at scale. We talk about IT/OT convergence in our episodes a lot. When it comes to scaling Smart Manufacturing, i3X can move innovation beyond individual plants or projects. IT teams can provide secure infrastructure while giving OT teams the flexibility to innovate within a framework.
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Barrier to entry is low. Lightweight and simple, i3X makes interoperability more accessible to manufacturers, technology providers, and developers. Its streamlined requirements allow existing tools to adopt i3X while giving shop-floor teams the freedom to build new applications.
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Interoperability is a key to AI. AI needs trusted, contextualized information it can easily discover and consume. Bringing UNS and i3X together can create a foundation where both people and AI agents can access the context that is needed to solve manufacturing problems.
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Industry-wide adoption is up next. Technology alone won’t transform manufacturing. Education, implementation, and an ecosystem of applications built around i3X will be critical to turning interoperability into greater innovation and competitiveness. If you’re interested in learning more about i3X, visit the website and be sure to tune into this full Smart Manufacturing Mindset episode on Apple or Spotify.
Thank you to our panelists:
- Walker Reynolds, President, 4.0 Solutions
- John Dyck, CEO, CESMII
- Jonathan Wise, Chief Technology Architect at CESMII
- Jeff Winter, Host
