Russia’s Industrial Control Market Gets a Unified Domestic Automation Platform
Rubytech and SibKom Tsifra have combined the Skala^r hardware-software complex with Kaskad 4.0 software into a unified Russian automation platform designed to support independent production control.
PJSC “Rubytech Group” (Rubytech brand) and SibKom Tsifra LLC have announced the formation of a unified national industrial automation platform. Integrating the Skala^r hardware-software complex with the software developer’s solutions creates an integrated environment for managing technological and production processes, meeting the core needs of industrial and fuel-and-energy companies in HMI, SCADA, PIMS, MES and distributed control systems (DCS).
Successful Integration Into a Unified Control Environment
The distributed testbed of the National Industrial Automation Platform (NIAP) served as the platform’s primary testing ground. It allows developers and customers to verify in advance how different systems work together under real-world production conditions.
The infrastructure backbone of the testbed is the Skala^r process-control machine from Rubytech, a manufacturer of hardware-software complexes for high-load IT infrastructures. Skala^r solutions, produced since 2015, cover a broad range of tasks, from virtualization and transactional databases to large-scale data processing, and meet stringent trustworthiness requirements for critical information infrastructure (CII) facilities. The unified control environment integrates R-Logic programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and the Kaskad 4.0 SCADA platform, the current version of the flagship product from SibKom Tsifra, a company specializing in industrial software. The PLCs handle reliable automation at the process-unit level, collecting and processing sensor data according to programmed logic.
Kaskad 4.0, meanwhile, is built on an open technology stack and supports automation of processes of any complexity with high computing capacity and an elevated level of security. Both platforms are listed in the Russian Ministry of Digital Development’s national software registry.
Testing on Skala^r fully confirmed the ability to build an integrated, fault-tolerant and flexible distributed control system using only Russian components. Used together, these elements create a unified configuration environment in which every component, from field devices to operator stations, can be configured from a central point. In practice, this simplifies operation and reduces the risks associated with dependence on foreign technologies.
From Concept to Industry-Specific Solutions
The current project by Rubytech and SibKom Tsifra is a logical next step in the national Open Industrial Automation initiative, launched in 2023 to create an open automation system to replace Western platforms from GE and Siemens. While the industry focused on component interoperability in 2024, the first working prototypes emerged in 2025, including solutions from PJSC Positive Group (Positive Technologies brand) and an open PLC developed by PJSC Severstal. Industry-specific development began at the same time: Rubytech, Positive Technologies and National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute” (MPEI) created the first unified automation complex tailored to the needs of the energy sector. In August 2026, Rubytech and Obyedineniye AggreGate, the developer of the AggreGate low-code platform for IoT solutions, presented another industrial stack that combined Skala^r with a platform covering the data path from field equipment to ERP and BI systems. As a result, an ecosystem of compatible solutions from different vendors is gradually taking shape around Skala^r.
Advancing Integrated Technologies
The need for such a platform is underscored by changes in the market. A joint study by the Ultimatek Group, Positive Technologies Group and Aquarius Group estimates that the industrial control systems market reached about 130 billion rubles (approximately $1.5 billion) in 2025. The demand structure has changed markedly: foreign vendors once dominated, but Russian solutions now account for as much as 90% of new projects. That shift has created a new challenge – making locally developed products work together. The initiative therefore aims not simply to replace imports, but to bring fragmented technologies into a single, seamless ecosystem. With the market projected to reach 300 billion rubles (about $3.5 billion) by 2028, this approach is likely to be particularly valuable in oil and gas, power generation and metallurgy.
Going forward, the developers plan to deepen the integration of their solutions. Building integrated technologies on trusted IT infrastructure and the Skala^r hardware-software complex will provide the foundation for industry-specific configurations of the Kaskad 4.0 ecosystem. That will allow the expertise accumulated across industrial projects to be replicated and, together with partners in the Open Industrial Automation initiative, enable customers to adopt solutions best suited to their needs.
A Path to Technological Resilience
The global industrial sector is moving toward open protocols such as OPC UA, reducing reliance on a single vendor. Russian developers are studying these trends, including the Open Process Automation standard. The new project’s main value lies in bringing different layers of industrial IT architecture into one interoperable environment. Real-world deployments at operating plants will be the key test of its success. Over the longer term, the technology could have export potential in CIS and BRICS markets, where alternatives to Western vendors are in demand. For now, however, the developers’ primary goal is to achieve full technological resilience and independence for production processes within Russia.
