06/11/2026
Just wrapped up an incredible week at the SWAN Conference in Tampa.
One of the highlights: joining Dave Disney Project Engineer at Hilton Head Public Service District, as he took the stage to share his perspective on the real benefits of SCADA in modern utility operations.
A few ideas that resonated with the room:
SCADA is foundational, but not the whole picture. It's one critical layer in a stack of systems — and only delivers value when integrated thoughtfully with the rest.
Most implementations get the user experience wrong. Alarm overloads, irrelevant data, and missing insights mean the system is working against operators, not for them.
It's only as strong as its weakest layer. From sensors to analytics, every layer has to work. A polished dashboard built on bad data is worse than no dashboard.
AI has real, practical potential. Tailored insights for each user — and self-monitoring of the SCADA system itself.
The "air gap" is a false sense of security. Isolation doesn't make OT safe. It just keeps it outdated and disconnected from the tools that move utilities forward.
This is exactly the kind of SCADA we set out to build: secure, reliable, and easy to use — a single platform for alarms, data, monitoring, and control, with built-in analytics and AI, role-based access and zero-trust security, >99.9% uptime with redundant connectivity, and a mobile-friendly experience operators can actually manage themselves. At Hilton Head PSD, that looks like cellular RTUs at every remote site, centralized alarm management with voice/email/text notifications, remote dashboard access, preventive maintenance logging, and seamless integration with their existing SCADA via MQTT and OPC UA.
Huge thanks to Dave and the team at Hilton Head PSD, and to SWAN for putting together another excellent conference.