Automation software platform advancements.

Ensuring long-term compatibility, performance, and security.

GENESIS version 11.05, the latest evolution of Mitsubishi Electric Iconics Digital Solutions' flagship automation software platform, has just been released. The release continues the company’s mission to deliver a modern, highly scalable, and cybersecure solution for a wide range of industrial and enterprise applications. Building on a legacy of innovation, this advance introduces a powerful combination of next-generation technologies, enabling organisations to meet today’s operational demands while preparing for the future of automation.

It represents a major step forward with its .NET 10 code foundation, ensuring long-term compatibility, performance, and security. The release supports a broad spectrum of applications including HMI/SCADA, Building Automation Systems (BAS), Facility Management Systems (FMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), and Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM).

At the core of this release is Anyglass technology, which enables unlimited user scalability. Through containerisation, load balancing, and Kubernetes orchestration, GENESIS version 11.05 empowers organisations to deploy highly elastic systems that adapt seamlessly to growing operational demands.

Key capabilities include:

• New SQL Query Engine in Data Historian:Delivers SQL-style access to GENESIS historical data, with v10-compatible queries, built-in procedures for raw and aggregated reads, and easy point discovery for faster reporting and UI workflows.
• Enhanced Machine-to-Machine Authentication:Enables secure, direct system-to-system integration with GENESIS—ideal for building advanced, scalable, and high-security architectures.
• New Native Support for Mitsubishi Electric MX Controllers:Streamlines integration, delivering faster setup, reliable connectivity, and seamless data exchange out of the box.
• Modern .NET 10 Platform:Delivers improved performance, security, and long-term technology readiness.
• Unlimited Scalability withWebHMI:Enablesextensiveuser scalability via containerisation, load balancing, and Kubernetes orchestration.
• AI-Ready PowerShell API:OffersenhancedAPI and documentation support,automated workflows,and AI-driven integration.
• Expanded Connectivity withDeviceXPlorer7.6.0:Delivers broad-based device connectivity—adding specific drivers for CODESYS and Shibaura Injection Molding and Die Casting Machines.
• Extensibility Toolkit and API Documentation:Provides powerful tools for custom development and seamless integration within the GENESIS architecture.

Additional updates in GENESIS version 11.05 include support for Azure maps, client credential flow for authentication, new and improved tracing and diagnostics tools, and integration to Office365 for notifications.

These enhancements reflect our ongoing investment in ensuring continuous innovation, rapid development cycles, and robust quality assurance processes. This commitment ensures that GENESIS remains a competitive and future-ready platform.

Designed for scale, flexibility, and performance.
The GENESIS architecture is built on a modular, distributed design, powered by the high-performance FrameWorX communications layer. This enables the platform to scale far beyond traditional systems, supporting both small, centralised deployments and large, distributed architectures with redundancy requirements.

Its composable architecture allows modules to be deployed flexibly, whether consolidated into a single environment or distributed across multiple systems—providing unmatched adaptability for any application size or complexity.

For end users, GENESIS offers a future-proof automation platform designed to minimise total cost of ownership. Its evergreen approach ensures continuous alignment with emerging technologies while maintaining a strong cybersecurity posture through automated testing and rapid updates. The platform is easy to adopt, operate, and maintain over the long term.

For system integrators, GENESIS provides an ideal foundation for delivering projects of any scale or complexity. Its open architecture, extensibility tools, and AI-ready APIs enable faster development, higher productivity, and the ability to meet unique customer requirements with precision.

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@MEIDS_ @MEIrishbranch @ME_Europe @MitsubishiElec #PAuto #BAS

Ai‑powered automation transforms green hydrogen and complex industries.

Schneider Electric is deepening its collaboration with Microsoft to help make it easier for industrial companies to modernise their operations, break free from proprietary legacy systems and deploy Ai-powered automation at scale.

