A cloud-native SCADA System for Industrial IoT built with Apache Kafka

Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 enable digitalization and innovation. SCADA control systems are a vital component of IT/OT modernization. The SCADA evolution started with monolithic applications and moved to networked and web-based platforms. This blog post explores building the 5th generation: A cloud-native SCADA infrastructure with Apache Kafka. A real-world case study explores the journey of a German system operator for electricity to show how such a journey to open and scalable real-time workloads and edge-to-cloud integration progressed.

(Originally posted on Kai Waehner’s blog: “A cloud-native SCADA System for Industrial IoT built with Apache Kafka”… Join the data streaming community and stay informed about new blog posts by subscribing to my newsletter)

What is a SCADA system?

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a control system architecture comprising computers, networked data communications, and graphical user interfaces for high-level supervision of machines and processes. It also covers sensors and other devices, such as programmable logic controllers, which interface with process plants or machinery.

While many people refer to specific commercial products, SCADA is a concept or architecture. It can include…