What is the role of SCADA systems in industrial environments today?

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems are commonplace in industrial processes all over the world. Renowned for their process monitoring capabilities, these systems are ubiquitous in industrial enterprises.

In particular, businesses deploy SCADA systems, a combination of software and hardware components, for local and remote supervision of industrial processes. Not only that, but with data being one of the most valuable assets in enterprises today, SCADA systems can collect and process data in real time.

Furthermore, its human-machine interface software enables employees to interact with field devices, such as pumps and and sensors. Yet another added perk is that it also facilitates data logging and recording.

SCADA systems are at the crux of industrial processes today, as they help organisations manage modern demands. Having said that, SCADA systems are nothing new. In fact, they date as far back as the 50s. However, they have evolved in sync with enterprise needs today.

This is with particular thanks to the increase in automation. Organisations now often explore their automation options to alleviate the burden of manual, repetitive, and mundane tasks on their employees. Today, we are seeing third and fourth generation SCADA systems in practice. In terms of their main characteristics, third generation accommodates for internet connectivity, while fourth is where SCADA meets the cloud.

Thus, SCADA systems have enjoyed significant maturation since its applications in minicomputers 70 years ago. In light of this, we're recounting some of our favourite SCADA systems that will help you meet your business requirements today.

Yokogawa

Yokogawa zeros in on the evolution of SCADA to deliver high performance, high availability, broad scalability, and platform independence in their SCADA applications. What's more, this is done in such a way to maximise return on investment while minimising total cost of ownership over the system life cycle. In particular, organisations can enjoy the power and flexibility of Yokogawa's SCADA software (FAST/TOOLS), a comprehensive, fully-integrated SCADA application suite.

Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric, a world-leading equipment supplier, offers the SCADA software MC Works64. This is an especially modern solution, honing in on next-generation integrated monitoring for Internet of Things (IoT). With IoT accelerating digital transformation initiatives, MC Works64 is therefore the perfect solution to see you through yours. Furthermore, the Mitsubishi solution comes with a wide range of factory automation products to catalyse your visualisation, analysis, and improvement.

Inductive Automation

Ignition SCADA is the Inductive Automation offering. This tool is famous for being the 'new' SCADA, addressing the pain points that 'old' SCADA traditionally presents. In particular, Ignition hones in on the powerful combination of instant web-based deployment and the industry-leading SCADA toolset with an unlimited licensing model, all in one powerful and scalable platform. Businesses can take advantage of Ignition to better their control over processes and enjoy limitless data analysis.

Why not check out our Ask the Expert with Steve O'Donnell at Mitratech?