Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
of the higher-level protocols are vendor specific. The Fieldbus is an attempt to overcome this
and to provide a standard method that is well matched for control and data acquisition.
The days of manufacturers creating a virtual monopoly with vendor-specific components
is now, thankfully, receding. At one time organisations were generally tied by the vendor of
the main control system, this was the only way that they could guarantee compatibility. In-
ternational standards overcome this problem by forcing manufacturers to conform to the
standard. Any vendor who does not conform will quickly lose market share, unless they are a
true market leader, and have the power to force the whole industry in a certain direction.
Today even the market leaders, such as Honeywell, have to conform to standards and be-
come involved with other companies to develop industry standard, which are then developed
as international standards by the relevant standards agency.
