ARC Ranks Sequencia, Wonderware and Intellution As Top-Selling Batch Control Software Suppliers
Contents
Introduction
Dual Strategy
A Race for Market Share
Growing Batch Control Markets
Introduction (Back to Top)
Who is the market leader in batch process control software? According to ARC Advisory Group, a leading manufacturing automation consultant, it's Sequencia Corp. (Phoenix, AZ), the developer of OpenBatch batch control software. This marks the second year in a row Sequencia has placed first in ARC's Worldwide Batch Control System Outlook analysis.
Based on the ISA S88.01 batch control standard, OpenBatch is the core batch control engine for Sequencia's suite of process manufacturing solutions. First announced in 1993, OpenBatch was one of the first manufacturing packages developed to run under the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
According to Asish Ghosh, ARC VP and lead author of the 1999 market study, Sequencia and competitors Wonderware Corp. (Irvine, CA) and Intellution Inc. (Norwood, MA) are the leading independent vendors of batch control software. They supply software packages, but not the hardware platforms on which they run.
Among the independents, says Ghosh, Sequencia has been the most aggressive in selling its OpenBatch software through process industry OEMs, VARs, and systems integrators.
Wonderware's InBatch and similar batch process control products from Sequencia and Intellution provide out-of-box functionality, compliance with standards, and easy customization for batch control.
Independents compete against one another. They also battle with large process control firms. Some, such as ABB and Siemens, have their own batch packages. Others, such as Honeywell and Foxboro, license batch control programs from the independents.
Dual Strategy (Back to Top)
Sequencia follows a dual strategy. Its OpenBatch system is indeed "open." The company makes it easy to integrate OpenBatch with other process equipment, such as programmable logic controllers (PLC), distributed control systems (DCS), man-machine/human-machine interfaces (MMI/HMI), historians, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and other software.
Because its system is open, Sequencia finds it relatively easy to form alliances with other vendors who incorporate OpenBatch into their own solutions. Aspen Technologies, for example, is a Sequencia VAR. Other companies, such as Honeywell (TotalPlant Batch) and Rockwell Software (RSBatch), resell OpenBatch under their own private labels.
Sequencia also moved quickly to embrace emerging standards, often as a founding member of key committees. Primary standards and associations include ISA's S88.01 Batch Control Standard and S95 Enterprise Standard, the World Batch Forum, and the OPC Foundation (OLE for Process Control).
It also picked the right horse to ride when it chose Windows NT, which has since established itself as a cost-effective standard in the process industries. The initial version of OpenBatch, in fact, was among the first manufacturing applications released on Windows NT.
The latest OpenBatch release, Version 4.0, provides several new features. These include an efficient, reliable OPC client interface; improved phase control strategies; the ability to embed sequential function chart controls in component-based software; and the ability to sequence other documents and applications while running a recipe.
A Race for Market Share (Back to Top)
"Sequencia," says Ghosh, "generated its batch package later than Wondeware, and it complied very closely with the ISA S88.01 standards that were being written at the time." ISA S88.01 defines both batch program functionality and terminology.
Wonderware, a major player in factory automation, entered the batch control market when it acquired SoftSystems. At the time, the Unix-based system was the industry's technology leader. "The company tends to work with small systems integrators, who use PLCs for batch control," says Ghosh. "They buy Wonderware's InBatch control software and integrate it with their PLCs."
Since then, Ghosh continues, Wonderware was acquired by Foxboro (an Invensys company). "It is still an independent entity," he says. Before the acquisition, Foxboro resold InBatch under its own label as FoxBatch. The relationship will continue. The company has a similar relationship with Moore Process Automation Solutions.
Several years ago, Intellution bought the source code to OpenBatch from Sequencia. Intellution and Fisher-Rosemount modified it for Intellution's VisualBatch process control system. The company also sells a second batch process program, iBatch, for less sophisticated users.
"Since all batch process control programs are following the same standard, they all have similar functionality," says Ghosh. "But there are in platforms. Some more scalable, some less so. Some are more costly, and some have more application utilities that go with them."
Growing Batch Control Markets (Back to Top)
While competition remains intense, software developers at least have the consolation of a growing market. ARC's Worldwide Batch Control System Outlook projects worldwide demand for batch control systems to outpace the overall process control market.
One reason is the changing nature of the chemical and process industries. Producers are increasingly demanding more flexible, responsive plants capable of producing many different products. Most importantly, they want to avoid the economic penalties associated with product changes. Batch process control software speeds batch to batch changeovers while improving product quality and plant profits.
Ghosh's study also notes that the batch control system business is fast becoming a software and services business. Hardware, thanks to standardization, is likely to become more of a commodity in the future.
For more information: Asish Ghosh, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group, 3 Allied Dr., Dedham, MA 02026. Phone: 781-471-1121. Fax: 718-471-1021. Email: aghosh@arcweb.com.
Or: Sequencia Corp., 15458-B N. 28th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85053. Phone: 602-896-3700. Fax: 602-896-3896.
Or: Wonderware Corp., 100 Technology Dr., Irvine, CA 92618. Phone: 949-727-3200. Fax: 949-727-3270.
Or: Intellution, Inc., One Edgewater Dr., Norwood, MA 02062. Phone: 781-769-8878. Fax: 781-769-1990.
By Alan S. Brown