Systems and methods that enable historians (e.g., micro-historians) to function as proxies, to supply plant level data, (e.g., history data) back to the controllers. Accordingly, typically such micro historians can function as clients/servers, to provide higher level data to the controllers (e.g., from third part databases). The historians can create a proxy that image an object on a server associated with controllers (e.g., programmable logic controller.) Such objects can contain data; pieces of code; attributes; operations or combinations thereof, for example.