ABB is currently investigating cloud computing and big data technologies in the context of power and automation. Cloud computing is already common for customer relationship management systems or human resource management systems, but industrial automation is still in the process of moving to the cloud. As an early example, ABB’s SCADA system for oil&gas applications, SCADAvantage, can now be purchased as hosted version in a GlobaLogix data center.
Big data processing amongst other things involves crossing structured and unstructured data to create new insights for customers. Unstructured data can for example be video streams or social media output. ABB’s Asset Health Center is one of the first solutions for processing big data for smart grids. ABB is executing several research projects on cloud computing and big data, providing great opportunities for scientific and industrial research beyond the buzzwords. We are hiring PhD-level professionals!