Yokogawa updates OpreX server for easier plant control
Tue, 16th Jun 2026 (Today)
Yokogawa has released an updated version of OpreX Collaborative Information Server, adding improvements to usability, multi-vendor integration and system security.
The software, part of Yokogawa's OpreX Control and Safety Systems range, is designed to collect and centrally manage plant data from equipment and systems across multiple locations.
Manufacturers in process industries are under pressure to monitor a growing mix of machinery, software and control systems through a single operating environment. That has increased demand for integrated human-machine interface systems that let operators oversee an entire production facility without giving up familiar screen layouts and operating methods.
One of the main changes is closer alignment with the human-machine interface station used in Yokogawa's CENTUM VP integrated production control system. Operators can now directly access specific CENTUM VP operation and monitoring windows from the integrated operation and monitoring interface in OpreX Collaborative Information Server.
Plants using the software as an integrated HMI can therefore retain the functions, screen configurations and operability of a conventional human-machine interface station. The update also allows screens from connected systems to be displayed through a remote desktop setup.
Integration focus
The update also targets a long-running issue in industrial software deployment: the engineering work needed to connect products from different vendors. As plants add more third-party devices and software, interoperability and application development effort have become bigger concerns for operators building common platforms.
To address this, Yokogawa has expanded the OPC UA server information model function in OpreX Collaborative Information Server to support multiple information models when linking to equipment from different suppliers. OPC UA is an internationally standardised framework used in industrial environments to improve interoperability between systems.
The change is intended to make differences in device and system configurations easier to manage. In practical terms, it is aimed at reducing development work when applications are built across mixed industrial environments.
Security changes
The update also adds support for Yokogawa's IT Security Tool, a security configuration package based on the CIS Benchmarks, which are widely used guidelines for secure system configuration.
By applying the tool to Windows computers running OpreX Collaborative Information Server, users can harden system settings across the wider platform. The measure is intended to reduce IT security risks in installations where the software is deployed.
The latest version is aimed at a wide range of sectors that depend on continuous process operations and centralised monitoring, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, renewable energy, power, pulp and paper, pharmaceuticals, food, mining, iron and steel, water distribution and wastewater treatment.
Its applications span plant monitoring and control, as well as data collection, provision and storage. This places the product in a market where operators increasingly want a single view of production data while maintaining compatibility with existing control infrastructure.
Yokogawa is one of Japan's longstanding industrial automation groups and provides measurement, control and information systems to customers in sectors including energy, chemicals, materials, pharmaceuticals and food. The group says it employs more than 18,000 people through a network of 135 companies across 63 countries.
The updated software reflects a wider shift in plant operations toward common interfaces that can sit across different equipment estates while meeting tighter requirements for cybersecurity and system integration.
For many industrial operators, the challenge is no longer only gathering data from distributed assets, but presenting it in a way that supports day-to-day control room work without forcing staff to relearn familiar systems. Yokogawa's latest changes are aimed at that gap through compatibility with CENTUM VP, broader support for multi-vendor environments and more structured security settings.