Abstract: A computer-implemented method for providing vetting and/or functional validation of software components, comprising: providing a software component and software component data indicating the software component; writing the software component data in a distributed ledger; functional validating and/or vetting the software component and providing functional validation and/or vetting data of the software component; writing the functional validation and/or vetting data in the distributed ledger; providing the data written in the distributed ledger to a software component consumer.

Abstract: A distributed control system includes low-level controllers interacting with field devices, a high-level controller providing instructions, a human-machine interface that receives an input from a user transmits it to the high-level controller, receive from the high-level controller state information of the process, and display this state information to the user; first and second instances of backend software that are communicatively coupled to the high-level controller, first and second instances of frontend software running on respective client devices of the plant, and a software manager that indicates to each client device which version of frontend software is available for the client device, wherein the first instance of frontend software interfaces with the version of the first instance of backend software, and the second instance of frontend software interfaces with the version of the second instance of backend software.

Abstract: A method includes receiving data indicating an event from at least one industrial device; providing the received data indicating an event to nodes of a distributed ledger; in response, selecting at least one of the nodes of a distributed ledger and writing a transaction into the distributed ledger, wherein the writing of a transaction into the distributed ledger is authorized by the selected at least one of the nodes of the distributed ledger, wherein the transaction comprises transaction data, wherein the transaction data allows an accessing of event data; wherein the transaction data comprises a pointer pointing to original or pre-processed data existing in one or more industrial databases of the at least one industrial device; providing immutable and tamper-resistant event data, event reaction data, control data, or training data for training a machine learning or an artificial intelligence based industrial control system based on the transaction data.