Control System Migration Strategies Emerge as Key User Concern Control system migration is emerging as a top issue among many automation users today. Few new plants are being built and capital expenditures continue to shrink. With the increased focus on return on assets and operational excellence, users must find ways to effectively migrate from one generation of control system to the next, whether it be from the installed supplier or a competitor. Suppliers are offering an increasingly varied range of migration options for users to choose from. User must develop a migration strategy that supports their business requirements.

1. THOUGHT LEADERS FOR MANUFACTURING & SUPPLY CHAIN
ARC INSIGHTS
By Larry O’Brien
& Dave Woll
Suppliers are offering an increasingly
varied range of migration options for
users to choose from. User must
develop a migration strategy that fulfills
a vision of operational excellence.
INSIGHT# 2003-04MH&P
JANUARY 22, 2003
Control System Migration Strategies Emerge
as Key User Concern
Keywords
Process Automation System, Migration, Lifecycle Cost, Return on Assets
Summary
Control system migration is emerging as a top issue among many automa-
tion users today. Few new plants are being built and capital expenditures
continue to shrink. With the increased focus on return on assets and opera-
tional excellence, users must find ways to effectively migrate from one
generation of control system to the next, whether it
be from the installed supplier or a competitor.
Suppliers are offering an increasingly varied range
of migration options for users to choose from. User
must develop a migration strategy that supports
their business requirements.
Analysis
ARC estimates that there is roughly $65 billion worth of automation sys-
tems installed today that are at the end of their traditional lifecycle.
Meanwhile, all of the major PAS suppliers have recently introduced new
control system architectures and automation infrastructures designed to
bring users into the decade of collaborative automation. With so many
older systems installed and so many new system platforms emerging, con-
trol system migration strategies are coming to the forefront as important
considerations for enabling increased plant performance and the adoption
of new automation strategies. This is the first in a series of deliverables to
be produced by ARC on the topic of control system migration, and we wel-
come your input and comments on this issue.
Migration vs. Upgrade
At some point, users must make a choice whether to upgrade their existing
control system or migrate to a new system. Sometimes, upgrades are no
longer possible because the system has been phased out of production alto-
gether or the installed system is based on an outdated architecture. It is

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Primary Migration Options
• Bulldoze or Wholesale Replacement
• Gateways
• Map I/O and Related Devices
• Identical Form Factor I/O
Replacement
• Code translation or object wrapping
hard to justify the replacement of a control system. Usually, the reduced
total cost of ownership and ease of use are not sufficient by themselves to
justify replacement. The interruption of plant operations and downtime
present the biggest hurdles to migration. In most cases, migration justifica-
tion comes from the threat of unscheduled downtime posed by the existing
system. The existing system may also be preventing the user from taking
advantage of a new or emerging business opportunity.
Migration does not always involve moving to a new supplier. Many users
believe that the closer the new system is to the old one, the less pain there
will be in the migration process. With so many new control system archi-
tectures and automation infrastructures emerging, such as Industrial IT
from ABB, PlantWeb from Emerson, Experion PKS from Honeywell,
ArchrestrA from Invensys, Totally Integrated Automation from Siemens,
and Enterprise Technology Solutions from Yokogawa, many users are faced
with a migration issue moving from the old supplier system and architec-
ture to the new one. Several key issues need to be considered once you
have chosen migration over upgrade.
Migration Options: From Big Bang to I/O Card Replacement
There are several different options for migration that users should consider.
The first and most obvious of these is the wholesale “big-bang” style migra-
tion, where all of the existing control system equipment is taken out and
new equipment installed. This option is the most
costly in terms of both control system hardware
and software as well as labor costs, downtime, and
training.
Gateways are a long-established way of linking
one control system to another, but often serve as
little more than a band aid solution to integration
that lacks any advanced functionality and pro-
vides little more than protocol translation. Gateways often rely on proprie-
tary technology and are frequently high-priced with very low
cost/functionality value. Just about every supplier offers gateways of some
sort for integration of new control systems, PLCs, or other devices.
Many suppliers offer the option of migrating to a new system while pre-
serving the user’s existing I/O. Cabling solutions, for example, involve
mapping I/O from the existing termination assemblies to the new system.

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What Suppliers Must Do to Ease Migration
for Users
• New system should offer compelling value
proposition and path to OpX
• Minimize wiring
• Preserve hardware investment
• Preserve graphics & assist with or perform
graphics conversion
• Preserve control strategies & assist with or
perform control strategy conversion
• Minimize/eliminate interruption
• Minimize training costs for new system
While this preserves the user’s investment in legacy I/O and infrastructure,
this solution can also take a long time to install and involve an increased
footprint. Users can also encounter problems in I/O mapping with this
method.
Some suppliers offer new I/O cards that fit
the same form factor as those of the installed
system, allowing the user to migrate to a new
system with no changes in I/O wiring, in-
stalled cabinetry, or hardware infrastructure.
This can be a very cost effective option, but is
not offered by a wide range of suppliers.
ARC expects that more and more suppliers
will begin to offer this option in the near fu-
ture.
Most suppliers also offer some sort of server
level or software-only solution that provides
code translation or object wrapping, particularly for migrating to a new sys-
tem from the same supplier. These solutions can be based on open
technologies such as OPC or they can be more proprietary in nature.
Developing a Migration Plan
No migration project can be undertaken without a certain degree of pain,
nor is any migration strategy totally seamless or transparent. Successful
migration strategy should evaluate the degree to which you plan to pre-
serve your installed automation hardware assets, such as I/O and
controllers and so on.
Any migration plan should be viewed from a perspective of avoiding inter-
ruption and should provide improved productivity, reduced installed and
lifecycle costs, and integration of advanced functionality such as produc-
tion management, enterprise integration, advanced control, and other
functions.
Practical considerations to achieve this goal include minimizing process
downtime in the migration process, reducing the amount of rewiring that
needs to be done, and considering the incentives and guarantees offered by
suppliers for migrating to their system.

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Suppliers should work closely with users in the migration process to ensure
that their needs are met, particularly when it comes to preserving invest-
ments made in the older system, such as graphics, engineering, and control
strategies. Many suppliers offer migration services and will help reevaluate
existing design and control strategies.
Migration Is a Business Issue, Not a Technology Issue
Any user considering control system migration, regardless of whether the
new system will come from the same supplier or a new supplier, must
evaluate the decision based on the value proposition offered by the new
supplier. The value proposition must incorporate a clear migration strategy
from conception to execution. The first consideration should be the impact
of transition, including additional new hardware, downtime, preservation
of graphics and control strategies, training, and so on. The transition pe-
riod is significant in terms of potential cost reduction. Some suppliers, for
example, offer migration paths with no downtime at all and have highly
trained consultants that understand the graphics, control strategies, and
other aspects of competitors’ legacy systems.
Recommendations
• Migration should be approached as a business issue with a view toward
operational excellence.
• Users must look for a superior value proposition from their suppliers
when it comes to a migration proposition. Suppliers should help users
with graphics, control strategies, and other key aspects of the migration
process.
• Minimizing process interruption should be a top priority of any
planned migration.
Please help us improve our deliverables to you – take our survey linked to this
transmittal e-mail or at www.arcweb.com/myarc in the Client Area. For further
information, contact your account manager or the author at lobrien@arcweb.com.
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