Software · head to head
ABB Ability vs AVEVA PI System
ABB Ability
Software
Digital solutions for energy and automation
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
AVEVA PI System
Software
Industrial data infrastructure for real-time insights
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: ABB Ability the Internet Archive's capture of ABB Ability's page on 19 December 2021 showed it is sold only through a 'Find Your Sales Partner' channel across industry verticals (Automotive, Buildings, Data Centers, EV Charging, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, and others), with no price list published.; AVEVA PI System pricing is not published and comes through an account representative
- They diverge on capability: ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ABB Ability and AVEVA PI System actually diverge.
| Attribute | ABB Ability | AVEVA PI System |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | quote | one-time |
| Platforms | Web, Mobile, Api | Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api |
| Founded | 1988 | 1967 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in ABB Ability
- Asset health monitoring
- Predictive maintenance
- Performance optimization
- Energy management
- Grid automation
- Remote diagnostics
- Advanced analytics
- Digital twin technology
Only in AVEVA PI System
- Real-time data collection
- Time-series data storage
- Asset framework
- Visualization
- Analytics
- Event management
- Notifications
- Data integration
Both cover
- SCADA systems
- ERP systems
- IEC 62443
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
ABB Ability
- Asset performance managementnot AVEVA PI System
- Predictive maintenancenot AVEVA PI System
- Grid optimizationnot AVEVA PI System
- Energy efficiencynot AVEVA PI System
AVEVA PI System
- Collecting and historising real-time process data from plant equipmentnot ABB Ability
- Operations dashboards and alerting through PI Visionnot ABB Ability
- Edge data collection where connectivity is intermittentnot ABB Ability
- Pulling process data into Excel analysis with PI DataLinknot ABB Ability
- Utilities, pharma, mining and oil and gas process monitoringnot ABB Ability
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
ABB Ability
- The Internet Archive's capture of ABB Ability's page on 19 December 2021 showed it is sold only through a 'Find Your Sales Partner' channel across industry verticals (Automotive, Buildings, Data Centers, EV Charging, Manufacturing, Mining, Oil & Gas, Power, and others), with no price list published.
AVEVA PI System
- Pricing is not published and comes through an account representative
- The vendor is moving to a subscription commercial model, so perpetual licence expectations no longer hold
- Made up of several separately named components, including PI Server, PI Vision, Edge Data Store and the adapters and connectors needed per data source
Pricing, plan by plan
ABB Ability
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the ABB Ability review.
AVEVA PI System
On request- Data Archive$undefined/license
- Time-series data storage
- High-speed data collection
- Data compression
- Operations$undefined/license
- PI Vision dashboards
- AF analytics
- Event frames
- Enterprise$undefined/license
- PI Integrator
- Cloud connectivity
- Advanced analytics
Which should you pick?
Choose ABB Ability if
- You need asset health monitoring.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want predictive maintenance.
Choose AVEVA PI System if
- You need real-time data collection.
- You work on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want time-series data storage.
Questions people ask
- Is ABB Ability or AVEVA PI System better?
- Neither clearly leads. ABB Ability starts at On request and AVEVA PI System at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ABB Ability or AVEVA PI System?
- ABB Ability starts at On request and AVEVA PI System at On request.
- Does ABB Ability or AVEVA PI System run on more platforms?
- ABB Ability runs on Web, Mobile, Api. AVEVA PI System runs on Desktop, Web, Mobile, Api.
- What is ABB Ability best used for?
- ABB Ability is most often used for asset performance management, predictive maintenance, grid optimization, energy efficiency. Of those, asset performance management and predictive maintenance are not what AVEVA PI System is typically brought in for.
- What can ABB Ability do that AVEVA PI System cannot?
- ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, Predictive maintenance, Performance optimization, Energy management. AVEVA PI System covers Real-time data collection, Time-series data storage, Asset framework, Visualization. Both handle SCADA systems, ERP systems, IEC 62443.