IO-Link Explained

On May 22, 2025, the IO-Link Community gathered in Bad Soden for this year's Members Assembly. A key event was the regular election of the Steering Committee, which plays a decisive role in shaping the technological future of the standard. A complete list of the members of the Steering Committee is available on the new IO-Link website (www.io-link.com).

Another highlight was the presentation of IO-Link's vision and mission. The goal is to consolidate the standard worldwide as the leading enabler for industrial IoT and digitization processes. In addition, the current roadmap was presented, outlining the strategic path for future developments, innovations, new functions, and security aspects. With this roadmap, IO-Link will continue to play a leading role in industrial automation and drive forward the cooperation of all partners in digitization.

Another important item on the agenda of the Members Assembly was the presentation of the future development of IO-Link packages for maintenance updates. Package 2025 serves as a pilot project for the newly defined package process, which is intended to make the creation, updating, and management of IO-Link standards more efficient and transparent. The goal is to establish a clear structure and standardized process to make the further development of the standard even more targeted and flexible.

Another focus was on the increasingly important security requirements. Work on the “IO-Link Secure Deployment Guideline” was presented to help end users with secure implementation. The “Secure Design and Development Guideline for IO-Link Devices” is still under development. It will contain recommendations for the secure design and development of IO-Link products to meet increasing security requirements.

In order to provide all participants with comprehensive information, the leaders of the working groups also reported on the current status of their groups' activities. This year's Members Assembly confirmed once again that IO-Link is a vibrant, committed, and global community in automation technology.
 

The mioty alliance and the IO-Link Community (PI) have announced the signing of a major cooperation agreement at the Hanover Trade Fair.

This agreement will intensify cooperation between the two communication standards, especially with regard to data model use. The goal of this partnership is to enable the integration of mioty devices using the same mechanisms as those used for IO-Link devices. The advantage here is that users won’t need any new tools for mioty.

By combining the expertise of the mioty alliance in the development of wireless communication systems and the leading position of IO-Link in the area of industrial automation, this cooperation will set new standards. Both communities are convinced that this cooperation will bring about new and innovative solutions.

“We’re very pleased about our partnership with IO-Link. Together, we’ll shape the future of communication systems and offer our members even more powerful solutions,” said the mioty alliance’s General Manager Peter Hedberg in explaining the goals of cooperation.

“Cooperation with the mioty alliance will open up new opportunities for us to develop new applications and industries, especially in the area of IIoT and maintenance,” added Joachim Uffelmann of the IO-Link community.

Signing of the cooperation agreement was announced during the Hanover Trade Fair. Xaver Schmidt (Chairman of the Board of PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International)), Peter Hedberg (General Manager of the mioty alliance) and Joachim Uffelmann (Speaker of the IO-Link Steering Committee) are looking forward to the organizations’ cooperation. “Work on the specifications can now begin,” affirmed Joachim Uffelmann.

About the mioty alliance
The mioty alliance is a community of companies, institutions and developers who have dedicated themselves to creating and distributing the most accessible, robust and efficient IoT connectivity solution on the market. mioty technology is founded on a software-based low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol developed specifically for massive industrial and commercial IoT applications. Thanks to its reliability and scalability, mioty technology enables robust wireless connectivity which meets the requirements of Industry 4.0.

About IO-Link
IO-Link is a globally open standard for point-to-point communication between sensors and actuators in industrial applications. IO-Link enables the bidirectional data exchange between a typical fieldbus gateway and the connected devices, which enables improved diagnostics, parameter setting and maintenance. With its strong commitment to innovation, IO-Link remains at the forefront of technological development and continually sets new standards in the industry across the globe. IO-Link is a technology of PI (PROFIBUS & PROFINET International).
 

A new document in the download section deals with the annual IO-Link packages. In this document, you will find detailed information on the latest developments and updates in the current IO-Link package. Please note that IO-Link conducts a maintenance release every year. An IO-Link package includes all necessary components and information required for the implementation and use of IO-Link technology, including specifications, system extensions and profiles.

We hope that this information will be useful to you and help you adjust your product development accordingly. In case you have any questions or comments, we are of course at your disposal.

Download the pdf-file on IO-Link Maintenance Cycle