Plant Software in the Cloud

Can the case for deploying certain plant software "in the cloud" or "as a service" be made today? Based on recent ARC Advisory Group research that indicates this to be one of the fastest growing areas of production management software, the answer undoubtedly is "yes." But the research data also show that this represents only a tiny slice of the overall market. Will the plant software market follow enterprise and supply chain software into the cloud? Or, do the unique requirements of the plant floor dictate a more traditional deployment model?

Plant Software Requirements
Plant software shares many requirements with other business software. This includes security, maintenance, and responsiveness. However, plant software also has its own unique requirements. Much, but not all, plant software needs to be continuously available and running properly to keep the work flowing and collect the needed data. Software that is part of or close to the control, automation, and safety systems must be highly available and robust. Depending on the application, 100 percent availability may be required.

Plant software requirements also vary greatly by industry. In certain regulated industries such as pharmaceutical and medical devices, software validation throughout the lifecycle is a requirement. Some segments only require simple work order management: preparing work orders for production (with pick lists, kitting, dekitting, etc.); documenting completion to stock and parts scrapping; and tracking and routing assemblies through operations. In other cases, dynamic scheduling and routing, quality enforcement, process data collection, inline tests, nonconformance resolution, electronic signatures, or other critical production requirements must be enforced to be able to produce a salable product.

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