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Broadcom Teams with Audi to Deliver Next-Generation IT-Based Factory Automation Powered by VMware Cloud Software
Broadcom Teams with Audi to Deliver Next-Generation IT-Based Factory Automation Powered by VMware Cloud Software
About this update from Broadcom Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"VMware Cloud Foundation helps Audi Modernize IT on the factory floor while reducing cost, complexity and environmental impact\nPALO ALTO, Calif., March 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) today announced that Audi’s Edge Cloud 4 Production (EC4P) initiative, powered by VMware Cloud software, is now live with the first virtual programmable logic controller (vPLC) at the Boellinger Hoefe plant in Germany where Audi manufactures the electric Audi e-tron GT car. As part of the EC4P initiative, the VMware Cloud Foundation® (VCF) private cloud platform helps Audi centralize the management and maintenance of dedicated industrial PC devices located on the factory floor, simplify security patching and risk management, and reduce environmental impact through the use of less hardware and fewer manual operations. With EC4P, Audi is delivering smart manufacturing by bringing software-defined factory automation to the shop floor and bridging the gap between IT and OT. The initiative includes close partnership between key technology partners including Broadcom, Cisco and Siemens. “The use of virtual programmable logic controllers in the body shop is an important productivity leap in our 360factory strategy for efficient and data-driven manufacturing,” said Audi Board Member for Production Gerd Walker. “We want to bring the local cloud for production to all plants and leverage advances in digital control systems in the process.” “The collaboration between Audi and Broadcom is core to building a manufacturing future that is more efficient, cost-effective and secure,” said Sven Müller, project lead for EC4P at Audi. “Through our work together, we're setting new standards for precision, customization, and environmental sustainability. EC4P will reduce our hardware footprint, replacing thousands of decentralized industrial PCs with a more efficient, scalable and flexible architecture of local edge servers that unites the cloud and the edge on the shop floor.” Transforming IT-based Factory Automation with a Private Cloud Platform Audi deployed VMware Cloud Foundation to create a private cloud environment outside of the Boellinger Hoefe manufacturing plant where critical shop floor workloads are hosted and managed centrally. Some examples include: Virtual Worker Stations (Virtual Desktops): Instead of maintaining physical ind...