Benefits of cloud-based historian software: Expert interview series, Steve Pavlosky, GE Digital

Market trends have helped industrial historian products evolve from on-premise deployments to the cloud, and GE Digital is helping customers on that journey, according to Steve Pavlosky, director – product management, Digital Plant for GE Digital. Pavlosky also serves as principal product manager, GE Digital’s Proficy Historian and Data at the Edge and says he firmly believes in the power of data to help industrial customers. Far too few industrial sites are using industrial data to improve operations, he explained, in an interview with Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering content manager.

Steve Pavlosky, director – product management, Digital Plant for GE Digital, explains industry trends and benefits of cloud-based implementation of GE Digital’s Proficy Historian, in a video interview with Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering content manager. Courtesy: Control Engineering executive interview series.

Drive productivity by generating value from industrial data

Pavlosky observed that customers need more industrial visibility by increasing the ability to combine operational technology (OT) data with other business data, and to use data from machines and processes to turn data into value, all while reducing costs. He cited a McKinsey study that says just 1 to 2% of data generated in facilities generate actual business value.

Customers are turning that around by taking OT data, storing it in the cloud securely, analyzing that data with high-efficiency historian capabilities, with scalability and reliability to create more value, and at reduced costs compared to traditional on-premise software offerings. Multi-site customers will see the most value, he suggested.

Cloud-based benefits include lowering information technology resources and server hardware and software, and implementing zero downtime upgrades, for better performance. Certificate-based encryption helps lower cybersecurity risk, keeping information and data secure.

Historian, analytic software as a service with cloud-based providers

Starting with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and quickly adding Microsoft Azure cloud, GE Digital is broadening availability of its Proficy Historian, now working with early adopter customers (as of the early October video interview). Full market availability is expected in 2022.

Other topics in the video, which runs about 37 minutes, include differences compared to other historian options, implementation tips, training and support, what’s next, parting advice and more.

Proficy Historian from GE Digital collects industrial time-series data needed to analyze asset and process performance to drive greater business value. The emergence of cloud-based Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and big data solutions has spurred continued investment in the GE Digital Proficy Historian offering. With decades of experience and thousands of successful customer installations around the world, GE Digital Proficy Historian software changes the way companies perform and compete by making data useful. Courtesy: GE Digital, CFE Media and Technology’s New Products for Engineers Database

Steve Pavlosky is director – product management, Digital Plant for GE Digital. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media, mhoske@cfemedia.com.

KEYWORDS: Industrial historian, cloud-based historian

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