Does Demiton Compete with SCADA? (A Guide for Operations Managers)

If you’re running a modern manufacturing facility, you almost certainly have a SCADA system. Whether it’s Ignition, Wonderware, or FactoryTalk, your SCADA is the vibrant, real-time dashboard of your operation. It’s the cockpit that lets your operators see what’s happening on the floor and control it with the press of a button.

So when we talk about Demiton as a new "Industrial Operations & Lifecycle Platform," one of the first questions we get is: "Is this just another SCADA system? Does it compete with Ignition?"

It's a fair question, and the answer is a clear and simple no.

Demiton does not compete with SCADA. It makes your investment in SCADA better.

Think of it this way: your SCADA system is brilliant at answering the question, "What is the temperature of Tank 3 right now?" It's a firehose of live data.

Demiton is designed to answer the much more expensive questions that your SCADA can't:

• "What is the correct temperature for Tank 3 when brewing our Hazy IPA, and who approved it?"
• "Why are the VSD parameters on Packaging Line 2 different from the 'identical' Line 3?"
• "How can I deploy a new PLC program to the keg washer without risking a catastrophic error on the night shift?"

SCADA manages data. Demiton manages the knowledge, logic, and governance behind that data. Let's break down the three key problems Demiton solves that SCADA systems were never built for.

1. The Problem of "Configuration Drift" and Technical Debt

Your plant has five "identical" VSDs controlling five conveyor motors. But over three years, they've all drifted apart.

• Line 1 has the factory default parameters.
• Line 2 was "tweaked" by a technician to handle heavier boxes.
• Line 3 has an older firmware version.
• Line 4 has a custom parameter set your best engineer developed but never documented.

Your SCADA system shows you that all five motors are running, but it has no idea that they are all running differently. This is configuration drift, a form of technical debt that causes inconsistent quality, mysterious breakdowns, and a maintenance nightmare.

This is where Demiton acts as a System of Governance. You define the "Golden Record" configuration for that VSD in Demiton. Then, with our Asset Lockdown feature, if an operator makes an unauthorized change on the floor, one of two things happens:

• Alert Mode: The Operations Manager gets an instant, high-priority notification.
• Revert Mode: Demiton’s on-site Gateway detects the drift and, within seconds, automatically writes the correct 'Golden Record' parameters back to the VSD.

Your SCADA system tells you if a motor is on or off. Demiton ensures it's running correctly.

2. The Problem of "Cowboy Coding" on the Factory Floor

How do you update the logic on a critical PLC? For most facilities, the process involves an engineer with a laptop, directly connected to the live machine, hoping for the best. There’s no formal code review, no approval workflow, and no unbreakable audit trail.

This is terrifying. A single mistake can lead to tens of thousands of dollars in a ruined batch or a full day of unplanned downtime.

Demiton brings a professional CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) workflow to your operations. To change the logic on a locked-down asset:

1. A technician must submit a formal Deployment Request in Demiton.
2. A designated manager receives a notification, reviews a "diff" of the proposed changes, and can approve or reject it.
3. Only after approval is the technician able to execute the deployment from a controlled Job Docket.

This creates a perfect, auditable history of every single software change on your critical assets, solving the "tribal knowledge" and key-person risk problem at its core.

3. The Problem of Disconnected Information

Your SCADA system is a screen of buttons and numbers. It doesn't contain the machine's maintenance manual, its safety procedures, or the service history of every job ever performed on it. That information is scattered across shared drives, filing cabinets, and the memories of your most senior staff.

Demiton is the single source of truth that links everything together. By scanning a simple QR code on a machine, your team gets instant access to:

• Its complete service history (Job Dockets).
• Every version of its software and parameters (Function Blocks).
• All related manuals, schematics, and safety documents.
• Its relationship to other assets in the plant via the Operational Graph.

You Need Both: The Cockpit and the Flight Manual

You would never ask your pilot to fly a plane without an air traffic control tower or a maintenance logbook. Likewise, you shouldn't run your factory using only the real-time cockpit.

• Keep your SCADA system. It’s essential for real-time control and visualization.
• Add Demiton to provide the governance, lifecycle management, and knowledge base that ensures your automated systems run safely, consistently, and correctly, every single time.

Demiton doesn't replace your SCADA; it secures your investment in it.

Ready to add a layer of governance and control to your operations? Schedule a demo with our team and see how Demiton and your SCADA can work together.