AVEVA Communities are designed specifically to enable secure collaboration without sacrificing data ownership or control. They provide a governed way to share industrial data with partners, vendors, and internal teams while ensuring the data owner remains firmly in charge.

Here’s how that control is maintained.

1. Data Ownership Never Changes 

At the core of AVEVA Communities is a simple principle: the data owner always retains ownership of their data. 

Data is not copied, transferred, or handed over to third parties. Instead, it remains within the data owner’s AVEVA CONNECT environment, and access is granted under clearly defined rules. External parties can consume the data they are permitted to see, but they do not own it. The Control Valve App uses communities to access the data it requires for its Fault Detection and Diagnosis models.

2. Explicit, Permission-Based Data Sharing 

Access in AVEVA Communities is intentional and granular. The data owner decides:

• Who can access the data (individual users, organizations, or applications)
• What data they can access (specific assets, tags, time ranges, or datasets)

• How the data can be used (view, analyze, or integrate into approved applications)

Nothing is shared by default. Every data connection is explicitly configured and can be changed or revoked at any time.

3. Role-Based Access Control 

Communities leverage AVEVA CONNECT’s role-based access control (RBAC) framework. This ensures that users only see what aligns with their role and responsibilities.

For example: 

• The Control Valve App accesses the controller output and position feedback for a set of specific assets
• The Control Valve App accesses the data it requires, and has access to, but not broader plant operations
• Internal teams of our customers may have wider visibility across assets or sites

This prevents overexposure of sensitive operational or intellectual property data.

4. Secure, Cloud-Native Architecture 

AVEVA Communities inherit CONNECT’s enterprise-grade security model, including:

• Encrypted data in transit and at rest
• Secure identity management
• Continuous monitoring and auditing

Because data remains in the owner’s environment, it is never emailed, exported, or stored in uncontrolled locations—dramatically reducing cybersecurity and compliance risk.

5. Full Visibility and Auditability 

Data owners have complete transparency into how their data is being used.
They can:

• See who has access to shared data
• Monitor when and how the data is accessed
• Audit usage for compliance, governance, or contractual purposes

If a collaboration ends, access can be revoked instantly—without having to retrieve data from external systems.

6. Application-Level Control 

When data is shared with applications through AVEVA Communities, the data owner still controls:

• Which applications are allowed to connect
• What datasets those applications can consume
• Whether access is read-only or limited to specific analytical purposes

This makes it possible to safely enable usage by the Control Valve App without opening the door to uncontrolled data access.

7. Enabling Collaboration Without Losing Control 

Traditionally, collaboration meant exporting files, building custom integrations, or creating data silos—all of which reduced control and increased risk (also see our previous blog).

AVEVA Communities change that model by enabling:

• Secure collaboration across company boundaries
• Faster deployment of partner and vendor solutions
• Strong governance that keeps data ownership intact

In short, AVEVA Communities let organizations share insights, not ownership—ensuring the data owner stays in control at every stage.

Make Your Data Work for You 

Whether your goal is to increase uptime, reduce maintenance costs, or improve turnaround planning, AVEVA CONNECT—combined with the Control Valve App—provides clear, actionable insights that help your teams move from reactive to predictive maintenance.