Patent ID: 8155761

Claim:
A process control system for use in controlling a process control plant using external data, the process control plant including a process controller coupled to control a plurality of field devices, the process control system comprising: a process control entity configured to perform, during run-time of at least a portion of the process control plant, a process control function that uses both an internal data item generated by a computing device inside of a firewall of the process control system and an external data item generated by a computing device outside of the firewall; an external data object communicatively coupled to the process control entity and having a memory that stores a current value and a current status of the external data item used by the process control entity; and an external data integration entity including at least one of an external data integration service on a same computing device as the process control entity or an external data integration server, wherein the external data integration entity is: communicatively coupled to the process control entity, the external data object and an external data source, configured to access the external data object, and configured to, during run-time of the at least the portion of the process control plant periodically receive an updated value and an updated status of the external data item from the external data source, and update the current value and the current status of the external data item in the external data object to the updated value and the updated status, and wherein the process control function is enabled to, during run-time and based on a most recently updated status of the external data item, use a most recently updated value of the external data item.