Thankfully, technology is evolving in giant leaps and bounds today. It's a great time to be alive and witness the new advancements every day. But with all the change it can also leave some producers and operations wondering when the right time is to replace the old with the new really is; given that some tech is only 'new' for a week or two, and then will be quickly outdated by something bigger, better, faster, smarter and will have more shelf life.
When producers invest in new technologies for their business, they can expect more profits, more production, and more sustainability but deciding when to purchase tech, and which tech to invest into that won't be outdated in a year (or these days a week), makes it more of a challenge to get right. And then of course, it comes down to what to upgrade, and as with everything in life; it comes down to 'how to leverage all that new tech'. Will the 'how' be so complicated it will eat away your team's time or quickly add value that contributes to fast gains?
Since tech can be super complex, always evolving and quickly become 'old' - it's easy to understand why some operations are a bit shy on implementing new systems, but we're here to help you with the change that's involved and make sure what's hot today - is still what you need and want years down the road and it's still making impactful return on your bottom line.
Why upgrade?
For years, industries like energy producers, municipal utilities, food producers, mining operations, and others have been integrating new technologies into their operations to increase performance and keep pace with the competition and supply needed. Still, few have been able to take full advantage of all the right tech to really outshine and go all in to make the big gains.
Even today, many producers struggle to meet projected targets for production or secure the most value from their assets because they don't understand the complexities of implementing digital tech, or automation and how to utilize advanced analytics and apply them effectively into action.
Many producers are shifting their expenditure priorities to production growth by focusing on various operational and logistical efficiencies. By investing in cloud-based architectures for SaaS (Software as a Service), or SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems and other applications, you'll be able to take better advantage of edge computing and data-driven analytics to help maximize your company production returns.
Stepping up to the test of time
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a real thing - especially with fast tech advances today. I mean no one wants to shell out a grand or more for a new phone that will be replaced in a month with a faster, more advanced version; so many of us wait it out. But, eventually we end up getting a phone; that we know will be 'old style' in less than a year.
That's the biggest gain of utilizing DeltaV SaaS SCADA; you always have the latest, most up to date version with the latest security updates and all the application releases that keep your SaaS SCADA ahead of the curve, not just for a month or so - but forever. Effortless updates are big win with SaaS SCADA, but other gains like the ability to scale easily and quickly is another; Add some Edge devices? You bet! MqTT? Of course! Two-factor authentication? Naturally.
We're always developing our IIoT platform to keep it secure, scalable and fully supported. It's all there, and as tech develops you get the advantage of getting those scaled in updates as part of your subscription and the ability to scale it with your growth; Add more locations? Easy. Change who can see what data? Seconds. Take on a new acquisition and gain new site data at the push of a button? You got it. Need to talk to a human to help at 2am? No problem: our experts are ready to help 24/7.
Upgrading to DeltaV™ SaaS SCADA
You can aim to maximize your production when you integrate powerful automation with Emerson's secure, scalable DeltaV SaaS SCADA that is engineered specifically for production operations. By using cloud-based software, AI and machine learning capabilities to deliver stronger production data, analyze health and performance metrics, and streamline day-to-day processes, you can facilitate a digital transformation of your operations.
Leveraging the flexibility of a cloud-based SCADA, you can capture unlimited amounts of field data from any digital monitoring hardware and transmit it quickly to the appropriate personnel via secure gateways that support a variety of protocols. Your technicians and engineers can benefit from conveniently accessing and analyzing this data in real time to make faster, more informed decisions that can ultimately lead to increased production.
With anywhere, anytime access via a cloud-based architecture, you can benefit from continual, evergreen software updates, fast, efficient data transfer across secure, permission-based networks.
In addition, DeltaV SaaS SCADA can be easily integrated with any hardware devices to give you complete control of your fixed assets and processes from end to end for a safer, more productive, and more profitable operation. So, there's no need to rip and replace all your hardware for the sake of whatever name may be on it.
Taking the time to find the best technology for your company is essential for future objectives. Realizing what your company goals are for today, and tomorrow, and then looking at the best possible options are easy with the right technology partner like Emerson that offers several options, because we know one size automation does not fit all, and no one wants to go through a tech change only to see something better out next week.