The future of smart manufacturing depends on one critical capability: the seamless flow of data from the shop floor to enterprise-wide digital systems. At HANNOVER MESSE 2026, German Edge Cloud (GEC), Red Hat, and Fraunhofer CCIT unveiled a collaborative solution designed to make this vision a reality by intelligently linking edge and cloud environments into a unified industrial architecture.
For years, manufacturers have struggled with fragmented infrastructures. Machines, production lines, and IT systems were often developed independently, resulting in isolated data silos that limited visibility and hindered digital transformation initiatives. The new solution addresses this challenge by creating a continuous data and application ecosystem that connects operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) across the entire manufacturing value chain.
At the heart of the innovation is GEC’s ONCITE Digital Production System (DPS), integrated with Red Hat OpenShift, a Kubernetes-based hybrid cloud platform. Together, they enable manufacturers to collect, contextualize, and process production data in real time while ensuring that applications can operate consistently across edge, private cloud, and public cloud environments. This unified approach eliminates traditional barriers between systems and allows data to be leveraged wherever it creates the greatest value.
One of the most significant benefits of the platform is its ability to accelerate Industrial AI adoption. Manufacturing companies increasingly recognize the potential of AI-powered applications such as predictive maintenance, process optimization, and automated quality control. However, scaling these solutions beyond pilot projects has often proven difficult due to data accessibility and infrastructure limitations. The integrated edge-to-cloud framework provides a scalable foundation that allows AI models to access reliable, contextualized production data across multiple sites and operations.
A key element of the showcase is the Fraunhofer Edge Cloud Continuum, a concept that enables organizations to run workloads dynamically between edge and cloud environments. Time-sensitive tasks can be executed close to machines where low latency is essential, while computationally intensive analytics and AI training can be shifted to the cloud. This flexible deployment model improves performance, optimizes resource utilization, and supports future-ready manufacturing strategies.
The collaboration also tackles another pressing industrial challenge: managing increasingly complex distributed infrastructures. Through the use of Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform, hardware and software assets can be orchestrated more efficiently, reducing manual intervention and improving operational reliability. By treating infrastructure as code, companies gain greater control over large-scale deployments while simplifying maintenance and system management.
Further extending its capabilities, the latest ONCITE DPS release can now operate on Red Hat Device Edge, enabling containerized applications to run directly on compact and resource-constrained industrial devices. This allows manufacturers to expand digital capabilities closer to equipment without requiring major architectural changes, ensuring resilience even in environments with limited connectivity.
As manufacturers pursue smarter, more connected operations, the convergence of edge and cloud technologies is becoming a cornerstone of industrial innovation. The joint showcase from GEC, Red Hat, and Fraunhofer CCIT demonstrates how a unified edge-to-cloud architecture can transform isolated data into actionable intelligence, paving the way for scalable Industrial AI and more agile, efficient production systems.
For more info :
www.gec.io
