Software Toolbox Technical Blog

This post is part of our Summer of IoT blog series, where we spotlight practical tools that solve real-world industrial challenges. In this installment, we dive into how DataCaster helps teams visualize key metrics, quickly, clearly, and without the hassle.

For engineers and operations teams, getting the right data in front of the right people at the right time can make all the difference. But too often, valuable metrics like uptime, downtime, production rates, and OEE stay buried in PLCs, SCADA systems, or databases, while teams rely on outdated methods like whiteboards, spreadsheets, or even handwritten notes.

If you’ve ever said, “I just want to see this data on a screen over there so the team can act on it,” there’s now a straightforward way to do just that, without writing code, managing a PC, or spinning up an IT project.

Welcome to the launch of Software Toolbox’s Summer of IoT blog series for 2025.

In the coming posts, we’ll explore how our solutions support the evolving world of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and more importantly, how they can help you advance your Industry 4.0 and digital transformation goals with practical, proven tools. We begin the series by exploring Unified Namespace (UNS), what it means, why it matters, and how Software Toolbox makes it practical for real-world industrial environments.

Unified Namespace, Real Results: Lessons and Tools that Deliver

In today’s fast-evolving industrial landscape, seamless connectivity and data integration are critical for operational success. At Software Toolbox, our solutions are designed to empower businesses by enabling UNS connectivity, bridging the gap between diverse systems and helping with efficiency, interoperability, and scalability.

Personally, as a presenter and attendee of ProveIt! 2025 and an attendee of 4.0 Solutions’ Edge Integration to UNS Workshop, I have had a lot of exposure to the topic of UNS this year. In this blog post, I will share not only what I have learned surrounding the topic, but how Software Toolbox’s solutions fit into the picture.

Integrating with SAP: A Simple Guide Using OPC Router

In many industrial environments, getting real-time data from machines into SAP can feel like a complex, code-heavy challenge. Whether triggering production orders, tracking materials, or sending print requests, smooth data flow is essential. This is where OPC Router makes a difference — providing a no-code solution to seamlessly connect your OPC UA-enabled systems directly to SAP.

To help you get started, we have put together a quick video demo that walks you through the setup, step-by-step.

A global beverage manufacturer sought to modernize its data workflows by integrating operational technology (OT) with enterprise systems. Specifically, they needed to transfer real-time data from their Rockwell Automation PLCs to their SAP system to automate workflows, enhance traceability, and streamline processes. The legacy setup relied on outdated communication methods, introducing inefficiencies and potential failure points. To overcome these challenges, the company required a robust, scalable, and future-ready solution.

This blog will give you an insight into how that solution became a reality and how they got there. Also, if you have not done so, please subscribe to our blogs to not miss out on similar topics.

Collecting data from multiple remote sites or aggregating, as it is generally referred to, is a big part of geographically distributed control operations.  Having a macro picture of your operations over all of your locations is key.

And efficient, reliable performance is always a concern.  This blog post will discuss performance as it relates to aggregating data from multiple remote sites using a tunneler solution and why it's important for tunneler solutions to support multiple tunnel connections in the same instance.