The worldwide market for plant asset management (PAM) systems is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 10.8 percent over the next five years. The market was $1.4bn in 2007 and is forecasted to be over $2.4bn in 2011, according to a new ARC Advisory Group study.
The process industry landscape is brewing a "perfect storm" that will sustain the accelerating adoption of PAM systems for many years to come. End users are faced with the challenge of maximizing the availability of plant resources with fewer people, as experienced process engineers and technicians retire. The maturing product lifecycle of PAM has been re-invigorated with the addition of support for more asset classes, enabling technologies such as wireless, and new service offerings. "Today's PAM systems are highly evolved, and should be considered by every enterprise to balance the cost of maintenance and productivity. PAM system growth will exceed that of intelligent field devices, and will drive automation investments as users experience the value PAM solutions bring to their operations," according to research director Wil Chin.
Source: ARC Advisory Group, http://www.arcweb.com