System integrators are at the heart of the Ignition community, creating innovative solutions that transform industries for thousands of customers worldwide. At Inductive Automation, we are honored to support these integrators, showcase their accomplishments, and celebrate the top-selling integrators every year. In the 2024 rankings, we are thrilled to announce that the three top-selling integrators are Multi-Dimensional Integration (MDI), Flexware Innovation, and InflexionPoint.
All Ignition Integrators are on their own journey to become more skilled and successful, and we appreciate each and every one of them. That’s why we reached out to these top-selling integrators to share some sage advice on how to increase their success. Their insights offer valuable lessons on overcoming challenges, building strong partnerships, and leveraging the power of Ignition to achieve remarkable results.
First Place: Multi-Dimensional Integration
2024 proved to be a remarkable year for Integrator of the Year MDI, a company that prides itself on its unwavering commitment to collaboration and delivering exceptional control systems. Reflecting on the past year, MDI's Greg Schneider shared, “2024 was really the combination of continuing to deliver to some of our partnerships and integrating further within their organizations and enterprises. We also found several smaller companies just starting their Ignition journey and partnered with OEMs to make Ignition part of their product offering. We don’t really view customers as just a one-and-done project; we really view them as partners, and that’s always been key for us throughout our entire existence.”
MDI’s success stems from their dedication to understanding their customers’ needs, even when those needs evolve mid-project. MDI's Mike Ficchi noted, “Trying to fulfill customer requirements that only the customer would have thought of after they saw what the platform could do and what their team could do, has been a big challenge. All of a sudden, they go, ‘Hey, that’s awesome. Can we also do this?’ It’s probably pushing the bounds of the platform, but we never say no.” Schneider agreed, adding, “It’s a good problem to have because we want to make sure we’re serving the people that are using the system every day. It’s not just about the person sitting in the office and what they want; it’s about what they are going to use on the shop floor. Once it’s in their hands, that’s when the gears start turning for them.”
Second Place: Flexware Innovation
2020 Top-Selling Integrator and 2024 Discover Gallery finalist, Flexware, has been one of the highest-selling integrators for years. Flexware Ignition Team Manager Brent Severn says, “One of our biggest wins as a team was a marked growth in the number of enterprise applications and solutions we are building and deploying. It has been great to work with customers beyond the walls of one building and prove value across many sites and processes.”
Third Place: InflexionPoint
A new competitor making it into the three top-selling integrators this year, as well as a 2023 Discover Gallery finalist, InflexionPoint is an integrator that specializes in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and water and wastewater. InflexionPoint has been integrating cutting-edge technologies and innovating process automation for over 40 years while striving to build lasting relationships with its customers.
Ignition’s Role In Driving Innovation
MDI attributes much of their ability to innovate to Ignition’s unmatched flexibility and scalability. Schneider explained, “The biggest benefit that Ignition has, which leads to a lot of innovation, is just the fact that Ignition is unlimited in scope. It can pretty much talk to anything, and then once you have it, you can do just about anything with it. You’re not stuck in a box when you implement it; you have that flexibility to expand as needed without worrying about buying more licenses. You’re really just limited by the CPU usage at the end of the day.”
Ficchi highlighted how Ignition’s versatility has attracted customers who are already sold on the platform’s potential. “We’re having customers come to us who are really sold on the platform. Now our challenge, which also leads to our success, is that they kind of know what they want to do, and we’ve learned to efficiently work collaboratively with customers because they know what they want,” said Ficchi.
Brent believes that Ignition has helped Flexware increase the amount of enterprise applications they were able to build. He explains how “The flexibility of Ignition has been invaluable in these types of deployments, allowing for us to build apps that can span many very different processes and still provide a cohesive experience for the users. Additionally, the expansive driver list of Ignition allows for us to be able to pull information from the wide array of devices you come across in an expansive enterprise.”
InflexionPoint CEO Kevin Hannigan believes that Ignition’s flexibility and cybersecurity played a major role in InflexionPoint’s success this year, saying, "In 2024, InflexionPoint entered into a three-year managed service agreement to support and maintain a customer's renewable energy production plants located around the country, with Ignition featured as the local interface and central enterprise portal. Ignition's ability to mesh with the strict network security requirements differentiated our solution and is central to our success.”
Advice For Aspiring Integrators
For MDI, success is rooted in building strong, long-lasting partnerships. Schneider emphasized, “The best advice and sales strategy that I can think of is to continue to invest in the partnerships you have. Continue to leverage those relationships and look around the room and see what the opportunities are because those are the best relationships to have, the best customers to have, and that will lead you to the most success.” Ficchi agreed and added, “At MDI, we love the technology, but it’s a lot of hard work. We’re seeing the opportunities come to us due to our status, which is fantastic, but that’s not necessarily a substitute for going and doing traditional sales.”
At Flexware, success as an Ignition integrator comes from being open to learning and taking advantage of Inductive Automation’s educational content and community resources. Brent suggests: “Engage Ignition as a learner, which we all are. Make full use of the vast collection of IA resources, including Inductive University, to brush up on your skills and receive certifications. Access the Ignition Exchange to download community-made Ignition resources. And engage in the Inductive Automation Forum for help with troubleshooting, architecture, and system design. In addition, there is significant value in referencing the Ignition Manual! Whether you are utilizing a function for the first time or leveraging a component you use often, it is beneficial to learn how to take full advantage of everything available.”
Ignition is a lot more than just a SCADA system. Kevin’s advice for integrators is to take full advantage of Ignition's extensive capabilities and to “be open-minded regarding how Ignition can help solve customers’ problems beyond the traditional SCADA. For example, using Ignition as a bridge to integrate data sources from databases to non-PLC devices, collect manual data, and extend the capabilities of legacy systems allows our teams to address any requirement a customer throws at us. I encourage our sales team to be fearless and creative in looking for ways to make Ignition part of the solution.”
Recognizing Premier Integrators Of 2024
In addition to MDI’s outstanding achievements, we are proud to celebrate the new Premier Integrators of 2024, who have demonstrated excellence in their fields:
- Actemium
- Hallam-ICS
- NZ Controls
- OperaMetrix SAS
- Nor-Cal Controls ES, Inc.
- Deloitte Consulting Pty Ltd – Australia
- EOSYS
- MAC Engineering / Automation, Inc.
- NNIT (formerly SL Controls)
It looks like there will be some new contenders for the top-selling integrator this year!
Looking Ahead To Next Year
As the 2025 race for the top-selling integrator starts again, the Ignition community continues to innovate, collaborate, and shape the future of automation. The accomplishments of integrators like MDI, Flexware, and InflexionPoint set a high standard and inspire us all to push boundaries further. We can’t wait to see the astounding achievements that the Ignition integrators reach this year. Don’t forget to check the leaderboard each month to see who is rising to claim the title of Integrator of the Year!
Also, Inductive Automation will be co-sponsoring a booth with MDI at ProMat 2025, which brings tens of thousands of manufacturers and supply chain buyers together to learn about leading trends, equipment, and technology, and network with each other. Learn more or register at the ProMat website.
