Selecting HMI Software Products in Light of New Developments

Several technological and organizational developments will have a disruptive impact on the automation market in the mid- to long-term. Automation users need to recognize that some of these developments, which are stated below are particularly relevant to Human Machine Interface (HMI) software.

• Industrie 4.0 and Intelligent Devices and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): Industrie 4.0 focuses on increasing flexibility of manufacturing, leveraging similar technologies as IIoT, which currently seems to have more of a supply side focus. HMI software will be critical to provide visualization to these connected and collaborating devices and machines.
• Big Data: Users are collecting more information from manufacturing and analyzing “Big Data” to optimize processes. As analysis advances, demand for data will increase further, so HMI software will need to handle more data and be better integrated to analytics software to provide information that is more meaningful to the user for making decisions.
• Cloud Computing and Services-Based Solutions: The basis of cloud computing is to offer X (something) as a Service (XaaS). This means that HMI software needs to have connectivity and access to data stored in the Cloud, making an effective cybersecurity architecture ever more critical.
• Mobility: An increasing number of users require on-demand access to plant data and remote access because employees in manufacturing work with complex, expensive equipment. Today employees handle multiple responsibilities, deal with more regulations, and need the ability to troubleshoot plant equipment or production status, from the office, home or on the road. HMI software users must carefully select the product that fully embraces these developments because they will offer much greater value in improving automation functions, reducing energy consumption, expanding operational visibility, and providing relevant and timely information for better decision making and process improvement.

HMI software users must carefully select the product that fully embraces these developments because they will offer much greater value in improving automation functions, reducing energy consumption, expanding operational visibility, and providing relevant and timely information for better decision making and process improvement. ARC has just published a comprehensive updated market analysis report on HMI Software and Services that provides a quantitative assessment of the market and associated analysis. While the report is primarily focused at supporting the strategic planning efforts of current and prospective suppliers, it includes much information that end user organizations would find helpful, including both technology and industry trends and information about the leading suppliers.