Truly, 2023 has been the year of Cloud SCADA. Whether it is large scale deployments for pump station OEMs with a monitoring system for hundreds of sites around the globe, a mobile app with push notifications for critical process equipment, or access to powerful data analytics, the Cloud is becoming a powerful tool in the manufacturing technology arsenal.

The Cloud is becoming integral for manufacturing operations for many reasons:

• The technology is more accessible than ever

• Network infrastructure and data bandwidth can now handle more data than ever before

• Influential companies like Inductive Automation are offering direct cloud support (for example, their recently released Ignition Cloud Edition)

In this post, we’ll cover three of the most common and current approaches to Cloud-based SCADA systems.

SCADA as a Service

Many companies use Software as a Service (Saas) platforms for a variety of tasks: project management, time tracking, file hosting, payroll and payment processing, even ERP and Warehouse Management systems.

The benefits of using SaaS instead of buying software outright can be numerous, but these benefits can also come down to just a few key reasons. Since SaaS tools typically count against Operating Expenditure budgets instead of Capital Expenditure budgets, this is usually the main driver. Ease of hosting, support, and system maintenance comes in as a close second.

Instead of costly up-front purchases for licensing, hardware, integration, and support, SaaS tools have monthly or annual payment plans. This means they their payments can come from operating budgets rather than capital budgets. There’s no long term planning process to account for—and it’s much easier to get up and running.

While this certainly plays into the SCADA as a Service mindset, an even bigger motivation for choosing this option can be the ease of hosting, support, and maintenance.

We commonly see this approach in the Wastewater sector. A large firm (that would normally handle system upgrades for massive water utilities) can expand their reach by offering services and tools like Ignition in the Cloud to smaller water providers. This is especially common in the Western United States, where many small towns need water for their residents, but don’t need a large scale system. Instead, they can hook up their PLCs to a cloud-hosted Ignition instance. Then they can fully benefit from the value of Ignition with only a minimal monthly fee to their SCADA provider who also provides remote automation support, for further cost savings.

SCADA Data in the Cloud

In larger scale manufacturing operations, another common approach is to use the Cloud as a tool for additional information and decision making capabilities. This can be accomplished by integrating data from their existing SCADA systems with Cloud-based systems like AWS.

This approach allows companies to get the full advantage of advanced analytics packages, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI) tools without having develop the tools internally or need to manage in-house expertise.

This approach also simplifies integrating with new technology like robotic material handling systems utilizing new communication technology like Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Kinesis streaming technology.

Unlike SCADA as a Service, using the Cloud as an analysis tool is focused on taking advantage of technology not easily available outside of a Cloud-based environment like AWS. These tools can provide a powerful competitive advantage for companies using them—and more and more companies are adopting these technologies every day.

Enterprise Level Systems

Another popular approach is to combine SCADA as a Service and SCADA Data in the Cloud. Typically, large scale enterprise companies with multiple facilities around the globe take advantage of this strategic combination.

Each facility usually has its own internal automation and SCADA systems operating independently. By taking advantage of the Cloud, they can aggregate data from every facility into one central SCADA system. Now, company leadership can keep tabs on the enterprise at large, while also benefiting from the analytics and reporting tools available in the Cloud.

This is where tools like Ignition Cloud Edition really come into their own. Ignition Cloud Edition is not geared towards plant level control since it doesn’t contain PLC communication drivers. Instead, it’s designed as a central repository for large scale systems to aggregate data and more easily integrate with Cloud-based technology for advanced analytics.

Wrapping Up

As with any new technology on the market, the Cloud has existed for a lot longer than its use in manufacturing.

Now that manufacturing is using the Cloud, we are starting to see novel approaches taking shape, and leading methodologies taking root.

As the Cloud offers more tools and value to people using it, we will start to see more adoption. With the advent of software products like ChatGPT bringing AI tools into the mainstream, it’s only a matter of time before we experience the big advantages of using AI in the manufacturing world.

In manufacturing, there’s one critical limitation: people want to have full control over their data and intellectual property. This is why we think that as more companies adopt a Cloud approach, they may opt to use tools like Amazon’s AWS outpost. This will allow a manufacturing facility to essentially buy a “Cloud in a Box” and host it on-premises. This will will allow them to access to the best of the Cloud without exposing their data to the outside world.

For more information on how we’ve helped manufacturing companies take flight with their Cloud-based integrations, or how we can help you on your journey, please reach out and let us know!