I think that's what it boils down with, things come with time but I'm also sure without a computer science background or general coding most people would be a little lack lustered.
A better question. Is Ignition beginner friendly? It has a learning curve yes but I didn't seem to think it was as bad as what others were saying.
Yes:
• The Inductive University is completely free and covers everything.
• The documentation is thorough
• Support is a phone call away
• ...and as you can see from browsing this forum, the community has your back.
Nobody else has all that, so yes; Ignition is beginner friendly.
Not only that but think of all of the projects that people have struggled with, whether its a missing component or they were just stuck, the community either fabricated the component or helped solve the issue.
How do you create reports using FactoryTalk?
Ignition inserts its fair share of pain points. Just have to pick your poison in the end.
You don't, reports are not typically functions of a SCADA.
I've used Thingworx for SCADA+ / MES level projects. It's great if you come from an object-oriented background and plan on only having web-based projects. It also works very well with Kepware if you are using that in your plants. There is not too much though that you gain over Ignition.
The biggest downside is certainly cost. I think we were paying around $100k/site/year just to have the software, and then had to tack on licenses for users as well. It adds much more pressure to your projects when you have the justify these costs to executives and prove ROI.
Ignition is the clear winner IMO. They've also hands down had the best support I've ever seen.