White Paper on Cloud Computing for Scada

Moving all or part of SCADA applications to the cloud can cut costs significantly while dramatically increasing reliability and scalability.

We have published a White Paper from InduSoft  titled “Cloud Computing for SCADA” that describes how cloud-based SCADA systems can cut software costs while providing the latest technologies each time a user logs in.

Cloud-based computing offers users IT services and features that are accessed via the Internet such as networks, applications, redundancy, data storage and more. By utilizing cloud-based SCADA, companies can significantly reduce costs, achieve greater reliability and enhance functionality.

By using cloud computing, companies no longer have the expense of purchasing hardware and software licenses, as well as creating disaster recovery sites they may never use. Instead they procure new resources on demand if and when they need them.

The cloud inherently provides more secure redundancy as data is saved on many servers in various geographic locations. Factor in the costs a business would otherwise incur to manage an IT infrastructure, and the savings of moving to the cloud can be huge.

In addition to eliminating the expenses and problems related to the hardware layer of IT infrastructure, cloud-based SCADA users can also view data and receive alarms via smartphones, tablet computers, SMS text messages and email. This feature is especially attractive to users whose traditional SCADA systems do not provide the capability to easily develop screens for smaller devices or web browsers.

Although some are concerned about the security of cloud-based SCADA systems, they do offer enhanced security in many areas, such as the immediate distribution of patches and other security measures. Finding a good, reputable cloud provider is essential to safeguarding data. A cloud provider should use the most advanced security technologies and have dedicated security teams to keep abreast of the newest security methods.