Neoception FAQ

The Neoception Digital Twin Infrastructure is enterprise software that generates standardized Asset Administration Shells (IEC 63278) automatically and at scale — rule-based, on demand, and directly from the data already held in your ERP, PIM, PLM or MES. No redundant data storage, no proprietary format. This page answers the questions we are asked most often: how the software works, what it requires from your IT, which standards it supports, how it prepares you for the Digital Product Passport, how access is controlled, what it costs, and who stands behind it.

The basics:
What an Asset Administration Shell is and what the DTI does with it

The Asset Administration Shell is the open global standard (IEC 63278) for the Digital Twin in industry. It defines one uniform format and standardized interfaces for all information about a product or asset. The Digital Twin Infrastructure generates these shells automatically, rule-based, from the data your systems already hold.

The Asset Administration Shell is the global, open standard (IEC 63278) for the Digital Twin in industry. It defines a uniform format and standardized interfaces through which all information about a product or asset – from technical documentation and material data to certificates – can be provided in a structured way. Thanks to its integrated semantics, the AAS is designed for interoperability and is widely regarded across industry as the preferred technology for implementing the Digital Product Passport (DPP).

DThe Neoception Digital Twin Infrastructure is enterprise software that creates standardized Asset Administration Shells automatically and at scale – based on the data that already exists in your systems. Instead of copying data redundantly, the DTI generates Asset Administration Shells rule-based and on demand, directly from your source systems. Distributed data from ERP, PIM, PLM, or MES becomes a consistent, always up-to-date Digital Twin for every product or asset.

For manufacturing companies that need or want to provide standardized product and asset data at scale – whether driven by customer requirements, regulatory obligations (e.g., Digital Product Passport, Battery Passport), or the digitalization of internal processes. The solution is industry-agnostic and specifically designed for industrial environments, including brownfield landscapes.

Typical use cases include the Digital Product Passport (DPP), Battery Passport readiness, paperless product documentation (incl. VDI 2770), the digital nameplate, digital service centers, and asset lifecycle management, among many others. The key advantage: the DTI is one infrastructure for all of these use cases at once – once connected, new use cases can be added through configuration, without launching a new IT project for each one. Drawing on more than 75 real-world use cases, we know how to turn the AAS into measurable business value.

The DTI is a software product, not a project. You benefit from professional, continuous product development, regular releases, and a common software core shared by all customers – instead of a custom solution that becomes outdated once the project ends. New requirements are implemented through configuration, not programming.

How it works:
From a request to a finished Asset Administration Shell

The DTI builds an Asset Administration Shell in five steps: a request arrives with optional context, the matching data model template is selected by rule, standardized properties are mapped to your proprietary fields, data is retrieved live from the connected systems, and the shell is delivered via viewer, API or .aasx file.

In five steps: (1) An application requests an AAS – optionally with context data such as a serial number or the role of the requester. (2) The DTI selects the appropriate data model template based on rules. (3) Standardized properties are mapped to the proprietary data fields of your source systems. (4) The data is retrieved live from the connected systems. (5) The finished Asset Administration Shell is delivered – in the web viewer, via the standardized API, or as an .aasx file. Modeling, standardization, and mapping are configured entirely through a user interface.

No. The DTI operates without redundant data storage: your source systems remain the single source of truth, and the Asset Administration Shell is generated from live data at the time of the request. This means the information is always up to date. For use cases that require historized versions (e.g., compliance and record-keeping obligations), a complementary Snapshot application persists time-stamped Asset Administration Shells in a repository.

Templates, rules, and mappings are maintained through the Backoffice interface by business-side staff (“content admins”) – no programming skills required. Your IT department is only needed at defined points: once for deployment and once per source system for the connection. After that, new use cases are implemented by the business side. This reduces day-to-day IT workload by up to 70%.

No – deliberately not. The DTI works with a deterministic, rule-based mapping engine. This guarantees reproducible, transparent, and auditable results: the same request always delivers the same result. For standardized product data that must hold up with customers and authorities, this is a decisive quality factor.

