Advantages of paid proprietary SCADA HMI software over free ones

[jeev 0]

I am pretty new to the SCADA world. I wanted to know what are the advantages of using a paid proprietary SCADA software such as WinCC, Wonderware, cimplicity over free software such as OpenSCADA, OpenAPI, IndigoSCADA and so on. I have read, there are more layers of security in the paid one. What does that mean? What are the other main differences between the paid and free ones out there in the market?

[panic mode 246]

depends on industry and application. ultimately everything is about the money. in fact you just used the keyword .... MARKET.

first thing is definitely client requirements. for Integrators choice of what they can and cannot use is often limited. not adhering to client requirement usually means failure to win the project. it does not matter how much you would spend on SCADA since client will be paying for it anyway but if you are without job/work, you are without income so how does that benefit you? it is all about the money....

proprietary solutions can be lower cost for many. open source solution are free but - the terms only applies to license. this does nothing for availability and quality of training, hotline/support, product maintenance/support/bugfixes, etc. which are all time critical.  license is one-time cost so in modern cut-throat business, license is small part of the total cost. when production stops and s... hits the fan, nobody gives rats behind what the problem was. the only thing that matters is how do we get it back to running? if there is no dedicated support site, 24/7 phone support service etc. this is not acceptable for many clients. If someone is loosing $10k.. $1000k an hour, one-time license cost of $3k or so is a small potato. if you need to send 10 techs or maintenace guys for a training for a week, you better look for someone that has not just product (HMI/SCADA) but also training center with classroom, development stations, trainer etc. if you are big company and have facilities in different countries, you still want to get same things everywhere - same level of support/training etc in each place, in each language etc. then there is product maintenance and support aspect. who do you call (or who calls you) when there is a bug discovered or malware or some other threat? who generates patches and updates and most importantly - in what time frame? 

this is hard to do with open source products. proprietary products by big names (Siemens/AB etc) have call centers and training in just about every big city. every distributor (electrical supplier) is another level of support and they are on every corner. when there is a malware or bug, big companies have resources to throw at the problem, broadcast updates, instructions etc.

this is not to say that open source products are without advantages, but... they count on SELF-RELIANCE to do something. there is nothing in a way to make own company to offer support for opensource product. i just don't seem to find them. again problem is most likely stable revenue to sustain such business model until product becomes widespread enough. btw. those that chose product because it costed $0 are not very likely to spend much anyway. so i see such products as uncut diamonds... something that has great value and potential when added into your own product. and then you are providing support for it by supporting your own product. clients just buy complete machine/system from you - which is your standard product (so they have no saying what goes inside and the HMI/SCADA is simply part of it). 

[jeev 0]

Thank You Mr. Panic Mode

[PLCMentor.com 60]

Panic has many great points.  He hits on one of the areas of industrial controls that many just dont get.  You cant spend money in an industrial or even business environment with the same attitude that you would in your personal finances.  Most people's personal finances are on a fixed budget.  When you spend money it is an expense and generally is not going to affect your future income.  Very different in an industrial environment where saving money may cost you money in the future as Panic describes.  Especially if your cost savings create downtime in the future.  Two different mind sets. 

The one thought that I would add to Panic's reply is that of maintainability.  If you put in an oddball application or controller into a facility, what happens if the facility needs outside help?  My mentality over the years was to only put in equipment and software that had a wide range of support available in the area.  As a contractor, I would tell my clients that I want them to return to me because I did a good job not because there was nobody else to support their system.  With that said, many of the big players in the industry have excellent support and also an ample supply of contractors familiar with their products and available to help if there are problems.