The survey revealed ABB to be the regional market share leader for Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and the global leader in key sectors including oil and gas, pulp and paper, mining and metals.

The report also noted that the DCS business has continued to be primarily a service business over the past few years, with combined project, engineering and operational services accounting for more than half of total revenues.

The main automation contractor approach, in which the automation vendor manages the overall project and includes a strong project execution and services component, continues to grow stronger and expand.

ARC senior analyst Harry Forbes said the electric power, motor, and drive capabilities across ABB augmented its process automation expertise, making the firm “an attractive choice” when capital projects require large or complex electric power systems, especially for offshore and subsea systems.

ABB’s head of its control technologies business, Tobias Becker, said the group was well prepared with a broad DCS portfolio including its flagship system 800xA Extended Automation platform, Symphony Plus control system, Freelance process control system for small to medium process applications, as well as its prior generation systems.

“All ABB control systems offer a secure evolution path forward to next generation technologies to protect and enhance the control system investment over its lifetime,” he said.