Fecha de publicación: 01/01/2020 Fuente: Wipo "BigData" A big data network 100 for a factory control system or process plant includes big data apparatus 102 including data storage area 120 configured to store, using a common data schema, multiple types of process data and/or plant data such as configuration and real-time data. Data receiver computing devices 122 receive the data from multiple nodes or devices 110, 112, 115. At least one node collects all data it generates and does not require that the rate of data transmission is defined into the nodes. The data may be cached and time-stamped at the nodes and streamed to the big data apparatus 102 for storage. The process control system big data system may provide services and/or data analyses to automatically or manually discover prescriptive and/or predictive knowledge, and to determine, based on the discovered knowledge, changes and/or additions to the process control system and to the set of services and/or analyses to optimize the process control system or plant.