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White Paper5 Reasons Ignition is MoreThan Just SCADA SoftwareExplore a Unified Platform with Unlimited 0.266.7798www.inductiveautomation.com
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareExplore a Unified PlatformWith Unlimited PotentialIn a competitive global economy, it’s crucial to makethe most of every asset your company has. Thatmeans getting the most value from your budget andthe most utility from your tools; why buy a singleblade when you can get a Swiss Army knife? Thisidea extends to your company’s software.Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)software is used by companies and other organizations around the world to monitor, gather and processdata, and to control automated processes. SCADAsoftware plays a critical role in a wide variety ofindustries that impact our everyday lives, such asmanufacturing, utilities, water, oil and gas, healthcare, mass transit, and more. (For a fuller explanationof SCADA, please see the sidebar.)Although SCADA software is widely used, it has manydrawbacks and limitations. Some of the biggest ofthese are that SCADA software is hard to customize,it doesn’t “play well” with other software and othersystems, it is very expensive to implement and oftenmakes expansion cost-prohibitive, and it doesn’t letyou easily access real-time data.Fortunately, a growing number of companies arediscovering an automation software solution that increases their competitive advantage by doing morethan just SCADA.Ignition can do much more than SCADA.In just a decade, Inductive Automation has established itself as the fastest-growing SCADA softwarecompany in the world through our software platform,Ignition by Inductive Automation . But here’s a surprising fact that is also a key to Ignition’s success:Ignition isn’t exactly “SCADA software.” That’s becauseIgnition’s capabilities expand and surpass the narrow definition of what standard SCADA software isconsidered to be.This is the one of the most difficult perceptions to overcome when explaining the capabilities of Ignition.Like a Swiss Army knife, it is far more versatile thanit appears at first glance. Yes, Ignition is a great800.266.7798www.inductiveautomation.comSCADA DefinedSCADA is an industrial control system at thecore of many modern industries. SCADAsystems deploy multiple technologies tomonitor, gather, and process data as well asto control equipment. Virtually anywhere youlook in today’s world, you will find some typeof SCADA system running, whether it’s at yourlocal supermarket, refinery, waste water treatment plant or even your own home.SCADA systems range from simple to largeand complex. Most utilize HMI (human-machine interface) software that allows users tointeract with and control the machines anddevices connected to the HMI, such as valves,pumps, motors and much more.SCADA software receives its information fromRTUs (remote terminal units) or PLCs (programmable logic controllers) that receive theirinformation from sensors or manually inputted values. From here, the data can be usedto monitor, collect and analyze data, whichcan reduce waste and improve efficiency.Modern SCADA systems allow access to realtime, plant-floor data from anywhere in theworld. This real-time access to informationmakes it possible for end users to makedata-driven decisions about how to improvetheir processes. The introduction of modernIT standards and practices such as SQL andweb-based applications into SCADA softwarehas greatly improved the efficiencies, security,productivity and reliability of SCADA systems.solution for HMI, SCADA and MES, but the truth isthat it can do so much more!So what sets Ignition apart from the rest of the SCADAsoftware out there? Keep reading for five reasons whyyou can do so much more with Ignition.More Than Just SCADA Software 2 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareYou can build your SCADAsoftware around your processes.Other SCADA software platforms out there are setup in a certain way – the way the software companymade them. As any systems integrator can tell you,one size does not fit all when it comes to SCADAsystems. Although you can spend a lot of money andtime on SCADA software, you often find that it can’tdo what you need it to do.Hendrixson also says, “Even though Ignition is soldunder the SCADA name, it’s not SCADA. At its core,it is a development platform.” Miller-Eads has usedIgnition to develop a unique system for a customerof theirs that manufactures equipment for professional athletes. Their customer is using Ignition torun almost every aspect of their manufacturingfacility including HMI / SCADA, MES, production,recipe, quality control and machine control, and isconstantly expanding Ignition into different areasof their operations.If you need a new feature, you have to request itfrom the company and then wait for them to maybeget around to it. The length of the wait depends onhow frequently the company gets that particularrequest and, most likely, your request is one out ofa huge number of requests for new features. Whileyou understand this, it’s still frustrating, especiallywhen you’re requesting something that you or yourclient urgently needs. And how can you plan for yourfuture needs when you’re boxed in to the softwarecompany’s way of doing things?Ignition is different:It’s built with your unique processes in mind. After all,your unique processes are the source of your competitive advantage. If you’re forced to change howyou do things just because the software you need isset up one particular way, it hurts your business.Ignition is like a blank slate – you make it do whatyou need, how you need. Ignition is built withdatabases at its core, based on modern IT standardsand is cross-platform compatible. It works with anydatabase, any device, and any operating system,regardless of version. That includes every versionof Microsoft Windows, so you won’t need to worryabout the next time Microsoft ends support forone of its products.