The Next Level of SCADA Software

SCADA software - Scott Kortier

The traditional purpose ofSCADA software (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Software) is to monitor a plant floor or industrial automation site, and increase productivity and improve quality. This has been done using traditional data acquisition tools like SCADA and HMI software.

How is SCADA software changing in order to do so much more than just collect and keep track of data? In the future, look for better compatibility, more portability in terms of remote SCADA viewing, better security, and exceptional graphic interfaces for developing SCADA applications.

Above and Beyond SCADA and HMI software

In the past, the limited goal of SCADA companies and HMI products was simply to act as an interface that users could utilize to monitor their system. Now, however, SCADA has moved beyond merely being a visualization of data acquisition software. Here are some of the ways that technology is advancing:

• Data from SCADA software is now available to both local and remote users. SCADA and HMI software can be viewed on thin clients, like laptops or remote desktops. There is also a growing market of HMI products that can be accessed via smartphones and PDAs. This makes control of an automated process from remote locations very easy. SCADA software is infinitely more portable than a DCS, and much more cost effective. For this reason, remote SCADA applications are becoming the norm in many automation processes.
• SCADA companies are also working hard to make sure that data gathered from their software is stored and utilized whenever it’s required. By making sure that software can access SQL databases like MySQL, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL server, that data can be stored, shared, or even fed through a Historian.
• Data acquisition software (DAQ) can even be combine fresh data with historical data to generate detailed visual dashboards capable of providing key performance indicators to control engineers, supervisors, or even executives.
• SCADA Security remains an issue within the industry, thanks especially to the Trojan which infected Siemen’s WinCC SCADA program. New advances in SCADA technology will undoubtedly include improvements to existing security measures in competing HMI software like InduSoft Web Studio.

The Next Generation of SCADA Software

The next generation of SCADA software will be capable of even more than this. As SCADA companies continue to innovate, there are constant improvements in the compatibility of software to hardware and operating systems, improved interfaces for the application development environment, and more opportunities for remote viewing through the cloud, and wireless connections.