| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Utility Automation |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Bahman Hoveida President & CEO |
| Employees | 200 (2008) |
| Website | osii.com |
Open Systems International, Inc. (OSI) is a supplier of open automation solutions (supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), energy management systems (EMS), generation management systems (GMS), distribution management systems (DMS) and substation automation systems (SAS)) for real-time management and optimization of complex production, transport, and delivery networks for utilities in the electric, oil & gas, transport, and water industries worldwide.[1] [2]
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OSI's monarch platform, the company's flagship automation solution, is delivered on a number of hardware platforms to assist utilities to monitor, control, optimize and optimally plan and schedule their real-time operations. This platform assists in the monitoring and controlling of electrical substations, power plants, large electrical transmission and distribution grids, large oil and gas pipeline networks, large hydro and water networks, or transportation and traction power networks.[3]
OSI is a global company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It maintains a worldwide presence through direct sales in combination with a network of international distributors and alliance partners who implement OSI technology in their regional markets.
A privately held company, OSI was founded in 1992 by a group of innovators with a vision to create a company dedicated to delivering true open-systems products and quality client service to the utility marketplace. Since then, OSI has remained a competitor in the large-scale utility automation industry with the goal of bringing total platform and hardware independence to an industry plagued by proprietary systems and single-source platform dependence.[4]
OSI offers a full suite of automation products that are used by many utilities worldwide. OSI's monarch platform is the nucleus of this applications architecture. Modular applications, specific to each utility’s mission, can be attached to this nucleus to provide an operational real-time platform to run its business operations. The modularity of these applications allows utilities to implement the proper application portfolio "just in time," as business missions and requirements change.
OSI’s products include SCADA, NMSs, GMSs, transmission management systems, DMSs, substation automation systems (SASs), RTUs, and individual software products, as well as e-business solutions for utility operations.[5]
OSI’s monarch platform is a scalable open system architecture that can support applications requiring millions of SCADA data points down to those requiring a few hundred telemetry points. monarch is a hyper-open architecture designed for portability. It can be delivered on a number of operating systems, including all popular UNIX platforms, MS Windows, as well as Linux . Hybrid configurations can also be supported for a "best of breed" selection of operating systems to balance performance, usability and security concerns. monarch is expandable with standard, off-the-shelf hardware to meet increased sizing requirements while maintaining performance parameters. To eliminate risks of premature obsolescence, no proprietary hardware is used in any component of the system.[9]
monarch's communication interface is fully distributed and IP-based, and readily supports network-based RTUs, IEDs, PLCs and substation automation technology, as well as distributed communications hubs to minimize utility communications costs. The monarch platform supports industry standard open interfaces including SQL, ODBC, JDBC, DDE, XML/SOAP, OPC, CIM, as well as specific Java and .NET API's, and popular middleware adapters to facilitate enterprise information integration needs.
The monarch platform uses simplified maintenance processes and procedures for database, display and applications maintenance.