Broadcom Inc. ( AVGO ) on Thursday disclosed that Audi‘s Edge Cloud 4 Production (EC4P) initiative, utilizing VMware Cloud software, has officially launched with the first virtual programmable logic controller (vPLC) at the Boellinger Hoefe plant in Germany.

As part of the EC4P initiative, the VMware Cloud Foundation private cloud platform enables Audi to streamline the management and maintenance of dedicated industrial PC devices on the factory floor.

This technology simplifies security patching, enhances risk management, and minimizes environmental impact by reducing hardware requirements and manual operations.

Sven Müller, project lead for EC4P at Audi said, “EC4P will reduce our hardware footprint, replacing thousands of decentralized industrial PCs with a more efficient, scalable and flexible architecture of local edge servers that unites the cloud and the edge on the shop floor.”

Paul Turner, vice president of products, VMware Cloud Foundation Division at Broadcom ( AVGO ) added, “VCF provides a consistent and scalable way for Audi to operate a distributed edge infrastructure, manage resources more efficiently, and lower operations costs.”

”Ultimately, VCF will help Audi increase factory uptime, agility, and the speed of rolling out new applications and tools across the production line.”

Yesterday, the company disclosed the enhancements to VMware vDefend to strengthen security planning and assessment, streamline lifecycle management, and enhance scalability across application environments.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via EA Series Trust Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF and VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF ( SMHX ) .

Price Action: AVGO shares are down 2.6% at $174.61 at the last check Thursday.

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