“The flexibility that you gain with Ignition over otherSCADA brands is hard to really put a price on,because what you think you need today is not whatyou’re going to need tomorrow,” says Charlie Hendrixson, director of automation services for MillerEads Automation in Indianapolis, Ind. “Trying to planahead for the future when you’re working under arigid licensing structure is very omThe athletic-equipment company faced some uniquechallenges because it utilizes a process line thatswitches between hand-building and machine-building, and employs a multicultural workforce. Becausesome steps in their customer’s process only involvehuman workers, Miller-Eads built them a system thatuses the worker as a sort of human PLC to collect usable data that is then correlated throughout the process. With Ignition, the company can run reports thattrace every step that each piece of material makesthrough the facility and show photos of every workerwho handled it. Also, since multiple languages arespoken on the plant floor, Miller Eads designed userinterface touchscreens with visual symbols so thatlanguage differences aren’t an issue. Hendrixson saysthis kind of solution might have been impossibleand would certainly have been costlier in any othertype of development environment.Ignition is a powerful platform that you can buildon for your own needs, and in the way you choose.This flexibility helps you preserve your competitiveadvantage instead of having to compromise it. As welike to say to end users, “Ignition is built around you.”More Than Just SCADA Software 3 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareYou can get MES and ERPto work, all in one place.In addition to SCADA software, which runs on theplant floor, many manufacturing companies alsoutilize manufacturing execution system (MES) andenterprise resource planning (ERP) software.MES software, which is sometimes referred to asmanufacturing operations management (MOM),deals with production scheduling, overall equipmenteffectiveness (OEE) / downtime, preventive maintenance, auditing, statistical process control (SPC)and more. MES can be thought of as a middle layerbetween SCADA and ERP, the latter of which handlesmany aspects of business management such assupply chains, procurement, human resources,financials, sales and more.Ignition even has its own suite of specially built MESmodules. You can add MES modules to your Ignitionplatform or easily integrate Ignition with an existingMES system, and then connect to the ERP system ofyour choice.This SCADA-to-ERP connection delivers a wealth ofbenefits. It improves quality control and quality assurance, asset management and mobility on the plantfloor. At the enterprise level, you can have centralizedcontrol, faster access to data, improved operationaltransparency, better decision-making, and an easiertime complying with regulatory requirements.The more that you use Ignition, the more you’llsee that it is unlimited. It can be used by sales andmarketing departments as well as by operators onthe plant floor. It breaks down the walls betweenSCADA and other systems, resulting in efficienciesthat would not be possible otherwise.SCADA and ERP systems are more commonly usedthan MES systems, even though MES gives SCADAend users increased connection with their data toimprove efficiency, productivity and quality. MESsolutions commonly require other systems like ERP,so it’s highly beneficial to have one solution that canbring SCADA, MES and ERP together.However, most control systems are about 10 yearsbehind the technology curve. They don’t work withthe modern IT technologies (such as Java, the weband SQL databases) that are pervasive at theenterprise level. The gap between SCADA, MESand ERP keeps many companies from connectingup their whole enterprise. Unfortunately, this gapbetween systems leads to unnecessary waste andmissed opportunities.Ignition is different:Ignition has led the way in effectively merging modern IT technology with control systems. With Ignition,you can connect and work seamlessly with any MESor ERP system, which allows data to flow smoothlythroughout your whole omMore Than Just SCADA Software 4 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareYou don’t get chargedlike SCADA software.Typical SCADA software companies base their pricing around the number of people you want to haveusing the system and the amount of data you wantto track via tags – it’s based on the size of your plantand the number of physical pieces you have.