Three ways to keep mission-critical systems running. One that takes you all the way.
Most vendors in the legacy-platform space solve a single layer of the problem — an emulator, or an operating system. Salem covers the whole stack: the aging hardware underneath, the databases and applications on top, the process control that depends on them, and the roadmap that gets you to modern on your own timeline.
How far up the stack each approach reaches
The same problem has five layers. Point solutions cover one or two.
A failing legacy system is rarely just a hardware problem. Below is everything that has to be accounted for to truly de-risk and modernize an environment — and how far each kind of provider actually takes you.
LAYER OF THE PROBLEM
EMULATION-ONLY
PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
PLATFORM & OS
PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
SALEM AUTOMATION
full-stack services
LAYER 5
Roadmap & Strategy
A phased plan from "keep it alive" to "fully modern", sequenced to your budget and risk tolerance.
Not Addressed
Not Addressed
Covered
LAYER 4
Process Control & SCADA / HMI
The control systems, instrumentation and ISA-95 architecture the platform exists to serve.
Not Addressed
Not Addressed
Covered
LAYER 3
Databases & Applications
The custom code, data and integrations that actually run the business — supported, migrated or rebuilt.
Not Addressed
Limited
Covered
LAYER 2
Operating System & Platform
Long-term OS support, patching and a supported path forward for the platform itself.
Partial
Covered
Covered
LAYER 1
Aging Hardware & Infrastructure
Removing the single biggest failure risk — decades-old physical Alpha and VAX hardware.
Covered
Covered
Covered
An honest read
Each approach is good at what it was built to do.
These aren’t bad tools — they’re focused ones. The question isn’t which vendor is best in the abstract; it’s how much of your problem any one of them is actually responsible for.
Approach 01
Emulation-only providers
Replace failing physical Alpha and VAX hardware by running the original OS on emulated hardware atop modern servers. Fast, proven, and the right first move when the immediate risk is the box on the floor.
Best when
The hardware is the emergency and the application can stay exactly as-is for now.
Approach 02
Platform & OS providers
Keep the operating system supported and supply a forward path for the platform itself, including current-architecture ports. Essential if your priority is staying on a maintained, patched OS.
Best when
You intend to stay on the platform long-term and need it under active support.
Approach 03
Salem Automation
An independent engineering services partner that uses emulation and OS support as tools — not as the whole answer — and stays accountable for the applications, the process control, and the roadmap above them.
Best when
You want one partner responsible for the entire journey, not just one layer of it.
Side by side
What each provider is actually responsible for.
CAPABILITY
EMULATION-ONLY
PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
PLATFORM & OS
PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS
SALEM
AUTOMATION
AUTOMATION
Eliminate aging Alpha / VAX hardware risk
Full
Full
Full
Keep OpenVMS / Alpha / VAX workloads running
Full
Full
Full
Long-term OS support & patching
Partial
Full
Managed
Application & database support / migration
None
Limited
Full
Industrial automation depth (SCADA / HMI, ISA-95)
None
None
Core
Vendor-neutral, right-fit recommendation
Sells product
Sells platform
Independent
Phased roadmap: support → emulate → migrate
No
Partial
Full
Hands-on integration & engineering services
Limited
Limited
Full
Single partner accountable across the journey
No
No
Yes
Why it adds up to Salem
The value isn't in any one layer. It's in covering all of them with one team.
01
Dual fluency, by design
Engineers who are equally at home keeping a VAX system stable and standing up a modern, ISA-95-aligned architecture. Few firms speak both languages; fewer still under one roof.
02
Tool-neutral, outcome-driven
Because we don’t sell a single product, emulation, OS support, and migration are all on the table. We recommend the path that fits your risk and budget — not the one that fits our catalog.
03
Domain expertise above the platform
SCADA, HMI, and process control aren’t an afterthought. The platform exists to run them, and that’s where decades of automation engineering pay off.
04
One accountable partner
Stay with one team from the first risk assessment through the final cutover — instead of stitching together an emulator vendor, an OS vendor, and a systems integrator yourself.
Find out which layers you're actually covered on.
Bring us your environment — the hardware, the OS, the applications, and the process it supports. We’ll map where your risk sits and show you the shortest honest path to modern.