 

At the heart of this collaboration is a conviction that industrial automation is overdue for the same open, software-driven transformation that reshaped enterprise IT. Today, most factories and energy plants still run on hardware-locked control systems that are expensive to update, slow to adapt and difficult to extend with Industrial Ai. Schneider Electric is building the technology that showcases a better alternative exists.

 

In collaboration with h2e POWER, an Indian green hydrogen pioneer, the two companies have deployed India’s first fully autonomous solid oxide electrolyser system, empowering operators to shift their focus from routine monitoring to more strategic, high-impact work. The system has surpassed 6,000 hours of stable operation in part- and full-load conditions and has demonstrated just-in-time predictive maintenance and promise in cutting electricity consumption by up to 10%, in a process where electricity accounts for more than 70% of total hydrogen production cost.

 

A Collaboration Built to End Legacy Drag

The Schneider Electric collaboration with Microsoft combines Schneider Electric’s role as a global energy technology partner and pioneer of open, software‑defined automation with Microsoft Azure cloud, Ai, and edge infrastructure. The goal is a practical, vendor-neutral path for industrial companies to modernise without scrapping existing investments or halting production.

 

Central to this is the Industrial Copilot, which extends intelligence to the edge using Microsoft Azure’s cloud and Ai services approach for local inference and reinforcement. It automates the engineering tasks that slow modernisation most: writing control logic, configuring systems, and navigating documentation. Engineering teams using it report up to 50% time savings, with production line changes that once took weeks now completed in hours.

 

Underlying everything is Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure™ Automation Expert, the world’s first open, software-defined automation platform. By separating software from hardware, it lets customers run and reuse their automation applications across different equipment, vendors, and generations of infrastructure. Microsoft Azure provides the secure cloud and edge backbone that connects it all, from individual sensors to enterprise dashboards.

 

Together, the two companies are offering something the industrial world has lacked: a migration path that meets organisations where they are, not where they “should be.”

 

Proving It in the Field: Green Hydrogen with h2e POWER

Green hydrogen is central to global decarbonisation plans; however, producing it cheaply and reliably at scale remains a challenge. Solid oxide electrolysers (SOECs) offer the highest efficiency of any hydrogen production technology, but their operating conditions are so demanding that it has been difficult to maintain equitable net energy consumption and operate them autonomously.

 

h2e POWER, an India-originated green tech company based in Pune with operations in India, Germany and the USA, had exactly this challenge. Its SOEC system is technically superior, but limited real-time visibility and the absence of open, scalable automation were pushing operating costs well above design targets.

 

Working with Schneider Electric, they deployed a new Ai-powered control solution on h2e POWER’s 20 kW SOEC system. The solution continuously monitors and adjusts the electrolyser in real time, managing thermal balance, hydrogen flow, energy inputs, and safety and equipment health, remotely.

 

The results speak to both the technology and the collaborative approach. Energy efficiency improved, stack wear was significantly reduced, and the levelised cost of hydrogen, the industry’s key economic metric, fell by up to 10%, equivalent to around €500,000 per year for a typical 10 MW plant. The system has now run for more than 6,000 hours, making it one of the most durable autonomous electrolyser demonstrations in India, and probably anywhere in the world.

 

“SOECs have always offered unmatched efficiency, but true commercial scale depends on sustainable operations, optimised energy consumption, durability, predictive maintenance and remote, autonomous control. With Schneider Electric’s open, software‑defined automation and Microsoft’s AI capabilities powered by Azure, our systems are becoming smarter, more responsive, safer, and dramatically more scalable. This open architecture also means we can redeploy intelligence across our entire installed base across multiple locations, without the lock‑in that has constrained industrial innovation for decades,” said Mr. Siddharth Mayur, Founder & Managing Director, h2e POWER.

 

“What we’re seeing at h2e POWER shows the future of industrial automation," said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President, Manufacturing and Mobility, Microsoft. "The system is powerful and built to scale. Enterprise dashboards unify data across every site, machine learning improves with every hour of operation, and open standards make the control logic fully portable.”

