Posts tagged ‘Business Intelligence’
Invensys Releases InFusion ECS 2.0
Invensys Operations Management has released the next evolution of its groundbreaking InFusionTM Enterprise Control System (ECS). InFusion ECS 2.0 features new software platform updates and includes:
- Superior integration with the company’s Foxboro I/A Series® distributed control system and SCADA hardware and software offerings;
- Open integration with virtually any other automation or information system; and
- Enhanced platform integration with the company’s latest advanced applications, including its Wonderware® batch, manufacturing execution systems (MES), mobile workforce management, enterprise manufacturing intelligence (EMI) and enterprise business system integration offerings.
With its new capabilities and an integrated offering that can reduce the total cost of ownership, the InFusion ECS 2.0 helps customers consolidate information across their existing automation and information systems. By enabling real-time access to critical business intelligence, industry users are better able to balance competing strategic objectives related to safety, controls, assets, productivity and the environment to maximize their overall profitability.
“Process manufacturing is facing what could be characterized as a perfect storm. The loss of experience as a result of the shifting demographics, the need to operate proactively rather than reactively, the ability to empower knowledge workers with actionable context and more are all new challenges that require changes in our processes and tools,” said Dave Woll, VP consulting services, ARC Advisory Group. “Invensys Operations Management’s ability to use an open technology platform to transcend disparate systems provides the unique opportunity to collaboratively apply Invensys and other best-of-breed solutions. With the InFusion 2.0 solution, it is significantly easier to provide, manage and contextualize information for a wide variety of operations users, allowing them to drive and deliver greater production value in real time.”
Introduced in 2006, the InFusion ECS utilizes open, industry standards-based ArchestrA® technology that easily and affordably unites process and production control with business operations control. The system provides functional object templates for a broad range of control and manufacturing operations applications that work within a single development and management environment. The InFusion ECS can help save significant time, effort and money by improving the ability to view and synchronize information from multiple systems and applications; improving collaboration, execution and operations management across a variety of functions within the enterprise, as well as improving the ability to create and replicate solutions across the enterprise.
Invensys Operations Management also has the world’s largest industrial ecosystem partner network, with more than 3,000 systems integrator, hardware and software companies participating. Many of these partners have been working with Invensys for several years, building complementary expertise and specialized domain solutions utilizing ArchestrA technology. The combined knowledge and proven delivery capabilities of Invensys and its ecosystem partners that use ArchestrA technology can now be leveraged to expand and accelerate InFusion solutions for customers. The installed base of software licenses containing proven ArchestrA technology inside of multiple Invensys brands now exceeds 220,000.
“Our customers tell us that they need to operate a real-time enterprise so they can react to business variables and balance environmental, productivity and control trade-offs without jeopardizing profitability or plant safety,” said Sudipta Bhattacharya, president and CEO, Invensys Operations Management. “Most systems are isolated and only allow optimization within specific processes or plants. The InFusion ECS, however, allows manufacturers to optimize their operations across the entire enterprise. We are very excited to reach the next milestone in the evolution of the InFusion Enterprise Control System, and we are confident it will help our customers accelerate their move toward becoming a real-time enterprise.”
Proficy DataMart 2.0 Extends Enterprise Reporting Capabilities
GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms announced the availability of Proficy® DataMart Version 2.0, an enterprise-reporting platform for all the manufacturing intelligence within Proficy Plant Applications. The new version expands the ad-hoc reporting capabilities of the suite both at the plant and enterprise levels.
The Proficy DataMart solution provides critical production-centric information to the knowledge users in the plants and the enterprise. It enables users to serve themselves to the real-time production data Proficy Plant Applications has converted into meaningful intelligence. Its high performance KPI roll-ups and drill-downs integrate data across multiple machines, lines and sites seamlessly. You can utilize DataMart with existing Business Intelligence and Data Warehouse solutions to manage the performance of production operations.
