Finding system integration resources

System integration is very common in automation, and there are plenty of resources out there.

By Jack Smith April 17, 2014

System integrators represent a significant demographic of the AppliedAutomation readership. Regardless of whether automation end users are discrete, process, batch, or hybrid manufacturers, or whether they are utilities or municipalities, chances are your organization has had some contact with automation system integrators.

Automation system integration is among the many information channels on the Control Engineering and Plant Engineering websites. Content specific to this topic can be located by searching the archives maintained by both of these CFE Media LLC publications.

Several types of media are included in this content. For example, Control Engineering magazine publishes the “Automation Integrator Guide” annually. Each issue features articles about automation system integration best practices, industry outlooks, and an industry directory with profiles of automation system integrators. The online version of this directory is a tool for identifying automation system integrator talent. This searchable guide provides information about company size, industries supported, engineering specialties, product experience, professional affiliations, and other important search criteria. 

Webcasts and training videos are available online by accessing the “Education & Training” and “People and Training” tabs on the Control Engineering and Plant Engineering Websites, respectively. Control Engineering also distributes the monthly “System Integration” newsletter and hosts the “Automation System Integration” blog.

Each year, a panel of Control Engineering editors and industry expert judges select System Integrator of the Year Award winners by evaluating business skills, technical competence, and customer satisfaction. Winners are then inducted into the Control Engineering System Integrator Hall of Fame.

Separate from the System Integrator of the Year program, Control Engineering names System Integrator Giants, the 100 largest automation system integration firms, according to revenue, that respond to the magazine’s annual survey.

– See the AppliedAutomation stories from the April issue below.

This article appears in the Applied Automation supplement for Control Engineering and Plant Engineering


Author Bio: Content manager, CFE Media