Wonderware – Then, and Now

First, there was Wonderware InTouch

In the early years of Wonderware, InTouch was the only product. It created an incredible impact on industry and established a lasting presence that persists to this day. Not only was it easy to use, it provided a whole new dynamic that had not been experienced before. Industry immediately recognized the value and the traditional HMI was born.

Many people fiddled with InTouch beyond what it was designed for to create mini-games and Easter egg type enhancements to show off to others. On the right is part of an InTouch demo that had a conveyor belt you could manually control and “spill”.

Then, there was Wonderware FactorySuite

As more software products were introduced under the Wonderware name, a new advertising campaign was released that characterized each of them into a group called “Suite Freaks” – referencing the release of the Wonderware FactorySuite bundle of software. InSQL, now known as Historian, InBatch, now known as Batch Management, I/O Servers, now known as Communication Drivers and more, were provided as a combined system for the first time.

On the right is an original poster from that release, part of the absurd and norm-shattering imagery that Wonderware had become well known for. Underwear was another common theme.

Then, there was Wonderware, an Invensys brand

Invensys Operations Management saw Wonderware incorporated into a new solution and brand strategy – combining the strengths of the Invensys acquisitions into a single focus, providing customers with increasing value. This expanded on the FactorySuite concept and went beyond just HMI, SCADA and MES. It introduced new capabilities such as asset management from Avantis, hardware controllers from Triconex and Foxboro, and immersive simulation environments from SimSci.

To the right is a slide from a customer event outlining the Invensys brands, each of which was previously a well known company in their time.