With i-flow version 3.0, companies can provide data and information flows directly as RESTful APIs for the first time. The Unified Namespace (UNS) is thus evolving from a Single Source of Truth to an open interface platform for modern and scalable IT/OT integration.
From Unified Namespace to Industrial Real-time API
More and more manufacturers are relying on the Unified Namespace (UNS) architecture to bring together machine, process and business data in a consistent and contextualized structure. This is usually based on technologies such as MQTT or other message brokers. With i-flow 3.0, these data streams can not only be subscribed to, transformed and enriched, but can now also be provided directly as industrial APIs – made possible by the new functionality of Advanced Webhooks.
Webhooks transform Flows into APIs
In i-flow, industrial information flows are mapped in so-called flows – modular, event-driven pipelines for real-time data exchange. With Advanced Webhooks, these flows can be exposed as APIs:
- Request/response APIs for machine commands or asynchronous process triggers
- Fire-and-forget APIs for dashboards, cloud integrations or KPI queries
- Support for dynamic inputs via parameters, headers or JSON bodies
- API deployment both centrally via the i-flow Hub and locally on the Edge
This approach allows to build scalable, real-time API interfaces — not around rigid endpoints, but around live, actionable logic tied to your industrial namespace.
Centralized and Local Execution — Unified, Yet Flexible
The i-flow Hub bundles webhooks of all edge runtimes and provides a central, secure API interface. In addition, the i-flow Edge enables a local API interface within the plant network – with minimal latency, reliability and integration into plant-internal systems such as MES, SCADA or HMIs. This hybrid model combines global availability with local control and ensures maximum flexibility in distributed architectures.
Input-Driven APIs for Dynamic Behavior
Unlike rigid endpoint mappings, Advanced Webhooks are fully input-aware. Parameters passed in at runtime can control how a Flow executes, including:
- Selection of specific devices or data points
- Real-time filtering and aggregation
- Conditional execution or failover logic
- Output formatting (e.g., minimal or enriched payloads)
This enables adaptive logic that responds to each API call’s context — making industrial APIs smarter, leaner, and easier to scale.
Practical Example: API for Contextual KPI Access
A central engineering team needs an HTTP endpoint to query a machine’s key figures – supplemented by product, shift and employee context – in real time. With i-flow 3.0, a flow template is created and published as a request/response webhook in the relevant plants.
- Cloud dashboards access relevant information via the i-flow Hub as a cross-plant interface.
- Local plant systems use the i-flow Edge interface for time-critical analyses
- Parameters such as the machine ID and the product variant can be set dynamically
The result: a flexible, reusable API endpoint without additional programming or deployment effort.
Future-proof Interfaces for IT and OT
By combining Advanced Webhooks with a Unified Namespace architecture, i-flow 3.0 enables a new kind of industrial integration: one that is real-time, distributed, secure, and designed for both OT and IT stakeholders. This approach supports:
- Seamless integration between UNS and external consumers
- Secure and observable interfaces with logging and replay function
- Flexible deployment in the factory or in the cloud
- Scalable API deployments via templates for edge and enterprise architectures
Further information can be found in our i-flow documentation.
