Historian Software for Control Rooms

Capture, store, trend, and replay operational data through Primate’s historian software designed for real-time operations, cross-system visualization, and event reconstruction.

Control room operator analyzing real-time system data and geospatial visualization on large displays

From Weeks to Hours: $150K Saved Every Year

Primate’s Network Model lets operators complete grid updates in 4 hours instead of 80, cutting dependency on engineers, eliminating backlogs, and typically saving over $150,000 per year in labor costs.

$150K+

annual labor savings

96%

faster update time

Real-Time Monitoring vs $6.7B Blackout

During the 2003 Northeast blackout, alarm failures left operators blind for over 90 minutes.Primate’s real-time EMS health monitoring would have caught the failure instantly, preventing cascading outages and billions in economic losses.

$6.7B

loss avoided

90+

min faster operator response

Preventing $1M-a-Day Penalties

NERC violations for missed contingencies can cost utilities millions daily. Primate continuously monitors data quality and system limits, instantly flagging potential breaches to help keep operations compliant and penalty-free.

$1M/day

fines prevented

3

key NERC standards covered

One Visualization. $100M in Mission Costs Saved

A detected anomaly nearly grounded a million-dollar launch. Primate’s visualization revealed it was outside the critical zone, preventing an unnecessary cancellation and saving hundreds of millions in wasted preparation.

$100-$150M

loss avoided

0

false aborts

Turning $1.7M Outages Into Minutes of Downtime

Average grid outages last 5.8 hours and cost $1.7M in downtime and penalties. Primate’s fault detection helps operators isolate and resolve issues fast, often restoring power in minutes instead of hours.

$1.7M

saved per outage

5.8hrs = minutes

recovery time

Stopping $300K-an-Hour Downtime Before It Starts

Each hour of downtime costs electric utilities around $300K. Primate’s continuous visualization spots anomalies before they escalate, keeping systems online, reliable, and efficient around the clock.

$300K/hr

loss prevented

24/7

intelligent alarming

Operators in a control room monitoring real-time system data on a large video wall with visual indicators

High-Fidelity Historical Insight for Control Rooms

Primate’s historian software captures, stores, and trends high-resolution operational data across SCADA, EMS, OMS, ADMS, pipeline systems, and external feeds. It aligns every data source into a reliable historical record that operators can explore through block, schematic, or geospatial views.

Because it’s built directly into Primate’s visualization ecosystem, operators can replay events, review system transitions, and analyze patterns without switching tools. This delivers clearer insights, faster investigations, and stronger preparedness for audits and restoration scenarios.

Key Capabilities

Icon of connected nodes representing unified control room integration

Real-Time Data Capture

High-resolution collection across multiple data sources, pipeline systems & sensor networks.

Lock icon with a plus sign symbolizing physical and cyber security monitoring

Event Replay Engine

Reconstruct full operational timelines for audits, investigations, and operator training.

magnifying glass icon representing geospatial and external data integration

Trending & Long-Term Storage

Evaluate patterns, performance issues, and precursor conditions tied to system reliability.

Bar chart icon symbolizing complex network data analysis for decision-making

Integrated Visualization

Replay historical events through block, schematic & geospatial views directly in BlackBoard.

Stacked documents icon representing seamless access to crucial system insights

Cross-System Time Alignment

Synchronize data streams from multiple systems to provide an accurate, unified historical record.

Stacked documents icon representing seamless access to crucial system insights

Anomaly Detection Over Time

Spot deviations, drifts, and long-term performance shifts through historical comparisons.

What Operators Gain from Good Historian Software

A good historian system gives operators the context behind system behavior, helping teams understand how conditions changed, why events unfolded, and what signals appeared before an issue occurred.

Design role-specific operational dashboards

NERC Compliance Support - Maintain accurate historical records of system states, alarms, operator actions, and external conditions for audit readiness.

Configure priority-based alert displays

Operator Training and - Replay real events to walk teams through system transitions, restoration steps, and uncommon scenarios.

Access historical trends through interactive displays

Post-Event Investigation - Reconstruct full timelines across feeds to pinpoint root causes and validate response actions. 

Enable team-wide situational awareness with collaborative visualization tools

Risk Detection - Identify long-term trends, subtle performance shifts, and precursor conditions that signal reliability issues.

Run the numbers of your own control room with our free ROI calculator

High-Performance Architecture

Unlike traditional log files or standalone PI-style historians, Primate’s historian software is tightly coupled with your real-time visualization environment.

Operators can replay events, scrub through system transitions, identify precursor conditions, and compare historical states without leaving the display environment they use every day. 

Historian Integration Across the Primate Ecosystem

Primate’s historian software is not a standalone tool. It works as part of a unified ecosystem where each component enhances how operators capture, visualize, and analyze historical data. 

TileViewer

Real-Time Interface

Access critical system information from anywhere through:

Desktop workstations

Desktop workstations

Video wall displays

Video wall displays

Mobile devices

Mobile devices

Remote access points

Remote access points

Emergency backup displays

Emergency backup displays

Learn More

BlackBoard™

Visualization Processor

Purpose-built for control room environments, delivering:

High-performance graphics processing

High-performance graphics processing

Multi-screen synchronization

Multi-screen synchronization

Interactive control functions

Interactive control functions

Remote access capabilities

Remote access capabilities

Real-time data updates

Real-time data updates

Learn More

TileBuilder

Display Engine

Transform complex data into clear visualizations with:

Optimized rendering for any screen size

Optimized rendering for any screen size

Seamless zoom level integration

Seamless zoom level integration

Automatic data point rendering

Automatic data point rendering

Lightning-fast navigation

Lightning-fast navigation

Custom display formatting

Custom display formatting

Learn More
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Strengthening Operations with Clear Historical Insight

Primate’s historian software isn’t just for replaying past events. It becomes the backbone of smarter planning, engineering analysis, and long-term reliability decisions. With accurate, time-aligned data, teams can validate performance, refine procedures, and prepare for seasonal or high-risk operating conditions with more confidence.

It also streamlines collaboration. Operators, engineers, and compliance teams all work from the same authoritative record, eliminating guesswork and speeding up investigations, audits, and internal reviews. When everyone sees the same truth, decisions get faster, and outcomes get stronger.

Ready to try Primate’s historian software?

Request a Demo

Frequently Asked
Questions

What makes historian software different from SCADA logs?
Historian software stores high-resolution, time-aligned data across SCADA, EMS, OMS, ADMS, and external sources, allowing operators to replay full events and analyze system behavior. SCADA logs alone can’t provide a unified context or multi-system reconstruction.
How does historian software support NERC audit preparation?
A historian creates a validated, chronological record of system states, operator actions, alarms, and environmental conditions. This gives compliance teams a defensible audit trail that aligns with NERC documentation and evidence requirements.
Can your software replay events across multiple operational systems?
Yes. Primate’s historian synchronizes data from SCADA, EMS, OMS, ADMS, pipeline telemetry, and weather feeds so operators can replay events as they actually unfolded, supporting investigations, training, and reliability reviews.
How much data can a control room historian store for trending and analysis?
Capacity depends on retention policies, but Primate’s historian uses indexing and compression to store long-term, high-frequency operational data while keeping replay and trending fast. It’s built for multi-year historical analysis in utility environments.
Does historian software integrate with existing enterprise historians like PI?
Primate’s historian complements enterprise PI systems by adding high-fidelity operational replay, cross-system visualization, and control-room-focused analysis. It can ingest PI data or operate alongside PI without replacing enterprise workflows.