“Every CIO and plant leader asks the same question: can software‑defined automation truly perform under real‑world industrial conditions? At h2e POWER, the answer is clear,” said Gwenaelle Huet, Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation at Schneider Electric. “Industrial leaders don’t need another vision; they need a migration path. Our collaboration with Microsoft and the Industrial Copilot delivers exactly that, proving even the most complex energy systems can run as intelligent, autonomous assets.” 

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@SchneiderElec @h2epower  #PAuto #Power #India

Packages enhance the deployment of IoT Edge.

Advantech has announced Edge Service Packages, including Azure IoT Edge and AWS IoT Greengrass. The growing demand for real-time insights and localized actions in industrial settings is fuelling the adoption of edge computing solutions. Edge-as-a-Service encompasses the integration of hardware, edge software, and corresponding cloud services for efficient edge orchestration. The synergy between Edge and Cloud is pivotal for successful digital transformation. Advantech's Edge Service Packages are designed to cater to Advantech hardware platforms and third-party software applications, offering enhanced flexibility and user experience. These solutions deliver device control, edge monitoring, and software management services, facilitating the seamless scaling of digitalization through accelerated deployment and integration.

To align with edge computing trends, Advantech presents the Edge Service Packages, Azure IoT Edge and AWS IoT Greengrass, to enhance the deployment of IoT Edge on edge platforms by adding value and simplifying the process. Leveraging cloud intelligence, they seamlessly integrate edge computing, outlining a roadmap for scalable workloads in hybrid cloud and edge computing. In addition, Advantech offers a wide selection of hardware that is Azure IoT Edge or AWS IoT Greengrass certified. Users can develop custom solutions by selecting preferred hardware and edge service packages according to their targeted cloud service or specifications, helping customers develop IoT-enabled applications in an optimized way.

Azure IoT Edge - Simplifies connectivity and development at the Edge.
This package helps deploy Azure IoT Edge on premises to break up data silos and consolidate operational data at scale in the Azure Cloud. It encompasses essential Azure IoT Edge services, such as the IoT Hub Device Provisioning Service, connecting physical devices with their corresponding identities in the Microsoft Azure IoT Hub. Another example for the Azure IoT Edge module is OPC UA Publisher. When applied with Advantech’s Edge Manager, this web application can configure and manage the OPC UA server to ensure seamless communication with the OPC UA Publisher Edge module. This tool streamlines the selection of data nodes and facilitates their transmission to the cloud without the need for coding.

AWS IoT Greengrass - Builds intelligent IoT Devices more quickly.
AWS IoT Greengrass serves as an open-source edge runtime and cloud service, designed for constructing, deploying, and managing device software. It provides pre-built components so end users can easily extend edge device functionality without writing code. The components of AWS IoT Greengrass offer the addition of features and swift connectivity to AWS services or third-party applications at the edge. This package helps end users deploy and configure assets such as Lambda functions, Docker images, or machine learning models for local inference. Furthermore, it enables users to promptly initiate the Greengrass service on edge devices, manage it seamlessly through AWS IoT Greengrass, and efficiently transmit telemetry data to the AWS Cloud.

Advantech EdgeSync 360 - Transforms industrial device management.
Nevertheless, Advantech has developed an open cloud-based industrial IoT platform, EdgeSync 360, to revolutionize device and data management across various industrial applications. This suite of software products includes Edgelink for edge connectivity management, DeviceOn for IPC management, and WebAccess for SCADA and HMI visualization. For cloud service, EdgeHub is a centralized platform that streamlines edge connectivity, device management, and data analysis, distributing intelligence across edge devices. It offers a seamless method to mass deploy and update not only software applications but also Docker containers, firmware, operating systems, and Linux applications in batches from cloud to edge.

Key Features for Advantech’s Edge Service Packages

Edge to Cloud Connectivity: This facilitates swift collection of equipment data through diverse industrial protocols such as MQTT, OPC UA, Modbus, and IEC-104. It ensures seamless integration with multiple cloud platforms and third-party systems for efficient data transfer.

