New AVEVA UNLIMITED HMI- Can you hear me now?

By Brian Premock, VP & General Manager, InSource Solutions

Do you remember when cellular service converted from minutes per month to unlimited? It is hard to believe that it’s been nearly 20 years since cellular telephone companies changed their model to unlimited talk time vs. paying for minutes used per month. Looking back at the history of this huge industry shift, it was MCI WorldCom, after spending 2001 developing the offer, who launched the first unlimited minute talk plans in the spring of 2002.  Despite the creative disruption, MCI entered bankruptcy just a few years later, but their audacious business plan addressed a need that many in telecommunications felt was inevitable.

Experts in information technology economics agree that pricing strategy is critically important in matching a solutions’ value to the market’s benefit while balancing financial costs to develop, support, adapt, secure, and enhance the software over time. That strategy also needs to adapt to fundamental shifts in the market. In SCADA, a technology first introduced over three decades ago, the primary model still in place today is based on two metrics:  the number of data tags used and the number of clients that act on the information. For the first 20 years, that was a fair way to charge customers for value delivered. But today, owing to Moore’s law and the proliferation of cheap microprocessor and communication interfaces, engineers can now access more valuable equipment and device data than ever. And thus, the pricing model must change.

So, just like Verizon, AVEVA, which owns the Wonderware technology portfolio, is embracing this change by launching new Unlimited InTouch HMI packages.

AVEVA™ INTOUCH HMI UNLIMITED FLEX

The new exciting Unlimited functionality is delivered through a Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) approach called AVEVA Flex.  AVEVA Flex is a Software-As-A-Service (SAAS) offer that bundles a set of licenses and support into a 1,3- or 5-year subscription.  This contrasts with the typical capex purchase and annual support contract model.  With FLEX, you purchase a package of credits, which entitle the use of the licenses for the subscription term. You have full control over your credits, via a management portal where you can add additional credits and/or exchange for access to anything in the AVEVA portfolio. So, as your need changes, you can redeem your credits and redeploy as needed.

There are two primary packages, InTouch Starter and Professional (Unlimited), available as new Subscription purchases.

InTouch Starter – 700 Credits/ $8300 per year/ 3 years

The bundle includes license entitlements for:

  • InTouch Tag Server 60K (w/ redundant pair)
  • 5 pack HMI Clients (w/ Historian client)
  • Communication Driver (w/ redundant pair)
  • Historian Server – 5000 Tags
  • Dream Reports Server – 5000 Tags
  • InTouch Windowmaker for development

Standard access to technical support

InTouch Professional 1500 Credits/$18,000 per year/3 year

The bundle includes license entitlements for:

  •  Unlimited Supervisory Server – RDS/Web/Mobile clients (includes historian client as well)
  •  InTouch Tag Server with 60K Tags (includes redundant pair)
  • Communication Driver Standard (includes redundant pair)
  • Historian 100K Tags
  • Dream Reports Server
  • InTouch Windowmaker for development
  • Standard access to technical support

There are also programs for existing Customer First Support Contract clients to convert to Flex to enable the new unlimited licensing.

AVEVA™ INTOUCH 2020 R2 Released

InTouch has been a SCADA industry heavyweight for 30 years due to its award-winning ease-of-use and wide market adoption. Over 600,000 perpetual licenses are installed throughout a broad user community. As AVEVA assumed product development, they have honored the Wonderware commitment to market leading product innovation while ensuring upgradability. (The first release of the InTouch software can still be upgraded!)

In addition to the FLEX innovation, the Product Team has continued to update the future roadmap. The next planned release, InTouch 2020 R2 has just dropped with a list of great new features. We will cover these in more detail in a future blog, but here’s a snapshot:

  • The Web and Mobile Client (iOS and Android) has been enhanced with greater security and functionality outside the OT Network.
  • More Web Widgets, which are reusable controls created with web-based technology (HTML5 and JavaScript). The first web widget was a carousel widget for sequencing displays in slideshow mode for a large information displays. New releases include a QR reader for asset tracking or inventory management and a web browser.
  • In the core HMI product, InTouch can now act as an OPC UA Server. Enhanced integration with the InStudio cloud development environment enables graphics to be exported and shared with SI developers, inside the cloud-based Insight platform or across other SCADA solutions like AVEVA Edge.
HMI Reimagined

With AVEVA InTouch 2020 and the New Unlimited Flex subscription model, AVEVA is reimagining the modern HMI. The combination is particularly appealing today. In light of last year’s pandemic, the need to securely enable front-line knowledge workers (from any location) with the right information to do their jobs better is greater than ever.

Can you hear me now? “Yep. Coming in loud and clear.”

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