ECS reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for integration of ERP and Plant systems by using a standard product for all vertical integrations, rather than of custom developed Point to Point solutions. For example, a company with 20 production sites may need at least 50 interfaces to SAP components. SAP has stated that programming and maintenance can cost around $20,000 per interface point; the total costs over a five year period are roughly $5 million. With ECS, only one standard interface to SAP is required.
ECS has a standardized SAP certified interface that uses ISA-95, SAP’s supported standard for vertical integration in the manufacturing industries. Using these standard certified components dramatically reduces project risk. This also lowers validation efforts for regulated industries.
ECS works with your installed plant systems and helps you get the most value out of the investments you’ve already made. The integration capability of the System 800xA architecture (on which ECS is built) allows the data to reside in its original system, eliminating the need to replicate it into another historian, reducing cost and improving reliability. ECS lowers the total cost of ownership by simplifying multiple connections into one standard interface. ABB Inc. ECS provides a streamlined, single point interface that is suitable for enterprises of all levels of complexity.