Democratizing Industrial Tech: The Walled Gardens Are Coming Down
Over the next few years, we're going to deplatform some of the biggest household names in software. Not because they make bad products. Because they've built prisons and convinced us to call them platforms.
Anyone in industry or manufacturing knows the vendors I'm talking about. The software that forces you to use their hardware. The platform that won't talk to your other systems unless you pay for a "premium integration." The tool that locks your data behind APIs they control, pricing they change, and terms they rewrite whenever it suits them.
Their entire business model depends on you having no choice.
That era is ending.
What’S STARTING TO CRACK
I'm watching small manufacturers get told they need to rip out their entire tech stack to get one feature that should be standard. Operations teams begging IT for permission to connect tools that obviously should work together. Workers forced into workflows designed by people who've never done their job.
It's not one dramatic moment. It's the accumulation. The fifth time someone asks "why can't this just talk to that?" and the answer is always "because the vendor won't let us."
That's not a technical limitation. That's a business decision.
The Technology Already Exists
Open APIs. Hardware-agnostic platforms. True interoperability. None of this is science fiction. The technology to make it happen is here. What's been missing is the willingness and tools to actually build it - and people ready to lead the way.
"But our ecosystem is so well integrated." Yeah, with itself.
"But switching would be too complicated." For who? You made it complicated on purpose.
"But you need our hardware to get the full experience." Translation: you need our hardware so we can keep charging you.
WHy this matters
Until recently industrial technology has become a tool for the wealthy. Enterprise software with enterprise budgets. Integrations that require six-figure consulting contracts. Solutions designed for Fortune 500 companies that leave everyone else scrambling with duct tape and spreadsheets.
A small manufacturer in the Midwest should have the same capabilities as a multinational. A maintenance tech should be able to customize their workflow without IT approval. You should own your data and choose your tools.
That's not radical. That's baseline.
WHAT I’M BUILDING
I'm building systems that don't care what brand of sensor you're using. Platforms that integrate with whatever tools you already have. Software that treats your data like it's yours, because it is.
Tool-agnostic. Integration-first. Designed for the people doing the work.
Some vendors will tell you it's impossible. Too complex, too risky, too expensive. But here's what's actually happening:
The Democratization Is Already Starting
Small teams are building solutions in weeks that the majors said would take years. Open-source tools are outperforming proprietary platforms. Workers are customizing their own interfaces because someone finally gave them the ability.
The walled gardens had their moment. They served a purpose when integration was actually hard.
That world is gone. The democratization of AI, software, and hardware is beginning - and it’s starting to change everything.
