Inside a modern Australian distribution centre

Operational technology comparison

PI System vs Ignition

Ignition runs the plant. The PI System keeps the record that reporting reads. Most sites asking this question have a gap at one layer.

The short answer

If operators need to see and control the process, that is Ignition territory, and the PI System will not do it. If you need to answer a question about last quarter with numbers that survive scrutiny, that is what the PI System was built for.

On larger Australian sites the two often run together: Ignition collects and controls, PI retains and adds asset context. Across our consultants' careers we have worked on operational data for BHP, Rio Tinto, Senex Energy and Schneider Electric. We resell neither product.

Side by side

Side by side
	AVEVA PI System	Ignition
Primary job	Retain and contextualise operational data for the enterprise	Supervisory control and operator screens
Controls plant	No. Read only by design	Yes. Writes setpoints and commands
History store	Purpose-built archive with compression, designed for long retention	Standard SQL database. Long high-resolution retention needs housekeeping
Asset model	Asset Framework: cross-site hierarchy, templates, event frames	User Defined Types: tag templates per gateway
Licence shape	Subscription sized by data volume and modules	Per server, with unlimited tags and clients inside the licence
Visualisation	PI Vision, asset-relative displays	Perspective and Vision, full HMI build freedom
Reporting and BI	Via PI Integrator, Web API or a warehouse, with asset context	SQL historian readable by any BI tool, context is what you modelled
Typical footprint	Large mines, refineries, LNG, utilities	Greenfield sites, mid-size plants, remote assets, SCADA replacements

Where sites run both

Ignition at the edge
Talks to PLCs, drives operator screens, publishes tags over OPC UA.
PI as the record
Subscribes to those tags and holds the cross-site history and asset model.
Reporting reads PI
Power BI and analytics query the record, keeping load off the control system.

Which gap do you have?

Which gap do you have?
	Likely gap	Where to look
Operators cannot see or control part of the process	SCADA and HMI	Ignition is a strong candidate
You cannot answer questions about last quarter	Historian and asset model	PI System territory
Each site reports differently	Asset model	Asset Framework or equivalent modelling
Engineers see trends but cannot investigate	Analytics	See Seeq vs PI Vision
Management reporting is rekeyed from screens	Reporting layer	See Power BI vs PI Vision

Questions

Is Ignition better than the PI System?

Neither is better overall, because they do different jobs. Ignition is SCADA and HMI software that runs operator screens and writes to the plant, while the PI System is an enterprise historian with an asset model built for long retention and consistent cross-site reporting.

Can Ignition replace the PI System?

Sometimes. Sites replace PI with Ignition successfully when their only real use of PI was trending recent data. Sites that rely on Asset Framework, event frames and years of high-resolution archive find the replacement scope far larger than the licence saving suggests.

Is Ignition cheaper than the PI System?

Often on licence, because Ignition is priced per server with unlimited tags and clients, while PI is a subscription sized by data volume and modules. Total cost also includes database housekeeping for long Ignition history and the modelling Asset Framework provides, so confirm current terms with each vendor.

How does Ignition compare with AVEVA System Platform?

That is a closer comparison, because both are SCADA and HMI platforms. System Platform uses a Galaxy object model that suits large, standardised AVEVA estates, while Ignition scales by adding gateways under a per-server licence. Confirm current licensing and architecture limits with each vendor.

Can Ignition and the PI System run on the same site?

Yes, and the pairing is common on larger Australian sites. Ignition talks to PLCs and publishes tags over OPC UA, and the PI System subscribes to them to keep the long-term record and asset model that reporting and analytics read.

Can Power BI read data from both Ignition and PI?

Yes, by different routes. Ignition historises to a SQL database that Power BI can query directly, while PI data usually goes through PI Integrator, the PI Web API or a warehouse. Aggregate either source before it reaches Power BI to keep refreshes fast.