That's a really insightful question about where industrial automation is heading! Based on what I'm seeing in current trends, I think we're definitely moving toward more convergence, but the distinctions won't disappear completely in 10 years.

Here's what I'm noticing: There's already a strong trend toward hybrid PLC-DCS architectures, with analysts predicting that over 60% of industrial automation systems will adopt these by 2030. The lines are definitely blurring as all these systems integrate with IIoT, AI, cloud platforms, and edge computing.

What's interesting is that we're seeing the rise of virtual PLCs (vPLCs) - software-based controllers that can run in data centers or cloud environments, separate from the factory floor. Some experts think about 25% of new PLC sales in 2030 could be virtual or software-based.

However, I don't think hardware will become completely irrelevant. Different applications still have different requirements - safety-critical processes will likely continue to need specialized hardware, while more flexible applications might move to unified compute platforms. The programming environment is becoming increasingly important, especially with standards like OPC UA and containerization technologies making control logic more portable.

So in 10 years, I'd expect to see a landscape where the traditional distinctions matter less, but we'll have a spectrum from specialized hardware for critical applications to unified software platforms for more flexible operations. The hardware brand might matter less than the ecosystem and programming environment you're working within.