by Jared Weiner | 05/07/2025
As industries continue their march toward digitalization, the role of networking technologies at the operational edge is becoming more strategic and more complex. From low-latency deterministic protocols to secure wireless connectivity for remote assets, industrial networking is no longer a support layer. It’s a competitive differentiator.
VDC's 2025 Industrial Networking Research is taking a deep dive into how emerging standards, shifting customer expectations, and evolving ecosystem dynamics are reshaping the future of connectivity in OT environments. The stakes are high—and so are the opportunities for vendors who can get it right. Among other themes, this research will explore:
Evolution of Connectivity Requirements
For decades, industrial networks relied on legacy protocols like PROFIBUS and Modbus to deliver reliable communication across the factory floor. Today, however, the adoption of Ethernet-based solutions such as PROFINET, EtherCAT, and Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is accelerating. Edge compute workloads, real-time data analysis, and cloud integration are all driving the need for faster, more deterministic, and more interoperable connectivity solutions.
Wireless Gaining Ground
Once considered too risky for critical industrial workloads, wireless networking is now finding a foothold in use cases that demand mobility, modularity, and lower deployment costs. From Wi-Fi 6 and private 5G to LoRaWAN and other LPWAN protocols, the industrial wireless landscape is rapidly diversifying. VDC’s 2025 study will evaluate which wireless protocols are gaining share and why. We will also explore how suppliers are differentiating through features like low-power operation, ruggedized hardware, and security-first architectures.
Whether you provide switching hardware, protocol stacks, software-defined networking platforms, or embedded connectivity modules, understanding where the market is headed—and where growth is concentrated—is critical.
If you're a vendor in this space, now is the time to engage. Whether you’re looking to validate assumptions, benchmark competitors, or uncover new opportunities, VDC’s research can help you make smarter, faster, and more confident strategic decisions. Download our research outline here.
To learn more about VDC’s coverage of industrial technologies, visit our website or contact us for more details!