Object-Oriented SCADA in Ignition v7.4

Object-oriented SCADA speeds development and increases maintainability since screen objects can be derived from templates. If changes are made to the template, those changes propagate down to each derived object so objects don't need to be dealt with individually. That could save a ton of work and rework. This is on the visual layer.

Parallel to this is the data layer. The data layer consists of user defined data types, which are referred to as UDDTs or UDTs. Tag database instances of UDDTs, when combined with screen object instances, take development speed to a whole new level. In fact, productivity could be increased 10- to 100-times when compared to systems without object-oriented capability.

Ignition 7.4 will feature object-oriented capability both for screen objects and UDDTs. We may not be the first to implement this, but we will be the best. We learn from other people's mistakes. When we first mentioned we were developing this at one of our training classes, about half the class winced and told us to be very, very careful about implementing it. They told us horror stories about other packages that were really complicated and buggy.

You'll have wait to see it at our 7.4 release (in February), but we've made it ridiculously simple to use and we've included productivity enhancements no one else has. Project development will now be faster in Ignition than in any other SCADA software.

The case for using Ignition on a competitive basis is now a "no-brainer." Look at the following facts:

1) Lower cost pricing model because its sold by the server, not by seat, tag, designer, screen, etc.

2) Installs hassle-free on any OS, including any newer version of Windows.

3) Installs in just minutes.

4) Super fast development.

5) Lightning fast, hassle-free and secure client deployment on any PC or mobile device.

All these are competitive factors. They have to do with winning projects and making them profitable. Now with object-oriented capability in 7.4, all vectors align to provide unbelievable, competitive firepower to those quoting Ignition. Who ya gonna call?

Ignition - What's the Catch?

This happens so often that I thought I better comment on it. Yesterday I was talking with one of our users who happens to be so jazzed on Ignition that he shows his plant, which uses it, to other people all the time. At the end of a recent showing he told me "they were just standing there drop-jawed but kept asking 'what's the catch?'"

This "what's the catch" question is asked so frequently I'd be totally remiss if I didn't answer it. The answer is "there is no catch."

This is hilarious, but I was once sitting in a conference room with executives of a company with the head of IT grilling me "how can you stay in business if you charge so little?" He was so used to paying insane dollars for marginal functionality that this was his yardstick. It took me about twenty minutes to handle this but I finally asked "why do you think we are charging too little? Have you ever stopped to think maybe the other guys are price gouging you?" Somehow this rang true with him and they bought Ignition.

Consider this, mobile phones used to cost $5.00 per minute and you had to wait for a channel to free up before you could talk. And the mobile units used to cost upwards of $6,000 each. Does that mean that Verizon, ATT and the rest of the cellular companies aren't making money or have a bad business model? Of course not.

Personally, I think this field has been brainwashed into thinking that HMI, SCADA and particularly MES are very hard and complicated and thus have be very expensive. Bull! This simply isn't true.

We have a different model. We sell by the server. That's all. Remember, I myself have been a system integrator for over twenty-two years. That is the perspective we come from. We have always looked for ways to increase the value of our services. Taking three days just to install software is delivering poor value. That's why we deliberately made our installation take only three minutes or so. Then you can take the remaining three days and deliver some real value.

There are certain things that irked me about software as an integrator. Some things just didn't seem right. And these things I've found to be universal. These are the exact points that we've addressed with Ignition. And one of those things is a fair and sensible pricing model. From what we hear, most integrators and end-users agree that we've accomplished just that.