AVEVA PI System vs. Ignition

If you have many different DCSs or PLCs in your manufacturing plant, OSIsoft PI System does the job quite well to integrate all different types of sources and data. We have Yokogawa, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, and Azbil DCS and PLC. Connecting them is not a problem.

Incentivized

Ignition (initially called Practice Ignition) performs quite well at proposal building, contract development, tracking and invoicing, payment and collections. The only issues where I see Ignition not being a good fit is in smaller firms that require a more feature rich plan. A perfect example is a solo firm has a limited number of proposals they can activate, and would have to spend extra for additional features like multiple e-signatures.

Incentivized

• Ability to integrate with many 3rd-party systems, 70 sources as per their marketing claims
• Great for big data management

Incentivized

• Automatic Payments: You set up a proposal to collect payments once and you don't have to worry about bugging the client for payment every month.
• Amazing support: I have always received answers from the support team within the same day. They are very patient and understanding.
• Integrates with Xero: It integrates with our accounting software, making reporting faster.

Incentivized

• Missing some features and has some bugs

Incentivized

• The charge back process is messy and not transparent enough. When there is a charge back, PI deducts the amount from other payments settling on the same day, and does not provide a break down of the amounts. This makes it impossible to track without getting help from support.
• PI should send email alerts monthly (or at some interval determined by user) for expiring engagements.
• PI should allow the client to make service selections -- we should be able to offer 2 or 3 options under a service offering, and the client chooses and sees the impact on monthly/annual pricing.
• PI should allow for more than 2 templates (Business and Individual).
• PI should integrate with Jet Pack Workflow to automate the creation of new jobs once a proposal is approved.

Incentivized

The Ignition product is quite usable for the average user. The app has preloaded templates that can get even new-hires to navigate the software and set up proposals. The only area where I see the Ignition product lacking is the additional fees smaller firms may have to pay to get the full feature advantages of the product.

Incentivized

Good local support. The only issue is that there are not many system integrators that are well versed with OSIsoft. The implementation is also very costly.

Incentivized

You aren't able to customize the design of the proposal, but it surpases everything we have ever tried. It's easy to use and quick to learn.

Incentivized

• Real-time data
• We don't require constant updates during crisis from a technician who usually will update to BCP team via WhatsApp.

Incentivized

• We have reduced our A/R by 60% and expect to completely eliminate A/R by the end of this year.

Incentivized