Siemens, GE Digital, and Rockwell Automation Take the Lead in ABI Research’s SCADA/HMI Software Suppliers Competitive Ranking

Supervisory Acquisition and Control Data (SCADA) and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) software are at the core of modern manufacturing operations, with almost all manufacturers using them in some fashion. A new competitive ranking by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an in-depth and unbiased examination of the solutions offered by 14 SCADA/HMI software suppliers. A total of 12 criteria were chosen for this analysis and segmented across innovation and implementation clusters.

The companies evaluated and ranked are:

Market Leaders: Siemens, GE Digital, Rockwell Automation, and Hitachi Vantara
Mainstream: Emerson, Yokogawa, Honeywell, ABB, Inductive Automation, AVEVA, Tatsoft, Advantech, Mitsubishi Electric, and Schneider Electric

Siemens came out on top in the competitor ranking, positioned first for implementation and innovation, supported by its significant customer base and deployment experience, innovative functionality, such as low/no-code, and remote management of factory assets. GE Digital claims the second spot, with rapid deployment times and excellent hardware and software integration. Rockwell Automation ranked third overall due to its solid software futureproofing and user experience scores. Emerson scored impressively for implementation, ranking third, with leading deployment numbers and strong vertical market expertise, securing a position at the top end of the mainstream vendors. 

“One key distinction among vendors is between those offering both industrial automation hardware and software and those providing software exclusively. Most of the offerings are part of a software portfolio to some extent, with Siemens Xcelerator, GE Digital’s Proficy, and Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk being the most comprehensive,” says James Prestwood, Industrial & Manufacturing Technologies Research Analyst at ABI Research.

Ranking criteria include the product’s innovative capabilities, data visibility, cloud and SaaS capabilities, user experience, pricing options, and the SCADA/HMI software’s contribution to an end-to-end digital portfolio. In addition, the report evaluates each SCADA/HMI software vendor’s ability to deliver its solution globally, its experience in delivering the software to manufacturers and the time to implementation, the company’s vertical market expertise and partnership network, and the SCADA/HMI software offerings ability to interoperate with other software and hardware.

“Other metrics, such as hardware and software integration, improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and data visibility, had some standout vendors but still showed consistent performance across the board. The areas that showed the most difference were cloud and SaaS capabilities, pricing options, product capabilities, time to implementation, and user experience,” Prestwood concludes.

These findings are from the SCADA/HMI Software Suppliers competitive ranking report. This report is part of the company’s Industrial and Manufacturing Technologies research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights. Based on extensive primary interviews, Competitive Ranking reports offer a comprehensive analysis of implementation and innovation strategies to provide unparalleled insight into a company’s performance and standing compared to its competitors.