i4FS emerged as a product of two large scale, pan-European research and innovation projects – ZDMP and vf-OS. vf-OS (Virtual Factory Operating System) who’s aim was to develop a toolkit of software components to allow developers to easily build factory-orientated applications. Then to market these through a, so-called, multi-sided marketplace similar to the App-store or Play-store although these should not be seen as the typical mobile orientated Apps. ZDMP (Zero Defects Manufacturing Platform) is an ongoing project, taking aspects of vf-OS and the focusing on the field of zero-defect product and process manufacturing. Several partners from these initiatives saw the opportunity to pool their knowledge and resources at a pan-European level and form i4FS.