The SIMATIC PCS 7 BOX provides all the features of a conventional process control system in the compact design of a single PC, making it a “DCS in a Box”. Its integrated functionality and capability allow PCS 7 BOX to be used in new applications where a DCS was typically too expensive or too large. It has been specifically designed with a small footprint to provide DCS functionality to new industry segments and applications, such as skid vendors and secondary processing, as well as pilot plant applications. Packaged in a compact industrial PC system, PCS 7 BOX is a modular and flexible system, which can be used in either stand-alone or networked environments. PCS 7 BOX combines all the elements of a DCS (operator interface, controller, fieldbus connectivity, engineering tools, field device management and a SQL-based historian) and packages it in the compact footprint of a single PC. This new system can be used in FDA-regulated industries and is an economical way to develop pilot automation systems.