Systems integrators view: Are open systems too easy?

An informal discussion at last spring's annual conference of the Control System Integrator Association (CSIA, www.controlsys.org) focused on the consequences of open systems technology. It was agreed that open control systems generally require much less custom programming and specialized product knowledge than their proprietary counterparts. That should make integration projects easier, hence more profitable for system integrators. But is it possible for open control systems to become so easy to implement that end-users won't need an integrator's services at all?

Open system vendors don't seem to think so. Greg Wilkinson, business strategy manager of Rockwell Automation's Process Business Unit (Milwaukee, Wis.), states "Every application is unique, and therefore requires a unique solution. While products are becoming more flexible and easier to...