It’s no secret that Ignition has been taking over the manufacturing world, especially in the last few years. Ignition’s unlimited licensing model alone makes it a great choice, since the large amount of data and information that manufacturing companies collect grows at an exponential rate.

While completing dozens of legacy SCADA platforms to Ignition migration projects, we’ve heard how our customers have been very frustrated with the high costs of using legacy platforms, and why they’re so motivated to start using Ignition instead.

Though some costs associated with legacy platforms are obvious to anyone writing the annual support contract checks, there are other significant costs which may not be as apparent. We’ll detail some of those common but often hidden costs in this post.

Database Licensing

A huge benefit with Ignition is that it’s compatible with nearly any database. This includes free and/or open source options like MySQL, PostgreSQL, modern options like MongoDB and InfluxDB, and of course Microsoft SQL Server.

Other SCADA platforms like Wonderware and everything from Rockwell Automation (including FactoryTalk), require Microsoft SQL Server. Though if you’re able to invest significant time and development effort, you can manage to integrate these SCADA systems with other historical data collection platforms.

While Microsoft SQL Server licensing is usually included in the overall license costs for those platforms, you will still have those costs when using MS SQL Server. Then, if you want to scale your Microsoft SQL Server across multiple database servers, and/or use High Availability architectures, those licensing costs will add up over time.

Likewise, depending on how you access your Microsoft SQL Server instances, you may need to add additional Client Access Licenses (CALs) to maintain compliance with Microsoft’s terms and conditions.

When legacy platforms like Wonderware and Rockwell were originally developed, Microsoft SQL Server was essentially the only database engine on the market. And now they are locked in as Microsoft Partners.

Inductive Automation’s Ignition takes an open approach. It allows you to use any database, and to keep your overall operating costs lower by spinning up databases with no additional licensing costs.

*Operating System Licensing

Similar to their vendor lock-in with Microsoft SQL Server, Rockwell Automation and Wonderware’s platforms will only run on the Microsoft Windows operating system. This requirement means additional licensing costs for your servers as well as every computer your employees use to run your business.

Ignition can run on any operating system, including Linux. This gives you the freedom to choose open source, freely available systems instead of Windows. Though if you do wish to choose Windows, Ignition can run on it as well. But, In many cases, using Linux will give you a server-class operating system capable of better performance than Windows on the same hardware.

Ongoing Support and Development

Legacy systems are built on (and locked into) the technology available when they were originally developed. This often means that after a few years, it can be difficult to find people with the knowledge and experience to support these platforms and all of their required and often proprietary dependencies.

For example, FactoryTalk has an install base going back to the 1990s and needs to maintain support for software like Visual Basic 6 (VB6). Similarly, Wonderware has a proprietary scripting language and other custom technology that’s required to keep their systems running.

And while you can dig into the vast reaches of the internet for information on how maintain and even program within these environments, most of the knowledge is held in the hands of the “old timers” of the industry. It’s important to note that many of the people with these expert skills have retired, or will be retiring soon, and modern Computer Science programs are not covering this legacy information anymore.

These systems are also at risk of serious security vulnerabilities. For just one example, VB6 is no longer supported by Microsoft. Your systems can potentially be open to any security vulnerabilities on required (but unsupported or EOL) technologies with no hope of bug fixes or patches.

Supporting these older tools leads to increased labor costs as industry veterans typically command higher salaries based on the scarcity of knowledge and experience with these tools. And that’s if you can even find people to work on your legacy systems in the first place!

While it isn’t a guaranteed direct hit to the bottom line, there are huge risks inherent with supporting legacy systems as this knowledge has left or is leaving the industry as people age and retire.

System Scaling

Legacy licensing models are built on nickel and diming customers for each and every addition to the system. If you want to add tags, new PLC connectivity, more screens, or even different programming languages into your system, expect additional licensing expenses. Need to add more clients to access the data in your system? You can count on additional licensing fees.

If you want to add a new TV display to the plant floor and you’re using Wonderware or a Rockwell product, you will need to get a separate license for it to access the central system. Each license will add to the base platform’s total cost of ownership and increase your overall price for annual support. The same also applies for adding tags, screens, and anything else with additional licensing costs—every time, every year.

Ignition has a more modern approach: you buy a license once. Then, when you need to add functionality like Tag Historian, or Alarm Notifications, you simply get the module, and your entire system can use the new functionality. Obviously as your system scales larger with more than a few hundred thousand tags, you might need to add new I/O servers to the mix. However, you won’t be nickel and dimed every time you want to add a new client, PLC, or a user to the system.

*Annual Support Renewals

All SCADA platforms have ongoing support requirements if you want to take advantage of tech support and new software versions. But, the difference with Ignition is you won’t need to add additional support costs to your Ignition licensing as you add more clients, tags, etc. to the system. This allows you to easily manage and anticipate costs for the long run.

*Business Continuity

Another indirect cost of Legacy SCADA platforms (especially in the case of Wonderware), is the overall continuity of the platform. If you’ve purchased Wonderware from your distributor and are using them as front line support for the life of the system, that’s one thing. But, it’s an entirely different scenario when Wonderware sells to Schneider Electric, who then may sell it all to AVEVA just a few years later.

Each time your legacy system is sold, you can be exposed to additional support costs, increased costs for future licensing, and potentially a lack of support as the older technology may or may not be supported by the new owners.

While any third-party platforms are at risk of being sold, Ignition has taken the stance that they never intend to sell. Similarly, it’s unlikely that Rockwell would sell off their platforms as they are arguably the most vertically integrated player in the market with their own PLC hardware as part of their ecosystem.

Wrapping Up

While this post is not an exhaustive list of every hidden cost (or risk) of continuing to use legacy SCADA platforms, we covered the most common complaints we’ve helped eliminate for companies we’ve migrated from legacy systems to Ignition.

It is important to consider all the costs of owning, using, and maintaining your software tools. It’s very likely that you may be spending money in surprising places by choosing (or staying with) a particular legacy platform.

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