he hype concerning digitalization is increasing the demand for new generations of automation systems. Concepts like Reference Architecture Model Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) give us models but do not tell us how to facilitate actual implementations. This article discusses the transition from legacy automation technology as defined by ISA-95 to highly distributed Internet of Things (IoT)-and system of systems (SoS)-based automation systems that fully utilize Internet technologies, thus enabling the implementation of Industry 4.0 and RAMI 4.0 models. Distributed IoT automation systems have a number of general requirements concerning real-time performance, security, engineering cost, scalability, and interoperability. Meeting these requirements is necessary to enable possibilities for a realworld implementation of IoT automation. A key concept is local automation clouds. The discussion is based on a particular example of such an automation integration platform, the Arrowhead Framework. High-level topics concerning today's production of goods and services include sustainability, flexibility, efficiency, and competitiveness. These, in turn, are driven by important societal issues, such as environmental sustainability, the availability of energ y a nd ot he r raw materials, and rapidly changing market trends. Several changes that address these topics in different ways are apparent. One change is the move from large monolithic organizations toward multistakeholder collaborations in which cooperation is fostered by market requirements. Another change is the immediate and continuous