What is an industrial Historian?
An industrial Historian (also called a Process Data Historian or PDH) is a database specialized in storing time series of process data: sensor values, equipment states, alarms, production counters, energy measurements — with precise timestamps and a high sampling frequency.
Unlike a conventional relational database, a Historian is optimized to write and query millions of data points per second with efficient compression. It is the heart of the Plant Information System (Level 3 of the Purdue model).
The PI System: strengths and limitations
The PI System from OSIsoft (acquired by AVEVA in 2021) is without doubt the most mature solution on the market, with decades of deployments in critical industries. Its strengths are undeniable: proven reliability, a broad ecosystem of connectors, and functional depth.
However, its limitations are becoming increasingly evident in today's context:
- Very expensive licenses — the total cost of ownership can far exceed that of open source alternatives
- Vendor lock-in — proprietary formats that make data portability difficult
- Limited integration with modern technologies — REST APIs, cloud and modern visualization tools such as Grafana require complex configuration
- Slow upgrade curve — late adoption of modern standards such as OPC UA
Open source alternatives
| Solution | Database | License | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| InfluxDB | Native time series | Open Source / Cloud | High frequency, IoT, metrics |
| TimescaleDB | Extended PostgreSQL | Open Source | Complex SQL queries + time |
| OpenTSDB | HBase / Hadoop | Open Source | Massive scale, industrial big data |
| Historian I4 (Salba) | InfluxDB + proprietary stack | Project / Service | OEE + visualization + integrated OPC UA |
When does it make sense to migrate?
Migrating from PI System or another proprietary Historian makes sense when one or more of these conditions apply:
- The license contract is up for renewal and the cost exceeds the available budget
- Integration with modern platforms is required (Power BI, Grafana, REST APIs)
- The company wants to eliminate dependence on a single vendor
- A new project is starting with no legacy infrastructure to protect
Grupo Salba's Historian I4
Our Historian I4 is a turnkey solution based on open source technologies: InfluxDB as the time series engine, Node-RED for integration with PLCs via OPC UA, and Grafana for visualization. No proprietary licenses, scalable and fully integrated with the modern industrial data ecosystem.
Are you paying too much for your current Historian?
We assess your current infrastructure and present a migration plan with a calculated ROI before you commit any budget.
See Historian I4 →