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Energy · head to head

ABB Ability vs Cutsforth InsightCM

ABB Ability logo

ABB Ability

Energy

Digital solutions for energy and automation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cutsforth InsightCM logo

Cutsforth InsightCM

Energy

Multi-physics condition monitoring for generators and rotating plant, moved from National Instruments to Cutsforth

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Cutsforth InsightCM ownership moved from National Instruments to Cutsforth while NI itself was absorbed by Emerson, so support contracts, documentation and any assumption of NI or Emerson backing need reconfirming from scratch.
  • They diverge on capability: ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, Cutsforth InsightCM covers Multi-physics correlation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ABB Ability and Cutsforth InsightCM actually diverge.

Attributes where ABB Ability and Cutsforth InsightCM differ
AttributeABB AbilityCutsforth InsightCM
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, ApiWindows, Web, Cloud
Founded1988Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Energy).

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 Cutsforth InsightCM

  • Multi-physics correlation
  • Continuous waveform capture
  • NI hardware compatibility
  • Electromagnetic interference analysis
  • On-premise or cloud
  • Configurable acquisition
  • Automated alarming
  • Fleet view

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ABB Ability

  • Asset performance managementnot Cutsforth InsightCM
  • Predictive maintenancenot Cutsforth InsightCM
  • Grid optimizationnot Cutsforth InsightCM
  • Energy efficiencynot Cutsforth InsightCM

Cutsforth InsightCM

  • A generating station correlating partial discharge, EMI and vibration on a turbine generator in one diagnosis rather than three separate systemsnot ABB Ability
  • A nuclear operator needing continuous waveform retention as evidence for a condition-based maintenance casenot ABB Ability
  • An industrial site with legacy NI acquisition hardware already installed on critical machinesnot ABB Ability
  • Comparing identical generators across a fleet to separate a machine-specific fault from a design characteristicnot 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.

Cutsforth InsightCM

  • Ownership moved from National Instruments to Cutsforth while NI itself was absorbed by Emerson, so support contracts, documentation and any assumption of NI or Emerson backing need reconfirming from scratch.
  • Cutsforth is a small specialist company, so a buyer standardising a fleet-wide monitoring platform is accepting a vendor with far less scale than Emerson, SKF or Bently Nevada.
  • The product depends on data acquisition hardware on the machine, and that hardware is typically the larger part of the cost, which the software conversation tends to obscure.
  • Its strength is high-value generation and large rotating assets; instrumenting a broad population of ordinary pumps and fans with it is disproportionately expensive.
  • Continuous multi-physics capture produces large volumes of waveform data, so storage sizing and retention policy are real deployment decisions rather than defaults.

Pricing, plan by plan

ABB Ability

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the ABB Ability review.

Cutsforth InsightCM

On request
  • InsightCM$undefined/year
    • Priced per monitored machine and channel count rather than per user
    • Data acquisition hardware quoted separately and often the larger cost
    • On-premise and cloud deployments priced differently

Which should you pick?

Choose ABB Ability if

  • You need asset health monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want predictive maintenance.
ABB Ability review

Choose Cutsforth InsightCM if

  • You need multi-physics correlation.
  • You work on Windows, Web, Cloud.
  • You also want continuous waveform capture.
Cutsforth InsightCM review

Questions people ask

Is ABB Ability or Cutsforth InsightCM better?
Neither clearly leads. ABB Ability starts at On request and Cutsforth InsightCM at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ABB Ability or Cutsforth InsightCM?
ABB Ability starts at On request and Cutsforth InsightCM at On request.
Does ABB Ability or Cutsforth InsightCM run on more platforms?
ABB Ability runs on Web, Mobile, Api. Cutsforth InsightCM runs on Windows, Web, Cloud.
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 Cutsforth InsightCM is typically brought in for.
What can ABB Ability do that Cutsforth InsightCM cannot?
ABB Ability covers Asset health monitoring, Predictive maintenance, Performance optimization, Energy management. Cutsforth InsightCM covers Multi-physics correlation, Continuous waveform capture, NI hardware compatibility, Electromagnetic interference analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cutsforth InsightCM: Is InsightCM still a National Instruments product?

No. It was developed by NI but is now owned and developed by Cutsforth. NI itself became part of Emerson in October 2023.

Cutsforth InsightCM: Does it require NI hardware?

It is compatible with NI-based acquisition systems and with Cutsforth monitoring hardware, so existing NI installations carry over.

Cutsforth InsightCM: What makes it different from a vibration platform?

It correlates several measurement types, including partial discharge and electromagnetic interference, which matters on generators rather than on general rotating equipment.

Cutsforth InsightCM: Can it be deployed on-premise?

Yes, on-premise or cloud, which is why it remains viable for nuclear and utility sites with data residency rules.

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