In principle, all of them: ERP, PIM, PLM, MES, media databases, data warehouses, and other systems. The connection is made through a generic, REST-based connector framework with a clearly defined interface – independent of the programming language used to implement the connector. In our experience, initial PoC connectors can be developed within about five days.

Operations and integration:
Where the software runs and what your IT needs to do

The DTI runs inside your own infrastructure — on-premises or in the cloud environment of your choice, Kubernetes-based and cloud-agnostic. Your data never leaves your environment. Your IT is involved at three clearly separated points: deployment, connecting each source system, and nothing beyond that — new use cases are configured by the business side.

The DTI is operated within your own IT infrastructure – either on-premises or in the cloud environment of your choice. The solution is cloud-agnostic and Kubernetes-based; you retain full control over operations, data, and security policies. A hosted SaaS option is available for testing and evaluation purposes (trial).

Essentially, you need a Kubernetes cluster, a Microsoft SQL Server, a container registry, a secrets vault, and an ingress controller. The minimum resource requirements are deliberately lean (from approx. 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM). We clarify the details together with your IT team in a requirement workshop.

Updates are provided through an integrated mechanism and can be installed without mandatory IT support. All customers benefit from the common software core: continuous development, new features, and fast response times for critical fixes – delivered as regular feature releases plus ongoing security updates.

Significantly less than classic integration projects. There are three clearly separated tasks: deployment (once per instance, IT), connecting the data sources (once per source system, IT or service partner), and configuring use cases, models, and templates (business side, no IT required). After that, the rule is: new use cases do not create new IT project workload.

Standards and interoperability:
Standard-compliant output, no vendor lock-in

The DTI produces native Asset Administration Shells in line with IEC 63278 and supports the standardized IDTA submodel templates as well as semantic standards such as ECLASS and IEC CDD. The output is always standard-compliant — there is no proprietary format, and any AAS-capable system can consume it.

The DTI generates native Asset Administration Shells in accordance with IEC 63278 and supports the standardized IDTA submodel templates as well as semantic standards such as ECLASS and IEC CDD. For data exchange, both file export in the .aasx format and the standardized AAS Repository API (JSON/REST) are available.

No. The output is always a standard-compliant Asset Administration Shell – there is no proprietary data format and no vendor lock-in. All generated content remains accessible through open standards and interfaces and can be used with third-party systems.

Yes – that is exactly what the AAS standard was made for. A growing number of market-leading systems offer AAS interfaces (SAP, for example, introduced an AAS import interface in 2025). Since the DTI delivers standard-compliant Asset Administration Shells, they can be consumed by any AAS-capable system.

Digital Product Passport and regulation:
Preparing for DPP, Battery Passport and PCN

The Asset Administration Shell is widely regarded across industry as the preferred technology for implementing the Digital Product Passport. With the DTI you build the data infrastructure the DPP will require: requirements are modeled through configuration, and the Snapshot application persists time-stamped shells for record-keeping obligations.

Yes. Across large parts of industry, the AAS is regarded as the preferred technology for implementing the DPP. With the DTI, you build today the data infrastructure that the DPP will require tomorrow: requirements can be modeled through configuration, and the Snapshot application already provides mechanisms needed for persistent product passports. The DPP is one use case among many – the same infrastructure supports your other digitalization use cases as well.

The EU Battery Regulation mandates a digital Battery Passport for batteries above 2 kWh from February 18, 2027. Affected companies need a reliable infrastructure by then to provide the required product data in a structured, standardized way. The DTI supports the necessary structures and content based on the AAS.

The DTI provides the technical foundation: standard-compliant Asset Administration Shells whose structure and content can be aligned with regulatory requirements. Legal compliance itself depends on the specific delegated acts and on the completeness and quality of your data – the software does not replace legal advice or a conformity certification. We are happy to show you transparently which regulatory requirements are supported by which product capabilities.

