Shoot This, Opto!

Started by til at 08-31-2007 11:08 AM. Topic has 3 replies.

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   08-31-2007, 11:08 AM
til is not online. Last active: 5/16/2007 7:39:08 PM til

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Joined on 05-16-2007
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Comparison with other manufacturers
Our company is in the process of replacing some 1980’s vintage (remote terminal units (RTU’s), due to replacement part concerns. I personally prefer the Opto22 solution; however, I need to convince the purse string holders and bean counters that the well known PLC suppliers are not necessarily a better choice.

What I'd like to see presented in a video is a comparison of Opto22 PAC systems to their competitors such as AB, GE, Siemens, Koyo, etc. Not merely a comparison of PLC’s versus PAC’s which is sufficiently covered in one of your white papers, but a more in-dept comparison touching on expandability, software compatibility across control versions, cost of software due to need of different controller versions, built in versus patched on communications/protocols, I/O capability, changing instruction set size according to I/O capability across controllers, true remote configuration/troubleshooting and control, etc. I could go on and on but essentially it would be things of this nature which would be more helpful in presenting my case.

For example one of the things I like most about the Opto22 equipment is the ability to program unique protocols, outside of the mainstream offerings, such as modbus tcp etc., for both legacy accommodation as well as perhaps extra secure in-house proprietary protocols. I’m not sure if the other manufacturers have similar capabilities. I’m confident that you have engineers in-house who study the competition’s offerings and would be able to compile their research data into a very useful video.

Thank you,
Vincent Sumoski
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   12-10-2007, 8:03 AM
gmitchell is not online. Last active: 11/12/2005 8:06:39 PM gmitchell

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Re: Comparison with other manufacturers

Every manufacturer has available literature demonstrating that his equipment is the best in the market, most are extremly boring, so I can't imagine having to watch a whole video on the subject.


However you might be interested in the work done by Arun Sinha and presented at the OptoSummit in 2007. Using four basic factors 1) Understand 2) Select 3) Buy 4) Apply, Opto22 PAC products were compared against offering from Rockwell, Schneider, Omron, Mitsubishi, ICP DAS, Wago, Advantech, & Automation Direct, with a lot of detailed and spreadsheet analysis.


As the study was impartial, Opto22 didn’t finish number one in all categories, but still scored highly in most sections.  You may be interested in contacting Arun or OptoMarketing directly if you need a comparison against a specific competitor.


But generally speaking Opto22 is just not one of those manufacturers who go around claiming that nobody else in the world exists! It's  just not the "OptoWay" 

 

I would add some more areas where we have found Opto22 to have significant advantages over other competitive systems, although I’m not sure Opto22 even directly promote them.

 

  1. Total cost of ownership=Initial Cost + Installation + Maintenance + Expansion + Spares + Upgrade over 10 years.
  2. Ongoing hardware maintenance contracts (Obligatory for many systems)
  3. Ongoing software licences and maintenance contracts (Obligatory for many systems)
  4. Does the software have a "license end date" that requires a subscription charge.
  5. Published spare parts, repair/replacement and module price list
  6. Cost of software licences per CPU and/or software point
  7. Cost of SCADA o HMI type software for operator interfaces.
  8. Location and cost of engineer and maintenance training courses
  9. System upgrade cost, what needs changing out and when
  10. Cost of connecting to equipment through Ethernet TCP/IP
  11. Posibilities of connecting to competitive equipment and software protocols.
  12. Cost of OPC Server software licence per point/controller/system.
  13. What version of Windows is required for the system software.  Can I run it on my own portable laptop.
  14. Dificulty of communicating and connecting to other operating systems
  15. Cost of phone support for product related issues.
  16. Hourly rate for contracted engineering support. Is this available from competitive integrators or only from the manufacturer.

 


You would be surprised at the answers (or lack of them), when asking “competitive” suppliers about these issues.


In general terms,  the bigger the company the more ambiguous the answers, .......... and the more you examine Opto22, the more sense it makes to buy it.

 


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   01-08-2008, 11:18 AM
Slick is not online. Last active: 3/21/2007 7:16:24 AM Slick

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Re: Comparison with other manufacturers
Vince,

I received your voicemail today. I'm sorry I missed your call, but I was on an online meeting. What I have is not really a "paper", but just results of some research I had done. It is a bit informal, but I would be happy to send it to you. Please email me so I can reply with the information. My email is asinha@opto22.com

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   05-08-2008, 4:17 AM
gmitchell is not online. Last active: 11/12/2005 8:06:39 PM gmitchell

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Joined on 12-01-2003
Optomation Systems, Madrid, Spain
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Re: Comparison with other manufacturers
Looks like aruns notes have now been upgraded into a specific document available only to OptoChannel Parners for sales purposes.

1760_SNAP_PAC_System_vs_Competition.pdf

Rated "R" for content that could easily shock both suppliers and end users alike, it blows away the urban legend that "Competitors Products Are Cheaper".

Its not available on the Opto22 web, but you could contact arun directly at Opto22, explaining why you need it.

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