Device Management: Packages include zero-touch onboarding and provisioning for secure and streamlined deployment. This enables remote monitoring of system conditions, covering hardware status, error diagnostics, and event notifications.

Software Governance: Software governance allows rapid and remote implementation of new software configurations across the plant or multiple pieces of equipment, reducing costs associated with software updates.

Advantech’s Edge Service Packages are available now.

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@Advantech_IIoT @AdvantechIA @Azure  @awscloud @proactivefleet #IIoT  #PAuto 

Device certification and edge compatibility.

Advantech's products are now available in the Microsoft Azure Certified Device catalogue. This ensures customers get Internet of Things (IoT) solutions up and running quickly with hardware and software that has been pre-tested and verified to work with Azure IoT services.

The Azure Certified Device program allows businesses to reach customers where they are, working with an ecosystem of devices and platforms, allowing for faster time to production. Advantech’s UNO-2000 V2 series, including UNO-2271G V2, UNO-2372G V2 and UNO-2484G V2, have achieved Microsoft’s “Azure Certified Device” and “Edge Managed” certifications, providing advanced devices capable of streamlining deployment, minimizing cost, and facilitating edge computing and analytics.

Azure certified device and edge compatibility.
The UNO-2000 V2 series is validated through the Azure Certified Device program to ensure its capability to connect to the Azure IoT Hub and establish secure provisioning using the Device Provisioning Service (DPS). This validation provides a guarantee of its operational effectiveness and seamless interoperability. The UNO-2000 V2 series has additionally attained Edge Managed certification, which outlines device management standards for devices connected to Azure. Securing this certification demonstrates the outstanding performance of UNO-2000 V2 gateways in regard to edge runtime compatibility for module deployment and management.

Application-oriented UNO-2000 V2 Gateways with flexible scalability.
The next generation UNO-2000 V2 series of widely adopted embedded box IPCs, feature highly ruggedised, fanless, and modular designs. With different form-factor options, including the pocket-sized UNO-2271G V2, the small-sized UNO-2372G V2, and the regular-sized UNO-2484G V2. The compact UNO-2000 V2 edge IoT gateways ensure simple deployment and upkeep across a range of industrial IoT (IIoT) and automation uses. The UNO-2000 V2 series is also equipped with extensive IO ports, accepting cutting-edge technologies like M.2 expansion, NVME storage, and type-C connectors. These enhancements facilitate swifter and more reliable real-time data collection/transmission, along with meeting the demands of multi-display scenarios. Moreover, the UNO-2000 V2 series can be equipped with optional second expansion stacks that support Advantech’s iDoor technology. This integration enhances computational capabilities and offers adaptable scalability.

Empowering intelligence to the edge with their edge service.
IoT projects are complex and can take a long time to implement. Customers may find that choosing and connecting the right set of devices, assets or sensors to the cloud can be time-consuming. Accordingly, to ensure customers can jumpstart their IoT projects confidently, Advantech has developed the Edge Service Package for Azure IoT Edge, which can be installed on UNO-2000 V2 or other Azure certified devices with Ubuntu 20.04 operating system. This allows customers to customise their gateway solutions to fit specific needs. Overall, Advantech’s Edge Service Package for Azure IoT Edge uses cloud intelligence and integrates the edge of the network, providing a roadmap for hybrid cloud and edge computing services enabling the efficient handling of large-scale workloads and collaborative development of IoT-enabled applications.

Advantech has secured Azure certification for its UNO-2000 V2 series, ensuring all gateways have been tested for readiness, compatibility, and usability with the Azure IoT Suite. By choosing a partner from the Azure Certified Device program, customers can save time and effort on project specs and RFP processes by knowing in advance what devices and offerings will work with the Azure IoT platform.

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@Advantech_IIoT @Azure @AdvantechIA @proactivefleet #IIoT #Communications #PAuto

Improved Cloud-Hosted industrial control platform.

