Overview of the AVEVA PI System
The AVEVA PI System is the industry’s leading enterprise solution for collecting real-time data. It enables organizations to aggregate vast amounts of time-series data and transform it into actionable insights, supporting real-time monitoring and predictive analysis. The PI System operates on a high performance architecture optimized for handling large volumes. At its core is the PI Data Archive, which stores compressed data for fast retrieval and time-based analysis. Supporting components such as Asset Framework, Asset Analytics, Event Frames, and PI Notifications help organize and contextualize operational data.
PI System Infrastructure
AVEVA offers a flexible and scalable data infrastructure through three distinct deployment models of the PI System. AVEVA designed these models to address the diverse needs of industrial organizations:
- On-Premises PI System: A traditional deployment model hosted within the organization’s own network. It provides robust capabilities for centralized data collection, storage, and analysis.
- Edge Data Store: A lightweight solution designed for remote or bandwidth-constrained locations. It enables local data persistence and secure transmission to centralized systems when connectivity is available.
- AVEVA Connect: A cloud-based offering that supports scalable operations by centralizing data enterprise-wide access through.
On-Premises PI System
The diagram below illustrates the PI System architecture and its core functional layers – Collect, Store & Enhance, and Deliver – showing how AVEVA’s infrastructure transforms raw industrial data into actionable insights.
Collect
The PI System infrastructure focuses on gathering real-time data from a wide variety of industrial data sources. Technologies including PI Interfaces, PI Connectors, and PI Developer Technologies help achieve this integration. PI can collect data from hundreds of different data protocols and systems. Whether capturing data from power plants, oil fields, manufacturing lines, or remote assets, this layer ensures that accurate and time-synchronized data flows continuously into the PI System.
Store & Enhance
Once data is collected, it enters the Store & Enhance phase, managed by the core components of the PI Server. The PI Data Archive efficiently stores time-series data in a highly compressed format for fast retrieval. The Asset Framework (AF) adds context by organizing data around physical assets and processes. Asset Analytics performs real-time calculations, while Event Frames track specific conditions or events over time. Notifications allow users to stay informed about operational anomalies or key performance indicators. These capabilities turn raw data into structured, contextualized, and actionable information ready for operational insight.
Deliver
Once data is stored, the PI System makes data accessible across the organization through a wide range of tools and services. PI Integrators enable integration with external platforms such as SAP, Esri ArcGIS, and Microsoft Azure, feeding business analytics and geospatial applications. Users can also interact with their data using Visualization Tools like PI Vision, supporting informed decisions at all levels of the enterprise. In addition, the PI System integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Excel via the PI DataLink add-in, enabling users to pull in data and perform analysis in a familiar spreadsheet environment. For broader enterprise integration, APIs and connectors are available to bring PI System data into third-party applications like ERP and CRM systems, extending its value across business intelligence workflows.
Edge Data Store
Collect
The Edge Data Store collects time-series data directly from field devices, PLCs, RTUs, and local SCADA systems using lightweight connectors and protocols optimized for edge environments. The system acquires data close to the source, thereby reducing latency and avoiding dependence on continuous network connectivity to centralized systems. This local collection ensures that operational data is captured in real time, even in remote or intermittently connected locations.
Store & Enhance
Once collected, data is stored locally within the Edge Data Store using a compact, efficient time-series storage engine designed for constrained environments. Local persistence allows the system to buffer data during network outages, protecting against data loss. Compression and retention policies can be applied at the edge to manage storage limits while maintaining data fidelity. When connectivity is restored, buffered data is forwarded in sequence, preserving timestamp accuracy and data continuity.
Deliver
The Edge Data Store securely forwards collected and buffered data to an on-premises AVEVA PI System or to AVEVA Connect Data Services in the cloud. Data transfer is optimized to minimize bandwidth usage and can be configured to align with enterprise security and governance policies. Once delivered, edge data becomes fully available for centralized analytics and visualization.
AVEVA Connect
The AVEVA Connect ecosystem extends customer value through a range of integrated cloud-based products and services. Popular modules include Data Services, Visualization Services, and Advanced Analytics. AVEVA Connect complements on-premises and edge deployments by extending their data into the cloud for enterprise-scale analytics and collaboration.
Collect
Connect securely ingests operational data from on-premises PI Systems and Edge Data Store deployments, and also supports data ingestion through scripting methods and Open Message Format (OMF) messages. This flexible ingestion approach allows organizations to consolidate data streams from multiple sites, regions, and operational environments in the cloud, while maintaining security.
Store & Enhance
Once ingested, data is stored within AVEVA’s cloud-native data services, where it can be scaled, managed, and enriched beyond the constraints of on-premises infrastructure. Data is enhanced through metadata management, asset context alignment, and enterprise-level data organization, enabling consistent data models across sites. This centralized environment supports long-term retention and provides a foundation for advanced analytics, AI, and cross-site performance analysis.
Deliver
Connect delivers enterprise-wide visibility and insight by making centralized operational data accessible through both the Data Services and Visualization Services modules. This is described in our dedicated article on Connect. Data Services enables governed access to contextualized operational data for analytics, integration, and advanced use cases, while Visualization Services provides rich, browser-based experiences for dashboards, performance monitoring, and operational insight. In addition, Connect supports integration with external analytics platforms, including a Power BI add-in, allowing users to consume Connect data directly within familiar business intelligence tools.
AVEVA Connect acts as an enterprise data and analytics layer that sits above operational systems, aggregating data from remote assets, AVEVA applications, and third-party sources. Connect’s capabilities make it ideal for from remote monitoring and AI/ML platforms and support use cases involving enterprise reporting, performance optimization, and data sharing.
We Can Help
MetaFactor is a Certified AVEVA PI System Integrator with deep experience in AVEVA PI that can help with designing, implementing, and supporting the solution.