An industrial automation task force developed the original standard in 1996 under the name OLE for Process Control.
The specification defined a standard set of objects, interfaces e.g. IDL and methods for use in process control and manufacturing automation applications to facilitate interoperability.
UA combined the functionality of the existing OPC interfaces with new technologies such as XML and Web services to deliver higher level manufacturing execution system (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) support.
[6] On September 16, 2010, The OPC Foundation and the MTConnect Institute announced cooperation to ensure interoperability and consistency between the two standards.
[7] OPC was designed to provide a common bridge for Windows-based software applications and process control hardware.
Traditionally, any time a package needed access to data from a device, a custom interface or driver had to be written.
OPC servers use Microsoft's OLE technology (also known as the Component Object Model, or COM) to communicate with clients.
COM technology permits a standard for real-time information exchange between software applications and process hardware to be defined.