SUSE Acquires Losant, Forging a Full-Stack Open IIoT Frontier

LUXEMBOURG – February 19, 2026 – Enterprise open source leader SUSE today announced its acquisition of Losant, an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform, in a strategic move that fundamentally reshapes its position in the rapidly evolving edge computing market. The acquisition extends SUSE’s reach from cloud-adjacent data centers to the 'Tiny Edge'—the world of sensors, controllers, and machinery on the factory floor—positioning the company to deliver what it calls the industry's first full-stack, open process automation platform.

This move signals a significant shift for SUSE, transforming it from a provider of foundational edge infrastructure into an end-to-end solutions vendor for industrial operations. By integrating Losant's application-enablement capabilities, SUSE aims to break down the traditional silos between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), offering a unified platform for real-time data analysis and AI-driven automation.

From Infrastructure to Full-Stack IIoT Leader

For years, SUSE has built a robust portfolio for the edge, centered on secure, scalable infrastructure. Its offerings, including SUSE Linux Micro, the lightweight Kubernetes distribution K3s, and the powerful Rancher Prime management plane, have enabled enterprises to manage thousands of distributed clusters. However, these tools primarily addressed the infrastructure layer, leaving the application and data orchestration to other vendors or complex in-house development.

The acquisition of Losant, a recognized Niche Player in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Global Industrial IoT Platforms, directly fills this gap. Losant brings a mature, low-code platform that excels at device orchestration, data management, and visual workflow creation. This empowers OT teams—the experts closest to the physical processes—to build and deploy logic that turns raw sensor data into actionable business outcomes, without requiring deep software development expertise.

“The acquisition of Losant transforms SUSE from an edge infrastructure provider to a full-stack Industrial IoT leader,” said Keith Basil, general manager of SUSE Edge. “It allows us to deliver to customers the part of the Edge where the digital world directly meets the physical one, where machines, environments, and people interact in real time, and where AI can be meaningfully deployed to gain better insight into real-world processes.”

This integration is crucial for conquering the 'Tiny Edge,' a market segment characterized by resource-constrained devices where latency and connectivity are constant challenges. By combining SUSE's hardened, minimal-footprint OS with Losant's efficient data handling, the joint solution is purpose-built to operate effectively in these demanding environments.

The Open Source Gambit in a Proprietary World

Perhaps the most disruptive element of the acquisition is SUSE's plan to open source the Losant platform. In a market dominated by proprietary, end-to-end solutions from industrial giants like Siemens and PTC, and cloud hyperscalers such as AWS and Microsoft, this commitment to open standards represents a bold strategic play. By releasing the technology to the community, SUSE aims to accelerate innovation, foster interoperability, and offer customers a compelling alternative to vendor lock-in.

“Joining forces with SUSE is the natural next step for Losant,” said Charlie Key, CEO of Losant. “Combining our low-code Industrial Internet of Things platform with SUSE’s 30 plus years of experience in enterprise software will provide customers with stability and interoperability, allowing us to accelerate our mission to help IT leaders turn complex data into immediate operational value.”

This strategy is further reinforced by SUSE's increased commitment to industry consortiums. The company is elevating its role to a steering committee member in Margo, an organization dedicated to open interoperability in industrial automation. “With SUSE's elevated contribution... we look forward to working together closely to evaluate how the Losant platform... can accelerate interface standardization and strengthen the broader Margo ecosystem,” stated Bart Nieuwborg, Chair of Margo.

This open approach directly addresses a major pain point for industrial customers: integrating a complex web of legacy systems and modern technologies. An open, standards-aligned architecture promises the freedom to modernize operations without being tied to a single vendor's ecosystem, a philosophy that has been central to SUSE’s success in the enterprise data center.

Powering the AI-Orchestrated Factory Floor

The acquisition is timed to capitalize on a critical industry inflection point. According to 451 Research, part of S&P Global Energy, IoT endpoints are rapidly evolving into AI endpoints, driving a shift from digital oversight to “semi-autonomous, AI-orchestrated systems.” The combination of SUSE's existing AI strategy and Losant's data platform is designed to make this vision a reality.

The integrated solution will enable organizations to deploy AI and machine learning models directly at the edge, where data is generated. A practical example cited by the company involves a manufacturer collecting real-time sensor data from production equipment. This data can be orchestrated at the edge to automatically trigger AI-driven quality checks or predictive maintenance workflows, identifying potential failures before they cause costly downtime.

This moves the value proposition beyond simple data collection to intelligent, automated action. For customers, this translates into tangible operational benefits, including improved asset performance, reduced defects, and streamlined processes across sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and smart infrastructure.

Industry Impact and the Path to Modernization

Early reactions from industry partners suggest the move is well-received and seen as a crucial step forward for the industrial sector. The acquisition promises to bridge the long-standing gap between the plant floor and enterprise systems.

“By bringing Losant’s Industrial IoT application platform under the SUSE umbrella alongside its secure, scalable edge infrastructure, SUSE is delivering a unified foundation purpose-built for industrial environments—linking physical operations on the plant floor to enterprise systems,” said Keith Gamble, Director of Software Engineering at Barry-Wehmiller Design Group. “We’re excited about the direction this sets for manufacturing and industrial technology.”

The potential benefits extend beyond traditional manufacturing. Mattias Åström, CEO of sustainable cloud provider evroc, noted the potential for innovation in building smarter, greener data centers. “Bringing Losant’s tech into the open source fold could be a massive catalyst for greener, smarter datacenters across the continent,” he commented.

Ultimately, the fusion of SUSE's open source infrastructure expertise with Losant's application-centric IIoT platform creates a powerful toolkit for industrial modernization. It provides a clearer path for organizations to move from complex data collection to achieving tangible operational awareness and efficiency. By championing openness at the heart of industrial operations, SUSE is not just acquiring a company; it is making a bold play to redefine the future of industrial automation itself.