Ignition 2027: AI Agents, 10× Faster Historians and What Comes Next - Ep 110
What does Ignition 2027 mean for industrial AI, SCADA teams, and large-scale operations? Kevin McClusky, Chief Technology Architect at Inductive Automation, joins Jeff Perry and Mike Flores at the OpSite Energy Control Center in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to break down the major announcements from ICC 2026.
Kevin explains the Inductive Automation and Tiger Data partnership, the new Enterprise Historian Module for TimescaleDB, and benchmark targets that could reshape how large industrial systems store and retrieve time-series data. The conversation explores how greater historian scale can support richer analysis and help organizations prepare operational data for AI.
They also examine Ignition Catalyst, including Catalyst Core, AI-assisted development, diagnostics, and the Catalyst Agent Module. Kevin shares practical examples for custom agents, alarm analysis, operator questions, drilling and completions, exploration, leak detection, and well optimization.
The discussion goes beyond tools. Kevin explains why normalized data, trustworthy context, technical infrastructure, and organizational willingness all determine whether a promising demonstration becomes a sustainable production deployment. They also discuss why MQTT Sparkplug and OPC UA serve different roles—and why Ignition intends to support both.
IN THIS EPISODE
⚡ Major announcements from ICC 2026 and Ignition 2027
⚡ The Tiger Data partnership and TimescaleDB for Ignition
⚡ Enterprise historian scale, retrieval speed, and compression
⚡ Why more data can create a higher-fidelity operational picture
⚡ Catalyst Core, AI-assisted development, and diagnostics
⚡ Building custom agents with the Catalyst Agent Module
⚡ Alarm analysis and plain-language operational insights
⚡ AI opportunities in drilling, completions, exploration, and production
⚡ Trustworthy context, normalized data, and AI readiness
⚡ Why MQTT Sparkplug and OPC UA are complementary
⚡ The technology and organizational gaps that derail production deployments
⚡ Leak detection, well optimization, and the next wave of industrial AI
Which Ignition 2027 capability could create the most value for your operation: AI-assisted engineering, enterprise historian scale, or custom operational agents? Tell us in the comments.
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CHAPTERS
00:00 Kevin McClusky joins the Energy Tech Podcast
01:03 ICC 2026 takeaways
03:18 The Ignition community and ecosystem
05:07 Why Inductive Automation partnered with Tiger Data
07:32 Enterprise Historian performance and compression
09:04 Data quantity, quality, and AI readiness
11:28 Choosing the right historian tier
13:49 Why Inductive Automation built Catalyst
15:20 Catalyst Core, diagnostics, and agents
16:41 AI-assisted development inside Ignition
18:47 Why Catalyst Core is included with Ignition
20:34 Communicating AI value to industrial customers
23:17 Building custom agents inside Ignition
24:30 Alarm analysis and operator insights
26:27 AI agents for drilling, completions, and exploration
30:32 Trustworthy context and normalized industrial data
33:47 MQTT, OPC UA, legacy assets, and the UNS
40:00 Why impressive demos fail in production
41:33 Technology barriers and organizational politics
45:56 Consensus without agreement
47:20 Ignition as a technology tipping point
48:34 The next two years of industrial AI
50:08 Leak detection and well optimization
52:15 Closing thoughts
WEBSITES AND RESOURCES\
Inductive Automation: [https://inductiveautomation.com/](https://inductiveautomation.com/)
Ignition 2027 preview: [https://pages.inductiveautomation.com/ignition-2027](https://pages.inductiveautomation.com/ignition-2027)
Ignition Catalyst: [https://links.inductiveautomation.com/blog/ignition-catalyst-our-safetyfirst-approach-to-ai-in-ignition-2027](https://links.inductiveautomation.com/blog/ignition-catalyst-our-safetyfirst-approach-to-ai-in-ignition-2027)
Tiger Data: [https://www.tigerdata.com/](https://www.tigerdata.com)
OpSite Energy: [https://opsiteenergy.com/](https://opsiteenergy.com)
Listen to the EnergyTech Podcast: [https://opsiteenergy.podbean.com](https://opsiteenergy.podbean.com)
MUSIC
“Fast Life” by Uygar Duzgun
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
[https://www.epidemicsound.com](https://www.epidemicsound.com)
#IndustrialAI #IgnitionSCADA #EnergyTechPodcast