Zedi Cloud SCADA platform moves to Microsoft Azure for superior scalability and tighter security to help industries meet sustainability goals

The scalability, data protection and threat intelligence of Emerson's Zedi™ Cloud SCADA software-as-a-service control platform has been improved by moving it to the Microsoft® Azure cloud platform. The more robust cloud host enables customers to securely scale their supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems quickly and easily to achieve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments, better safeguard critical business assets, and empower users to adapt their operations to changing requirements while mitigating risks and operational costs.

Most industrial operations are challenged to efficiently meet cost reduction targets and demonstrate actions to attain sustainability goals. The Zedi Cloud SCADA platform uses advanced automation and software, including proven machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence, to build predictive models that lead to autonomous operations over time, helping support sustainability efforts in oil and gas, water/wastewater and other data-intensive industries. Critical data from those predictive models can then be stored in an operation’s data historian to more easily track and trend performance and emissions and demonstrate compliance to regulators.

“By moving to Azure, we can better provide managed IIoT services across the edge and cloud that easily connect, monitor and control assets around the world with multi-layered security, increased global data centres, and enhanced infrastructure,” said Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and software business. “The change improves Emerson’s already strong positioning to lead successful digital transformation efforts for several industries, providing solid and sustainable results with a vastly scalable, cloud-based solution that’s highly secure and extremely cost-effective.”

The move to Microsoft Azure provides the best scalability and enterprise-level functionality of all available cloud platforms. Users can add or remove assets as needed to manage traffic spikes, which is particularly useful as organisations acquire other businesses and need to scale rapidly to accommodate new assets and bring them online quickly. Azure also provides greater hybrid cloud flexibility to enable users to work remotely while maximising existing on-premises assets for a faster path to safe and effective autonomous operations.

“I'm excited to see our customers expand their use of Microsoft products,” said Gary Nafus, vice president, manufacturing, Microsoft U.S. “The ultimate win is building trust with our customers when they select our products for critical operations, as we aim to continue to empower their business and tech efforts. I look forward to seeing Emerson’s use of Microsoft Azure to help power their Zedi Cloud SCADA platform – improving performance, ultra-high data resolution, and more flexibility for increased scalable and collaborative work. ESG efforts are very important today and this expansion will help push those efforts forward in a strong way.”

The Zedi Cloud SCADA platform helps personnel manage advanced analytics in formats that present authorised end users with clear, easily understood data accessible in the cloud anytime from anywhere. This improved access to intuitive data enables easy remote monitoring of assets, helping users improve operational performance even in rugged, dangerous or distant locations. Increased layers of cybersecurity and the more robust network afforded by the Azure platform enable customers to further protect data for advanced continuity of operations.

@Emerson_News @EMR_Automation  @Azure @HHC_Lewis #PAuto #SCADA

Tackling climate change in Germany.

A new "50 Global Sustainability & Climate Leaders" programme demonstrates how the leading companies in Germany are relying on EnOcean technology to deliver carbon-neutral strategies. The campaign offers a platform for companies to provide sustainable and green solutions, and thus campaign against climate change.

The EnOcean Alliance is participating in the “50 Global Leaders” program by TBD Media, in which leading business figures highlight their approaches to achieving climate change and sustainability goals. The companies are all members of the EnOcean Alliance, an open association of around four hundred companies in the building and IT industries. EnOcean devices require no cables, no battery to operate, so are very sustainable as well as flexible.

Graham Martin

Introducing the initiative, Graham Martin, CEO of EnOcean Alliance says: “Buildings use 40% of our entire energy and they are responsible for about 36% of our CO2 emissions. If we are going to meet the United Nations and other climate goals, it is absolutely necessary that we make our buildings energy efficient including retrofitting our entire existing buildings.”

Partners in the movie include Microsoft’s IoT business lead at Azure BD, two vice presidents of T-Systems MMS company, the Product Marketing Director of Embedded & Wireless at Rutronik, and the CEO of Dussmann Service Deutschland.

