Distributed Control Systems

The Distributed Control Systems Market Research delivers current market analysis plus a five year market and technology forecast. The study is available in multiple editions including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries. The research covers industrial control systems, open process automation, virtualization, characterizable I/O, configurable I/O, batch, quality control, supervisory control, continuous process, strategic analysis, market size, industry trends, historical analysis.

Growing Distributed Control Systems Investments Spurred by Sustainability Initiatives

Despite supply chain challenges, ongoing economic uncertainty, and rising energy and the prices of raw materials, the global Distributed Control Systems (DCS) market did provide some pockets of opportunity for suppliers. Governments around the world showed an increasing appetite toward investing to become less dependent on unreliable foreign suppliers of energy. This increased focus on energy security, and helped drive investment activity in nuclear, LNG, and even fossil fuel power plants. Sustainability goals and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) mandates have taken the forefront of every business sector. For many of the heavy process industries, decarbonization impacts the entire value chain, including raw materials, manufacturing products materials and components, as well as consumption by consumers and disposal.

Distributed Control Systems Strategic Issues

Distributed Control SystemsIn addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the Distributed Control Systems Market Research provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Take Advantage of the Benefits Offered through Virtualization

Industrial control system (ICS) virtualization offers clear benefits for end users. These include lower TCO, longer ICS life, fewer disruptive changes, and improved ability to manage change and implement continuous improvement. The largest payoff comes from reduced obsolescence. End user organizations should study the virtualization strategies of their potential future ICS suppliers, paying special attention to supplier plans for migrating existing installations (including controllers) to a future virtualized environment.

Consider Characterizable or Configurable I/O

End users should consider adopting the new breed of I/O. Leading automation suppliers have developed new I/O that is either characterizable, configurable, or a combination of the two. Characterizable I/O includes hardware modules that plug into a rack and can represent analog input, analog output, digital input, digital output, etc. The type of module plugged into the rack determines the type of signal. Modules can be plugged anywhere in the rack and are location independent. Configurable I/O solutions take a similar approach in terms of point independence and flexibility, but the I/O points are configured through software rather than hardware modules. Some vendor solutions offer a combination of characterizable and configurable I/O. Vendors also offer software tools to support the commissioning and integration of smart I/O cabinets without a complete DCS.

The benefits of characterizable and configurable I/O go beyond simply reduced hardware, footprint, and wiring. They allow end users to separate the hardware-related and software-related aspects of the system. With fully adaptable and standard I/O and control hardware, end users can theoretically design and test all the software aspects of the system before it is deployed to the target system hardware. This allows the software to be deployed into the hardware infrastructure at the very late stages of the project. Often referred to as 'late binding', this can compress capital project schedules, reduce risks, and shorten the time-to-production.

More Supplier Support

As end user organizations downsized, many lost expertise from their in-house process automation groups. The aging workforce and retirements have also contributed to lost expertise. In many cases, users have supplanted this expertise cost-effectively using the services of knowledgeable DCS supplier personnel with expertise in engineering, maintaining, and optimizing the DCS.

One point that can become an impasse between end users and suppliers is the typical end user preference to have access to specific individuals or teams to provide aftermarket service. While end users are certainly more comfortable working with familiar service personnel, suppliers need the flexibility to allocate scarce expertise where it is most needed. The time to negotiate how service personnel are to be assigned is while a service contract is being negotiated.

Except for very large and sophisticated multinational corporations, end users should consider turning to suppliers to design and commission Ethernet networks with ultra-high availability and uninterrupted network service through multiple failure modes. Providing the necessary degree of isolation between DCS and corporate network functions to ensure safety and security, while at the same time allowing appropriate information from the DCS to flow to enterprise networks, requires the knowledgeable use of servers and other network infrastructure such as routers, switches, and firewalls.

