Systems and methods that provide for event driven downloading, via defining storage thresholds in an embedded historian (e.g. micro historian). Upon reaching predetermined thresholds (e.g., low/high water marks), stored data in the embedded historians can automatically down load to a central plant historian. An automatic download engine is provided that down loads historian data based on satisfaction of such conditions defined for the download. The download engine can further include a detector component, which detects whether a predetermined condition (e.g., associated with the storage capacity of the micro-historians have been met. Moreover, a notification component can notify the embedded historians that the data have been permanently persisted in the central historian.