“With other software, it almostseems like if you want to have amodern practice with PLCs andcontrols and you want to havea SCADA system, then they’re going to hold you hostage. It reallydoesn’t feel that way with Ignition.”– Charlie HendrixsonDirector of Automation, Miller-Eads AutomationThis type of pricing scheme is only good for thesoftware vendor, not for the integrator or end user.The costs add up every time you want to add to yourSCADA system, and it can be frustrating when yourexpansion plans are halted just because your SCADAsoftware licensing costs shoot through the etary licensing drains your budget and depletesyour ability to innovate. How are you supposed toinnovate when licensing costs make it too expensiveto upgrade or expand your industrial equipment?Ignition is different:Its licensing is extremely simple: You buy one serverlicense and get unlimited clients and tags. You getas many connections as you want, which is very rarewith this type of software. Adding on to your systemdoesn’t cost anything from a software standpoint.So now you can use your software without feelingconfined by licensing limitations, such as having tojustify buying a seat license every time you want toadd a user.Instead of restricting your growth, Ignition’s unlimited licensing sets your potential for growth free,which gives you a far greater return for your software investment.“It’s a modern licensing practice, and it doesn’t feelproprietary,” Hendrixson says. “With other software,it almost seems like if you want to have a modernpractice with PLCs and controls and you want tohave a SCADA system, then they’re going to hold youhostage. It really doesn’t feel that way with Ignition.”In addition to bringing IT technologies to controls,Ignition brings a by-the-server licensing model fromthe IT world. By making SCADA technology affordable, it makes it more useful. The unlimited licensingopens up unlimited possibilities.More Than Just SCADA Software 5 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareThe platform holds all the pieces that make the software work with everything else and the modulesadd specialized functions to the platform.You can get EVERYTHINGto work together.When was the last time you could get all of your software pieces to work in one place? Usually, you haveto log into multiple software pieces to configure them.Each time you add new software, you most likelyhave to maneuver around different software piecesto make the new piece fit with your existing software –or just relegate it to its own corner of your system,where it becomes a data island. That’s frustrating!Older SCADA software doesn’t use modern communication protocols, which makes it difficult to gethardware from different vendors to communicatewith each other. The usual “solution” to this problemis to add expensive proprietary drivers that causemore frustration on the plant floor.Ignition is different:It has two main parts: the platform and the modules.Ignition’s modular architecture is the key to why itwill always work regardless of what other softwareyou add in the future.Downtime OEEModuleMESduleMESLayerduleMESLayerduleMESLayerI MES/ SCADAduleLayerduleLayerI / SCADAduleLayerI / SCADAduleLayerI / SCADAI / SCADAduleLayerdule eServer/ DriversModuleOPC-UAServer/ DriversModuleOPC-UAServer/ DriversOPC-UAModuleModuleServer/ DriversServer / OPC-UADriversModuleServer / DriversSPCModuleOne of the modules included with Ignition is theOPC-UA Module which lets you connect to PLCs orremote terminal units (RTUs) on the plant floor. OPCUA is the industrial automation industry’s currentstandard cross-platform framework for accessingreal-time and historical data. The Ignition OPC-UAModule lets you connect to most major PLCs and toany third-party OPC server. It’s the world’s first totallycross-platform OPC-UA server with an open, pluggable driver system that makes the old problem of getting everything on the plant floor to work togethersuddenly easy. Also, Ignition was the first SCADAsystem to offer a built-in OPC-UA server instead ofmaking you buy a third-party OPC-UA server.SchedulingModuleInstrumentInterface ModuleRecipeChangeoverModuleRecipe /Track & TraceFutureChangeover/ GenealogyRecipe /Track& TraceModulesFutureModuleModuleChangeover/ GenealogyRecipe /Track& oduleChangeover/ GenealogyRecipe /Track& ModuleAlarmRecipeTrack& TraceChangeover/ ngMobileModuleModuleModulesNotificationChangeover/ eModuleSQL ModuleModuleModuleSQL tformPlatformAuditingAlarming Core ivityAuditingAlarming CoreFunctionalityPlatformOPC-UA ClientSystem LoggingDatabaseOPC-UA ClientWebServerDatabaseOPC-UA ClientWeb ServerDatabaseOPC-UA ClientWebServerOPC-UAClientDatabaseLicensingSystem icationSystemLoggingAuditingEnvironmentUnified DevelopmentModule uthenticationUnified DevelopmentModule APIEnvironmentUnified DevelopmentModule comJavaDatabaseWeb ServerWeb ServerSome modules are included with Ignition and somehave to be plugged into it. There are Ignition modules for alarming, templates, project development,screen design, data management, MES, scriptingfunctions and much more.JavaJavaAlarmNotificationModuleReal-Time Tag DatabaseScripting EngineDatabaseConnectivityAlarming onalityDatabase ConnectivityStore& ForwardReal-TimeTag DatabaseRedundancyStore & ForwardReal-TimeTag DatabaseRedundancyStore&ForwardReal-Time Tag DatabaseRedundancyReal-TimeTag DatabaseStore & ForwardDatabaseConnectivityScripting EngineScripting EngineStore& ForwardRedundancyRedundancyScriptingDatabase EngineConnectivityAlarmingCoreFunctionalityMore Than Just SCADA Software 6 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