Market Data Research Available Datasets

This in-depth market data research is split into two key modules: Market Growth Outlook and Competitive Analysis.  Each of these modules is further configured into several sub-modules to meet the needs of executives as well as marketing, sales, and product development managers.  All of these modules and sub-modules may be purchased as a bundle or separately.  A brief description of these modules, sub-modules, and their use cases is included below.

Market Growth Outlook

ARC’s market growth outlook service delivers an in-depth market opportunity analysis including five-year market and technology forecasts and 3-year history trend lines where available. Besides providing an in-depth analysis of the market opportunity provided by each technology, this service allows technology suppliers to analyze their own customized markets consisting of multiple technologies. For example, customers can view different market scenarios by adding or removing technology markets from the analysis, providing them a Total Available Market (TAM) view of their own served market. A list of the available market growth outlook services can be seen in the list below.  

This service is designed to help accelerate your organization's ability to understand an up-to-date view of the market opportunity provided by your current product portfolio and analyze how your company’s market opportunity would change if you were to acquire or divest a particular product line. The service will also help you identify and capitalize on emerging markets, whether these markets are based on an emerging technology, region, vertical industry, or application. Built upon a proprietary market model and ARC’s field proven primary research, this service helps product and marketing managers optimize their business plans by identifying the opportunities provided by emerging trends. ARC’s reputation as the preeminent independent provider of market growth opportunity analyses for nearly four decades also provides greater weight to your business plans. ARC’s market growth outlook services are available in a variety of formats depending on whether you view your market opportunities via different technologies, industries, or world regions.  

In addition, ARC has a strong history of providing customized market opportunity reports and services to meet your specific needs.  For example, you may sell your products only to specific industries and/or in only one or two regions. You tell us your served markets and ARC can quickly configure a report or service designed to best serve your served market.

ARC provides several versions of these reports and services depending on your role in the organization. Executive Views are high level market opportunities designed to help executives quickly identify key trends and market opportunities around the world.  In-depth market opportunity analyses provide marketing and product managers more detailed technology specific market information to plan marketing and product development strategies.  The following table shows more specific information included in each version.

Market Growth Outlook AnalysisUse CasesTarget Role
Worldwide Market Growth Outlook by Industry & Region with 3-year history where availableIn-depth technology-specific strategic growth planning across multiple technologies, applications, regions, and industriesProduct & Marketing Managers
Worldwide Industry Growth Outlook by Region with 3-year history where availableStrategic technology growth planning for markets defined by a single or multiple vertical industriesIndustry Managers
Regional/Country Market Growth Outlook by Technology & Industry with 3-year history where available (includes country data)Strategic technology growth planning for markets defined by a single or multiple world regionsRegional & Country Sales Managers
Market Growth Outlook Executive ViewStrategic Total Available Market (TAM) growth planning dashboard covering multiple vertical industries, technologies, and world regionsExecutives
Market Competitive Analysis

ARC’s Competitive Analysis services deliver in depth competitive analyses across multiple technologies, applications, regions, and industries.  Besides providing an in-depth analysis of the market opportunity provided by each technology, this service allows technology suppliers to analyze their own customized markets consisting of multiple technologies. For example, customers can view different market scenarios by adding or removing technology markets from the analysis, providing them a Total Available Market (TAM) view of their own served market. A list of the available market growth outlook services can be seen in the list below.  

This service is designed to help product and marketing managers identify their company’s market positioning across multiple views within their Serviceable Available Market (SAM). Built upon a proprietary market model and ARC’s field proven primary research, this service helps product and marketing managers optimize their business plans by identifying how their company’s market position would change if the company were to acquire or divest a particular product line or technology. ARC’s reputation as the preeminent independent provider of competitive market benchmarking for nearly four decades lends greater weight to your business plans. ARC’s market competitive services are available in a variety of formats depending on whether you view your market opportunities via different technologies, industries, or world regions.  

In addition, ARC has a strong history of providing customized market opportunity reports and services to meet the specific needs of our clients.  For example, you may sell your products only to specific industries and/or in only one or two regions. You tell us your served markets and ARC can quickly configure a report or service designed to best serve your served market.

