As our smart phones, laptops, and smart home devices continue to evolve at a rapid rate, the questions around how so much data will continue to be processed continues to float around the web.

Yet, in the industrial space, the future of operational technology, with its use of integrations and SCADA, may actually have a viable answer.

The OT environment consists of an industrial control system (ICS) and SCADA. These systems compose the vertebrae of infrastructure. Indeed, our economy and society hinge upon these unsung heroes.

Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) are user interfaces or dashboards that connect a person to a machine, system, or device. And even though the term "HMI" can be applied to any type of screen or monitor that allows a human user to interact with a machine or device, the benefits of HMI's are not readily understood in the industrial space. Keep reading to discover how smart companies are capitalizing on HMI's to increase their overall operational efficiencies.

PLC and SCADA are both used to monitor and control equipment in process automation across many different industries, such as telecommunications, water and waste control, energy, oil and gas, and transportation.

Because of the technological complexities of these modern day systems understanding how each plays its part can be rather confusing.

“If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.” - Derek Sivers

We should all take a page out of Derek Sivers book of wisdom above, but the sad truth is that we simply say "yes" to too many things.

Entrepreneurship is all the buzz these days.

Employees quit their jobs or leave other opportunities to chase their dream or join in the pursuit of someone else’s. It’s fun, exciting, and a bit nerve-racking. But even scarier is the fact that at most given moments, more businesses are closing or shutting down at an often faster rate.

Daniel Coffelt, Ross Moffett, and Trent Boudreaux will be in Folsom California for the 2018 Ignition Users Group. Trent Boudreaux will be presenting the IPO Module at the ICC Ignition Oil and Gas Collective and we look forward to seeing everyone there!