“Plant Applications has been the flagship of the Proficy Operations Management suite since its acquisition more than eight years ago,” said Sheila Kester, General Manager, Operations Management Software, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms. “Our focus has been to continually make this product evolve in ways to make it easier to deploy, provide even faster time to value, and to extend its capabilities to solve more problems for more Proficy customers.”
Throughout 2009, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has announced many enhancements, extensions and complementary solutions that extend the capabilities and value of the Proficy Plant Applications family. These include:
- Proficy Scheduler – Extends the Proficy Plant Applications family into the Finite Capacity Scheduling (FCS) arena for materials and orders optimization;
- Proficy Maintenance Gateway 2.0 – Integrates the family with the user’s maintenance systems, ensuring that Maintenance and Operations are coordinated in their efforts;
- Proficy Plant Applications Dynamos for Proficy iFIX – Puts the knowledge and information of Proficy Plant Applications at the fingertips of production operators;
- Enhanced Crew Scheduling capabilities;
- An updated Software Development Kit; and
- Packaged Proficy SmartStart solutions – Combine the software package with Implementation Services to improve a user’s time-to-value when implementing a new system.
In addition, a slate of additional enhancements scheduled will be introduced over the next several months, including new web deployment capability, updated Proficy Workflow Service Provider (SP) integration, enhanced Enterprise Portal/Collaboration integration, and the next generation Enterprise Integration solution from Proficy – Proficy Open Enterprise.
“The extended and enhanced capabilities of the Proficy Plant Applications family provide additional avenues for operational excellence initiatives to companies that have implemented the core solution,” said Kester. “For new and existing customers alike, Proficy Plant Applications’ Open-and-Layered architecture, modular and scalable applications, and ability to span the spectrum of production typologies, make it more capable than ever for solving more problems for more users in more of their strategic and tactical operations.”
Teradata, Tableau Partner to Provide Visual Analytics Software
Tableau Software, purveyor of data visualization and business intelligence software, and Teradata Corp., provider of data warehousing and enterprise analytics, announced that Tableau’s visual analytics applications are now available through Teradata. Working in partnership, Teradata will be able to distribute Tableau’s data visualization suite with the Teradata Purpose-Built Platform Family to customers.
The joint offering is already used by several customers in the US and Europe, such as Norfolk Southern. Tableau’s applications are Teradata-certified for TD13, TD12, TDv6.2 and TDv6.1.
“Companies need solutions that enable business end-users to analyze data directly and easily from their companies’ data warehouses,” said Miles Stephenson, VP solutions and alliances marketing, Teradata. “By using Tableau with Teradata, we create a whole new meaning to enterprise ‘visibility.’ Organizations can literally see for themselves the benefits of their enterprise data warehouse – quickly and easily.”
The Tableau solution leverages the power of Teradata to scale seamlessly from local or regional operations to national and multi-national levels. Together, the products provide near real-time, enterprise-wide visualizations, dashboards and reports that anyone can create and that can then be shared via a Web browser, embedded into Web pages, presentations, wikis or corporate portals with Tableau Server. By integrating Tableau and Teradata, the joint analytic solution enables more people to access useful information, rapidly accelerates the pace of analysis, and helps people deliver more meaningful, visually appealing analytics for better decision-making.
Tableau connects directly to Teradata. Unlike other business intelligence solutions, Tableau does not require ETL processes and does not require an intermediate data silo to be created. Leveraging an optimized connector, Tableau relies on Teradata’s superior performance to complete all query processing and analytical processes. The results are Tableau visualizations that are fast, live and always current. Anyone across the organization can visually analyze their data easily, eliminating the need for tedious spreadsheet analysis.
Teradata customers can rapidly deploy Tableau’s BI suite, Tableau Desktop and Tableau Server to help people build and deliver data visualizations, reports and ad hoc analytics. Tableau Desktop lets people create powerful data visualizations easily. Tableau Server enables entire organizations to share, discover and interact with their data, business dashboards and reports via a Web browser.
