Kevin Roach, vice-president of Rockwell Software, describes the acquisition as "a key milestone" in the expansion of FactoryTalk. The Incuity software integrates disparate sources of information from production operations and other enterprise systems. According to Roach, it "delivers unique insights into enterprise performance and key operational metrics". It will also allow users to analyse the root causes of manufacturing problems.

"IncuityEMI gives Rockwell Automation the vital top layer in the information chain, where the roles of the ERP vendor and the industrial automation vendor meet," Roach adds.

Incuity, previously known as DataWorks Systems, has its origins in a South African company called Ptm Software, which developed a real-time, data-handling front-end for Microsoft’s SQL Server relational database. This product, called Prealism, allowed users to collect real-time plantfloor production data at high speed.

In 1995, Ptm was acquired by Wonderware which enhanced Prealism to create its IndustrialSQL Server real-time plant historian, now part of Wonderware’s FactorySuite offering. In 1998, Ptm’s founders established Dataworks to create a suite of data analysis and reporting clients for use with IndustralSQL Server. In 2004, Dataworks became Incuity, which now has more than 45,000 "seats" of its products in more than 40 countries. Incuity’s management and staff will now become part of Rockwell’s Architecture & Software division.

Steve Eisenbrown, senior vice-president of this division, says that the Incuity acquisition "supports our commitment to expand the FactoryTalk software suite, and to enhance our plantwide information strategy".