ARC provides several versions of these reports and services depending on your role in the organization. Executive Views are high level market competitive analyses designed to help executives quickly assess their SAM by world region, technology, or vertical industry. In-depth competitive market analyses provide marketing and product managers more detailed technology specific benchmarking information to plan marketing and product development strategies.  The following table shows more specific information included in each version. 

Competitive AnalysisUse CasesTarget Role
Worldwide Competitive Analysis by TechnologyIn-depth competitive market analysis that quantifies how your company’s market position has changed over time across multiple technologies, applications, regions, and industriesProduct & Marketing Managers
Worldwide Competitive Analysis by IndustryStrategic technology-based competitive analyses for markets defined by a single or multiple vertical industriesIndustry Managers
Regional/Country Competitive Analysis by IndustryStrategic technology-based competitive analyses for markets defined by a single or multiple world regionsRegional Sales Managers
Competitive Analysis Executive ViewStrategic Serviceable Available Market (SAM) analysis dashboard covering multiple vertical industries, technologies, and world regionsExecutives

Worldwide Research Focus Areas

Strategic Analysis

  • Executive Summary
  • Market Trends
  • Buyer Strategies
  • Supplier Strategies
  • Growth Contributors
  • Growth Inhibitors

Competitive Analysis

  • Market Shares of the Leading Suppliers
  • Market Shares by Region
    • North America
    • Europe, Middle East, and Africa
    • Asia
    • Latin America
  • Market Shares by Revenue Category
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Services
  • Market Shares by Hardware Type
    • Controllers
    • I/O
    • Workstations
    • Networking Hardware
  • Market Shares by System Size
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large
  • Market Shares by Service Type
    • Operations
    • Project Management
  • Market Shares by Application
    • Batch
    • Continuous Process
    • Quality
    • Supervisory Control
  • Market Shares by Project Type
    • New Construction
    • Replacement
    • Upgrade/Expansion
  • Market Shares by Industry
    • Cement & Glass
    • Chemical
    • Electric Power Generation
    • Food & Beverage
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Oil & Gas
    • Pharmaceutical & Biotech
    • Pulp & Paper
    • Refining
    • Water & Wastewater
  • Market Shares by Sales Channel
  • Market Shares by Customer Type

Market Forecasts and Histories

  • Total DCS Business
  • Shipments by Region
    • North America
    • Europe, Middle East, and Africa
    • Asia
    • Latin America
  • Shipments by Revenue Category
    • Hardware
    • Software
    • Services
  • Shipments by System Size
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large
  • Shipments by Hardware Type
    • Controllers
    • I/O
    • Workstations
    • Networking Hardware
  • Shipments by Service Type
    • Operations
    • Project Management
  • Shipments by Industry
    • Cement & Glass
    • Chemical
    • Electric Power Generation
    • Food & Beverage
    • Metals
    • Mining
    • Oil & Gas
    • Pharmaceutical & Biotech
    • Pulp & Paper
    • Refining
    • Water & Wastewater
  • Shipments by Application Type
    • Batch
    • Continuous Process
    • Quality
    • Supervisory Control
  • Shipments by Project Type
    • New Construction
    • Replacement
    • Upgrade/Expansion
  • Shipments by Sales Channel
  • Shipments by Customer Type

Industry Participants

Profiles of the major suppliers servicing this market are included.

Regional Research Focus Areas

Strategic Analysis

Competitive Analysis

  • Leading Suppliers in Region
  • Industry Shares in Region
  • Country Shares in Region
  • Leading Suppliers by Industry

Market History & Forecast Analysis 

  • Market History & Forecast by Country
  • Market History & Forecast by Industry

Industry Participants

List of countries & currencies included in each region: MIRA-Country

For More Information

For more information or to purchase the Distributed Control Systems Market Research, please contact us.

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