Discover the PcVue Solutions Master Series
Mini-series that inform you on everything you need to know to [supervise] your systems!
Each series is split in several articles on our blogs and episodes on our Youtube channel
Season 1: “The 6 questions to ask when choosing your supervisory platform”
This first series aims to guide you in choosing the right SCADA platform for your needs.
S1E4 – Does the vendor have references in my market and why it can be a deal breaker?
In this episode we discuss the importance of selecting a well-established provider with a proven track record for your supervision solution.
A vendor may deliver the most innovative and powerful product on the market, it will not replace the experience gained in other projects that are identical or very similar to yours. It is often by working on business use cases that the vendor develops the features of its product and comprehends how to best meet your requirements and expectations.
Expertise and experience
Understanding the business of the ‘customer’ goes beyond the functional product, it is also essential to cover all the fields coming into play.
Knowledge of the context
Knowledge in the regulatory, administrative, budgetary, security and other constraints of a market. Obviously, an international airport does not operate the same way as an agro-food factory or a small wastewater treatment plant managed by the municipality
Mastering specificities
Good mastery of the business vocabulary and the meaning of industry specific acronyms and abbreviations to engage with you the project more quickly and comprehensively.
This business expertise translates into functions or dedicated object libraries that a publisher integrates into its solutions.
Advisory capacity
Confronted day by day with various business issues allows the editor to have an experience that he can share with his clients. Beyond the fact that it’s reassuring, the possibility from the software editor of sharing “lessons learned” and provide advice to clients in specific markets based on past projects can save a lot of time.
Hence before selecting a product, ask the vendor about:
ü Examples of projects similar to yours, in terms of market or architecture
ü The opportunity to visit reference client to see firsthand the application of the supervision platform, ideally, to be able to question the client on their satisfaction and experience during complex issues or pain points encountered during the implementation of their system
ü Ask also about the availability of the vendor in case of issues requiring technical support and the vendor’s support policy.
What if something’s wrong?
The cost of keeping the system in operational conditions
Too often solutions are sold at competitive prices initially, but once the installation is done, the price of maintaining the system in operational condition (maintenance, training, and assistance) becomes exorbitant.
What to keep in mind?
We advise you to conduct a thorough review of your vendor’s experiences in past projects of the same scale as yours, and make sure that the company you choose understands what you really do.
Stay connected for episode 5, we will review standards and products certifications!
Feel free to watch the episode 4 video on YouTube.
Includes contents created by “Next” of TheNounProject.com
Created on: 7 Oct 2019
