Siemens SIMATIC AX Integrates VS Code and Git into Industrial Automation

Siemens has introduced SIMATIC AX, a modular development environment designed to integrate modern software engineering practices directly into industrial automation. The system aims to eliminate the traditional divide between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) by allowing PLC programmers to use industry-standard tools.

At the core of SIMATIC AX is the adoption of Visual Studio Code (VS Code) as the primary integrated development environment (IDE), supported by dedicated extensions. The platform enables full Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) within Structured Text (ST), providing developers with access to classes, inheritance, interfaces, and namespaces. To streamline deployment and collaboration, Siemens has implemented native Git integration for version control and support for CI/CD pipelines. Additionally, the system introduces npm-based package management to PLC development and integrates XLad, the first text-based ladder programming tool for Simatic AX Logic Control Engineering (LCE).

The Shift to Software-Defined Automation

For decades, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) programming has been characterized by proprietary IDEs—such as the TIA Portal—and limited version control capabilities. This technical isolation often created a silo between industrial automation engineers and software developers, making it difficult to apply modern software lifecycle management to the factory floor. SIMATIC AX is designed to break this silo by adopting a "Software-Defined Automation" approach. This allows engineers to utilize the same toolsets as IT developers while maintaining essential compatibility with Siemens S7-1500 controllers.

Implications for Industrial Scaling

By adopting IT standards like Git, npm, and OOP, Siemens is enabling industrial automation to scale and evolve with an agility previously reserved for pure software development. The shift toward modular libraries improves code reusability and reduces the friction inherent in collaboration between IT and OT teams. Furthermore, the introduction of CI/CD pipelines allows for more rigorous automated testing and quality assurance, which is critical for maintaining stability in high-stakes industrial environments.

Future Outlook

As industrial environments move toward greater digitalization, the integration of text-based tools like XLad and the move toward open IDEs suggest a broader trend toward the "democratization" of PLC code. Industry observers will be watching to see how widely these IT-centric workflows are adopted by traditional OT engineers and whether this modular approach leads to a wider ecosystem of third-party extensions for industrial control.