For decades, PLCs and HMIs have been the backbone of industrial automation. They remain critical: HMIs still represent the trusted “face of the machine,” enabling operators to control processes with clarity and reliability. But the evolution of connected industry is creating new requirements.
Manufacturers need real-time analytics, secure connectivity, and flexible computing power directly at the machine level. This is where Industrial PCs (IPCs) are becoming essential.
The numbers confirm the shift.
This momentum shows that a cloud-only strategy is no longer sufficient. Latency, bandwidth costs, data sovereignty, and security requirements push decision-making closer to the machines. IPCs provide the computing foundation that makes the industrial edge both practical and scalable.
At EXOR International , we do not see IPCs as a replacement for HMIs, but as a complement. The HMI continues to serve as the operator’s intuitive interface, optimized for clarity, responsiveness, and everyday use. The IPC, on the other hand, provides the computational power needed to run advanced applications, from SCADA and MES-light to machine learning at the edge.
In many cases, the two work side by side. And with Panel IPCs, which combine visualization and processing power in a single device, the boundary between HMI and IPC becomes even more fluid, offering the best of both worlds in one platform.
To meet this growing demand, Exor has developed the Xedge Series, a new series of Industrial PCs designed specifically for the edge of industrial operations.
Xedge combines rugged construction and long lifecycle support with modular configurations that allow customers to tailor CPU, memory, and I/O resources to their needs. It is built with security in mind, aligned to IEC 62443 practices, and designed to run complex workloads, from real-time analytics to containerized applications, directly on the shop floor. Most importantly, it integrates seamlessly with Exor’s broader ecosystem, from HMIs and controllers to the Corvina IIoT platform, providing a unified environment for control, visualization, and connectivity.
The industrial edge is rapidly becoming the place where efficiency, resilience, and intelligence converge.
In this context, IPCs are no longer optional, they are essential.
With the Xedge Series, Exor International introduces a new generation of Industrial PCs that extend the value of our HMI portfolio, delivering ruggedness, scalability, and security right where they are needed most: at the edge.