Data in Motion — MQTT, Sparkplug B, and Why the Edge Changes Everything

Data in Motion — MQTT, Sparkplug B, and Why the Edge Changes Everything

What happens when you need to move data across an entire enterprise — reliably, efficiently, and at scale — without drowning in network traffic or proprietary middleware? That's where MQTT and Sparkplug B come in.

Travis and Tom sit down with Benson Houghland, VP of Products at Opto 22, and Arlen Nipper, co-inventor of MQTT, to trace the protocol's origins in satellite telemetry all the way to its role as the backbone of modern industrial data infrastructure. The conversation covers event-driven vs. polling architectures, what a real MQTT/Sparkplug deployment looks like, and why edge compute changes everything.

IN THIS EPISODE

1. MQTT + Sparkplug B is the architecture for scalable industrial data movement. Data moves when it changes, not on a timer — and Sparkplug B gives that data a standardized structure enterprise systems can actually use.

2. The Unified Namespace becomes real with MQTT and Sparkplug B. Together they provide the event-driven backbone for a true single source of truth across your operation, with Ignition at the center.

3. Edge compute is now an architectural requirement. Resilience, millisecond decisions, and offline operation — Ignition Edge, MQTT, and Sparkplug B make it all possible without vendor lock-in.

GUESTS

Arlen Nipper — Co-inventor of MQTT; Sparkplug B specification contributor

Benson Houghland — VP of Products, Opto 22