CSC Launches Upstream BI Solution
CSC has launched its Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence offering, a business intelligence solution designed to help exploration and production (E&P) companies integrate technical, operational and financial information across the enterprise. The solution, which employs Oracle’s business intelligence (BI) applications and the Information Store’s (iStore) data access and visualization technology, enables companies to understand the financial impact of field decisions, optimize well production and maximize effectiveness of operational decisions. Integrating upstream and operational systems data, Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence provides analytical functions for exploration and production, refining and pipeline marketing, energy trading, financials, supply chain and workforce management. The offering addresses four key areas: business processes, information management, operations and technology infrastructure.
“Upstream oil and gas companies can significantly impact their growth and profitability when they have the ability to make fast, smart business decisions,” said Bob Welch, president of CSC’s Chemical, Energy and Natural Resources Group. “Encompassing everyone from drilling engineers to financial analysts, our approach enables oilfield workers to optimize asset performance by delivering the right information to the right people at the right time.”
“The Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence solution enables the presentation of data across the enterprise from geoscientists to engineers, including non-specialists, through use of business intelligence functionality, as well as modeling, planning and analytics,” said Catherine Madden, senior research analyst, Energy Insights, IDC. “We believe that for oil and gas companies, a comprehensive view of the data permits a company to prioritize different opportunities. At the same time, key decision makers for all assets are using a single view of the inputs, and able to collaborate with other decision makers to determine where to optimize plans.”
“As the industry continues to develop the Digital Oilfield, this offering uniquely positions CSC, iStore and Oracle to help E&P companies reduce operating costs, increase production and operate in a safer and more effective manner,” said Oracle’s Hossam Farid, senior director of Oil & Gas Solutions.
Earlier this year, CSC and iStore signed an alliance agreement under which CSC acts as the prime systems integrator and consulting services provider for iStore’s PetroTrek® Digital Oilfield solutions. (See Aug. 4, 2009 post.)
“By making PetroTrek available through CSC’s Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence offering, the industry benefits from iStore’s proven digital oilfield technology and the breadth and depth of CSC’s global presence,” commented Barry Irani, president and CEO of iStore.
iStore, CSC Ease Decision Making for the Oil and Gas Industry
The Information Store® (iStore) and CSC have signed an alliance agreement under which CSC will act as the prime systems integrator and consulting services provider for iStore’s PetroTrek® Digital Oilfield solution. The parties will team to make iStore’s PetroTrek Digital Oilfield solution available under CSC’s Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence offering.
Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence enables oil and gas companies to optimize operational performance by effectively managing work processes and information. The solution gives users across the enterprise a consistent decision-support framework, helping connect the right people with the right information at the right time.
The new Web-based solution simplifies how production managers, engineers and geoscientists locate and view key technical, operational and financial information on wells, fields and reservoirs in the context of their work, saving time and improving their decision-making capabilities.
Petroleum Enterprise Intelligence combines business process management with business intelligence technology, featuring Web-based Key Performance Indicator (KPI) dashboards that integrate data. iStore’s core Digital Oilfield technology virtually integrates multiple, disparate data sources, from commercial data repositories to proprietary systems and unstructured data. CSC’s solution extends the Digital Oilfield by adding business intelligence functionality, as well as enabling optimization through modeling, planning and analytics.
iStore and CSC are teaming to develop and deliver the solution worldwide. As a global leader in providing technology-enabled solutions and services, CSC opens new distribution channels and opportunities for iStore’s software products and technology.
“We are very excited about working with CSC to expand and deliver iStore’s Digital Oilfield offerings,” said Barry Irani, iStore’s president and CEO. “Our vision and direction are a natural fit – we strive to help our customers in the petroleum industry achieve better results by providing innovative technology and business solutions.”
Robert Welch, president of CSC’s Chemical, Energy and Natural Resources Services Group, stated: “For years, energy and production companies have struggled to obtain faster access to field information and to make productive use of the tremendous volume of digital data already in their possession. This joint offering provides near-real-time data and presents it in meaningful context to support faster and more informed business decisions.”
PetroComputing 