I am currently working on a project to select monitoring application. I have to choose between Iconics and ABB. I am looking for unbiased white paper or information in this regard
Iconics is a software company. They make HMI and SCADA software, and business applications to take data from Level One and Two of the Purdue Model and present it to the business network level, either at the MES layer or the ERP layer, or both.
ABB is a full featured automation and services company. They provide field devices, analytical devices, valve actuators, drives, motors and motor controls, power controls, distributed control systems, HMI, SCADA, and business application software.
ABB is waaaaaay bigger than ICONICS.
Does this mean ABB is better? Not necessarily, and for your application, maybe not.
It depends on what you want to do, and how much support you want, and how much support you are willing to pay for.
Make a list of the functions you want the "monitoring software" to do. Send the list to Iconics, and to ABB. Ask them to tell you, in detail, how they would accomplish each of those functions. See which set of responses you like better.
Then go ask your senior management which company they want you to buy from. Don't bother showing them the responses. They'll have an opinion, or they won't. If they strongly prefer one of the two, that's the one you'll get. If they have no preference, pick the one you want and tell your senior management that you did an exhaustive study of the two companies and came to the conclusion that, while both companies are great and wonderful, company X fit the application better, and so you are going with company X.