Microsoft’s IoT business lead at Azure BD,Thomas Frahler explains, “Microsoft joined the EnOcean Alliance in 2019 with the goal to drive more standardisation in intelligent building control. With this partnership, Microsoft wants to help companies adopt digital technologies quickly and help them build their own digital competencies.”

An example of this is cited by Dussman’s CEO, Philipp Conrads, “The corona pandemic has shown that there is a change in the way people are using offices and are working of course. So, we have decided to implement a user-oriented cleaning concept whiich is ensuring that not only personnel but also products are deployed and utilised more sustainably and in a more efficient way.”

@EnOceanAlliance @TBD_Media @NeeshamPR #Climate #Germany

Multiple neural networks for multiple ROIs in one image.

Users of the all-in-one embedded vision system IDS NXT ocean now have a whole range of new features at their disposal. These include multi-ROI ("Region Of Interest") for AI-based object detection and the possibility to use different neural networks for different ROIs in one image via Vision App. In addition, there are binning, line scan mode and performance and configuration improvements. New customers can also freely choose whether they want to use the IDS NXT lighthouse training software on AWS – as previously offered by IDS – or now also via Microsoft Azure Cloud.

With Microsoft Azure Cloud Services, IDS Imaging Development Systems now supports another hoster for the AI training software IDS NXT lighthouse in addition to AWS. The offer is aimed in particular at companies that are not allowed to work with AWS due to regulatory requirements. The scope of functions and services as well as the operation of the training software is the same with both hosters. Instead of setting up their own development environment, users can start training their own neural network right away in IDS NXT lighthouse – even without prior knowledge of Deep Learning or camera programming. This involves three essential steps: Upload sample images, label them and then start the fully automatic training. The resulting network is optimised for use with IDS NXT industrial cameras.

Free IDS NXT lighthouse trial month for all customers
How easy and convenient is the tool in reality? Interested parties can now judge for themselves. The company allows all customers to activate a free trial month and extensively test IDS NXT lighthouse. No sales contact is required to activate the full trial licence. All they have to do is register with their IDS user account at IDS NXT lighthouse  and select the appropriate option during the process. The licence key is automatically provided.

The current software release also heralds a new, regular cycle for function updates. In future, the company will release new features approximately every three to four months, which will further improve the IDS NXT system and give customers even more scope for designing their image processing applications. The next update, also free of charge, is scheduled for April.

@IDS_Imaging @mepaxIntPR #PAuto 

Information exchange in edge-to-cloud applications.

Leading Internet-of-Things (IoT) vendors are adopting OPC UA technology for edge-to-cloud applications. The list now includes Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and SIEMENS.

Testimonials from IT/OT companies:

Melanie Ruhe, Head of Global Product Management Siemens MindSphere:
“Siemens Mindsphere is fully committed to OPC UA with its powerful data modelling capabilities and rich platform services to effortlessly connect shopfloor devices.”

Sven Goldstein, Product manager Connectivity, BECKHOFF:
”Beckhoff is the first automation vendor to support OPC UA Pub/Sub using both UDP and MQTT. The requirement to connect industrial assets in a secured and standardized format to the cloud is of utmost importance and an emerging topic in all industry sectors. With its PC-based control architecture, Beckhoff can easily adapt new communication technologies to enable machine builders to connect their assets directly to the cloud.”

Claudius Link, Senior Vice President Engineering Manufacturing and Industrial IoT at SAP SE:
“SAP welcomes the evolution of standards to solve issues in the customer’s reality – today, hybrid cloud and edge computing solutions are becoming the norm and the basis for many customers to accelerate their digital transformation. As a member of the OPC Foundation, SAP is committed to simplifying the integration of industrial and business operations, based on open communication patterns as defined by the OPC Foundation.”

