Opportunities for Reevaluation in Slow Automation Market, says ARC

According to the ARC Advisory Group, the automation business overall is dominated by replacements and revamps. New projects, for example, only account for about a third of the DCS market. Suppliers need to continue to serve and evolve their installed base. Many end users may also take the opportunity of a quieter business environment, when there is not so much pressure on production, to reevaluate their overall automation and control system migration and evolution strategies.

The automation services sector is well positioned to ride out the global economic crisis with strong growth. Increasingly over the next decade, automation suppliers are going to be called upon to fill the role of service provider, particularly in the operations, maintenance, training, and support services segments. A careful evaluation of the supplier’s service capabilities across all aspects of its business should be a part of any supplier evaluation.