5 Reasons Ignition is More Than Just SCADA SoftwareYou can understand your dataand operations like never before.High-speed automated processes don’t want you toanalyze what’s happening in the now. Most SCADAsoftware uses historians, which use proprietary technology to compress and store data. As a result, timeseries data is often kept totally separate and detachedfrom the rest of the enterprise data; not because ithas to be, but because historians make it difficultfor other systems to work with it.If you want to get your data out of your historian software and into a database, you have to jump throughhoops. When you finally get your data in a usableformat like a .xls or .csv file, the hours or days thathave passed make it irrelevant because your plant hasalready moved on to the next production process.Ignition is different:It uses SQL databases to log and store data. And sinceyour data is stored into a database in real time, it’s available in real time because you didn’t have to pull it outof proprietary historian software!Ignition lets you view real-time trends, cross-referenceany number of data sets – and you can do it on anad-hoc basis. This means that you can get answers toimportant questions about real-time data in milliseconds, not hours or days.In addition to real-time data, historical data is apotential gold mine of information. The only way youcan put time-series data into context is to make itrelatable to the data from the rest of your enterprise.At any time, you can use Ignition to give the datacontext and gain a better understanding of what’sreally going on, and what you can do about it.monitoring, control or data analysis screens that youneed to run your business better, without worryingabout software costs. Get everything connected andworking together with ease and start doing thingswith your data like never before.The Ignition difference runs even deeper than itsflexibility, its integration of MES and ERP, its licensing model, its interoperability or its real-time data.The fundamental reason why Ignition is more thanSCADA is in the way it’s built: as a unified platformwith perfectly integrated modules for separate functions. This means it provides seamless HMI, SCADAand MES functionality on a single platform. When allof those different applications are combined, thewhole becomes greater than the sum of its parts,and it allows you to achieve things never thoughtpossible with traditional SCADA.Steve Hechtman, the founder, president and CEOof Inductive Automation, worked for 25 years as asystems integrator before starting the company. Hereached a point of great frustration with the limitations and hassles of SCADA software. “When we werefirst developing Ignition, there was no simple wayto connect a database with a PLC or to web-launchclients. It was like there was this giant wall separatingus from what we wanted to do with SCADA, and thenas we looked more closely at the wall we started tofind some loose bricks,” Hechtman says. “Then, afterwe took out those bricks, we asked ourselves, ‘Wow,what if there are more loose bricks?’ And then, prettysoon we’d made a hole in the wall and we could seewhat is on the other side.”Ignition tears down the walls around SCADA software. It not only meets your needs but becomes atool for innovation. It allows you to dream up newpossibilities and develop them – and what SCADAsoftware can do that?Get ready to change your game.In a competitive industry where every second counts,Ignition is a game-changer. You can build a normalSCADA system with Ignition – but the true magic ofIgnition happens when you discover that you can gobeyond SCADA. You can build whatever r more information about Ignitionby Inductive Automation visit:www.inductiveautomation.comMore Than Just SCADA Software 7 of 8 2013 Inductive Automation
Elevate your SCADA system.Do more with Ignition.Web-Based DeploymentRapid DevelopmentCross-platform software that letsyou quickly launch your SCADAsystem to any computer or deviceequipped with a web browser.Powerful and intuitive rapiddevelopment tools allow you tospend less time developing andmore time innovating.Unlimited LicensingReal-Time Control& MonitoringEverything you need for oneaffordable price. Buy one serverlicense and get an unlimitednumber of clients, connections,tags and possibilities.Put a world of control andmonitoring functionality at yourfingertips to get the informationyou need, when you need it.Security & StabilityEasy ExpandabilityCreate a secure, reliable controlsystem using modern securityprotocols and a unified architecturewith built-in redundancy.A flexible modular architecturebuilt upon modern IT standardsdesigned to perfectly fit youcompany’s needs.Dream It. Do It.Download today at www.TryIgnition.comHMI SCADA MES Software
discovering an automation software solution that in-creases their competitive advantage by doing more than just SCADA. Ignition can do much more than SCADA. In just a decade, Inductive Automation has estab-lished itself as the fastest-growing SCADA software company in the world through our software platform, Ignition by Inductive Automation .
