Choosing a process historian: a practical checklist

A process historian stores time-series data from PLCs, SCADA and sensors, often for years, and serves it back quickly for trends, reports and analytics.

Most selection mistakes come from comparing feature lists instead of checking fit with what you already run. Start from your SCADA or connectivity layer and your analytics layer, then pick the historian that connects cleanly to both.

Purpose-built process historians

Built for industrial tags, compression and long retention.

• AVEVA PI System (AVEVA, formerly OSIsoft PI): enterprise operational data infrastructure.
• Canary Historian (Canary Labs): focused on lossless compression, fast trending and simple tag-based licensing.
• Proficy Historian (GE Vernova): part of the Proficy suite, archiving process data at site and enterprise level.
• FactoryTalk Historian (Rockwell Automation): collects Logix and plant data at machine and site level.
• dataPARC (Capstone Technology): process data analytics and historian suite, popular in pulp and paper and chemicals.

General time-series databases

Open or open-core databases sometimes used as lightweight historians.

• InfluxDB (InfluxData): open-core time-series database.
• TimescaleDB: a PostgreSQL extension for time-series and sensor data.

Side-by-side comparisons

• Canary Historian vs AVEVA PI
• AVEVA PI vs Proficy Historian
• AVEVA PI vs FactoryTalk Historian
• Canary Historian vs Proficy Historian
• AVEVA PI vs InfluxDB
• Canary Historian vs InfluxDB
• InfluxDB vs TimescaleDB

Five questions to ask before you buy

1. What collects the data today (OPC server, SCADA, MQTT), and does the historian read it natively?
2. What's the licensing model: per tag, per server, subscription or open source?
3. Do you need site-level, enterprise-level, or both (tiered or replicated)?
4. Which analytics and BI tools must read from it?
5. Who will administer it, and what skills does your team already have?

Related guides: Getting PLC data out: OPC UA servers, gateways and MQTT and MES vs ERP vs SCADA.

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This is a cross-post from PlantWired, a free, vendor-neutral directory of which factory software works with what. The full guide lists every historian in the directory with its documented integrations, and the PlantWired newsletter sends new comparisons by email. Integration and pricing details are editorial, so always confirm with the vendor. Corrections are very welcome in the comments.