Yes, the DTI supports the standardized IDTA submodel for Product Change Notifications (IDTA 02036). This allows product change notifications to be communicated to your customers in a standardized, machine-readable way.

Security and data privacy:
Who can access which data

The DTI includes integrated identity and access management, supports single sign-on via OpenID Connect and SAML 2.0, and supports multi-factor authentication. Access to backoffice, viewer and interfaces is governed by role-based access control; a public, unauthenticated view exposes only content explicitly defined as public — for QR code scans on the product, for example.

The DTI includes integrated identity and access management based on Keycloak and supports single sign-on via OpenID Connect and SAML 2.0. Your company’s existing identity providers (e.g., Microsoft Entra ID or Okta) can be connected, as can directory services via LDAPS. Multi-factor authentication is supported.

Yes. Access to the Backoffice, the Viewer, and the interfaces is controlled through role-based access control (RBAC). In addition, a public, unauthenticated view is available that displays only the content of an Asset Administration Shell defined as public – for example, for QR code scans on the product.

Communication is encrypted via TLS. Since the software runs in your own infrastructure, your company-wide security policies apply on top. External connections are limited to the necessary minimum (license renewal and update provisioning).

Only minimal data: by default, only the name and email address of the configuring administrators are stored – and even that is unnecessary when an external identity provider is connected. The solution is designed to be privacy-friendly.

Licensing and getting started:
What the price scales with, and how a project begins

The DTI is licensed as an annual subscription. There is no billing per user, per product passport or per transaction — the licence scales with the number of instances, not with your usage. A three-month trial licence lets you evaluate the software as SaaS, and everything you configure during the trial carries over into production.

As an annual subscription with predictable costs. There is no billing per user, per product passport, or per transaction – the license scales with the number of instances, not with your usage. You can generate millions of Asset Administration Shells without your license costs increasing.

Yes. With the Trial License, you use the software for three months as a SaaS solution with the full range of functionality on a test database – no infrastructure of your own and no installation effort required. This lets you verify, risk-free, whether the solution fits your data landscape and your use cases.

In three phases: (1) Getting to know each other – together, we analyze your current situation and requirements. (2) Feasibility – optionally with a use case workshop, the Trial License, and the development of a first connector to one of your source systems; the requirement workshop produces the technical concept for integration and deployment. (3) Implementation – productive operation with the Full License in your infrastructure, optionally with start-up support, training, and integration services.

They are fully retained. Configurations, templates, and developed connectors are carried over into productive operation – only the license changes, not your work. Every step builds on the previous one: no throwaway pilot, no lost investment.

Support and company:
Who stands behind the software

Neoception GmbH is a software company headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, founded in 2017 as a spin-off of the Pepperl+Fuchs Group. We are an ECLASS Solution Provider, a member of the IDTA, and a development partner of the DPP4.0 reference architecture. Support is available on working days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CET.

Our support operates with teams in Germany and Portugal and is available on working days from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; extended service levels can be agreed contractually. For an efficient process, we rely on a proven escalation model with a designated application owner on the customer side as the first point of contact.

Neoception GmbH is a technology leader in the field of Digital Twins (AAS), headquartered in Mannheim, Germany. Founded in 2017 as a spin-off of the Pepperl+Fuchs Group, we combine deep industry and process understanding with modern software development – backed by the stability and long-term perspective of our parent company. We are an ECLASS Solution Provider, a member of the IDTA, and a development partner of the DPP4.0 reference architecture.

Our reference customers include Pepperl+Fuchs (paperless digital nameplate, productive at large industrial scale), ZIEHL-ABEGG (one of the first companies worldwide with a productive AAS solution), WAGO (harmonization of heterogeneous data sources incl. eCLASS and DPP), as well as Endress+Hauser, LAPP, WIKA, HARTING and HEITEC.

Write to us at contact@neoception.com or schedule an appointment with our team directly. We will get back to you promptly.