Evolving communication standards, coupled with the rapid migration to Web-based control by all control hardware manufacturers, is eroding away pieces of the hardware's traditional functionality and transferring it to software.
Acceptance of IT standards dilutes system uniqueness while bringing newly found power to products. Hardware becomes simpler and develops sameness. The companies that turn complex devices into simple commodities are now looking at how they can build the new breed of controls cheaper, or make these contols part of the existing device infrastructure.