Sanat Joshi, Managing Director, Manufacturing Industry Solutions, AWS:
“AWS understands the complexity of industrial data connectivity and the challenges manufacturers and industrial customers face implementing IIoT and Industry 4.0 applications. This is why AWS has a portfolio of services that extend cloud functionality into industrial operations to provide industrial edge capability. With AWS IoT Greengrass and SiteWise connecter, manufacturers can securely ingest OPC UA-based data onto AWS with open data access for real-time visualization, analytics, and machine learning to drive operational efficiencies, innovation, scalability, and agility.”

Charlie Sheridan, Global Technical Directory Manufacturing, Automotive & Energy - Google Cloud:
"Google Cloud is committed to openness and industry collaboration. By contributing to and leveraging the OPC UA Cloud Library, we can enable "cloud-based" access to OPC UA information models for our customers and partners. OPC UA will be our way of incorporating machine data into our data analytics and AI capabilities, to ultimately deliver on the promise of accessible data and easy-to-use AI across factories."

Ulas Cubuk, IBM App Connect for Manufacturing Product Manager, IBM:
"IBM has a long-running partnership with OPC Foundation. OPC Foundation’s dedication to ensuring interoperability in automation was the number one choice for this partnership. We had a long journey in helping our customers to build patterns to publicize OPC UA messages via MQTT. Now we want to step up this game by adapting the OPC UA PubSub specification."

Erich Barnstedt, Chief Architect Standards & Consortia, Azure IoT, Microsoft Corporation:
“Microsoft was the first vendor to support OPC UA PubSub over MQTT when we launched Microsoft OPC Publisher in 2016. Additionally, Microsoft has been working with the OPC Foundation on the OPC UA PubSub specification since the beginning.”

1. Key drivers behind this progression are, first and foremost, the global adoption of OPC UA as the open standard of choice for secure production-system interoperability across OT and IT networks, leveraging standardized data exchange. As such, there are over 850 registered OPC Foundation members supporting a large, rapidly growing eco-system of end-users, standards bodies, and vendors.

2. Second, OPC UA uses a standardized method of defining, discovering, and using Information Models (IMs) and services associated with the production systems. This standardized approach to semantic information sharing prevents vendor lock-in and costly custom programming needed for non-standard IM ingestion in the cloud. With the launch of the UA Cloud Library, OPC UA IMs are globally available to all cloud applications, making it easy for cloud applications to directly utilize OPC UA-based semantic information as well as live data coming from the edge.

3. Third, as a transport-agnostic, IEC standard, OPC UA is supporting two different communication patterns: Client/Server (over e.g. TCP or WebSockets) as well as Publish/Subscribe (over e.g. UDP or MQTT) to meet different industry requirements from the production systems to edge and cloud scenarios.

4. Fourth, the quality assurance program of the OPC Foundation extends to the OPC UA Publish/Subscribe communication patterns and forms the first multi-vendor, multi-cloud standard. Interoperability workshops, including leading PLC vendors, like Beckhoff and Siemens, sending OPC UA data from the controller, over MQTT, have already started. Fifth, end users benefit from and eagerly welcome the commitment from major IoT vendors that support OPC UA as a standard for IoT communications. Stefan Hoppe, President of the OPC Foundation says: “It’s thrilling to see that OPC UA is the one solution harmonized for process and factory automation, scaling from field to cloud (and back). The continued vision of the OPC Foundation – to establish OPC UA as THE open standard of choice for data interoperability throughout the world of automation – started and flourished with controllers and visualization systems and has now reached IT & the cloud. This will lead to a further growth of the open eco-system, based on OPC UA.”

The criteria for companies to be listed with these features is that they either support OPC UA over MQTT in their products today or that it is on their development roadmap.

@OPCFoundation @Azure @Siemens @beckhoff @SAP @awscloud @IBM #IoT #PAuto

Champion resellers and service partners!

Seeq Corporation has announced its 2021 Reseller and Service Partners of the Year. These partners have been selected for their excellence in providing value to customers, their continued investments in technical expertise with their Seeq-certified employees and training professionals, and for creating awareness of Seeq through collaboration in marketing activities and events.

Seeq enables engineers and scientists in process manufacturing organizations to rapidly analyze, predict, collaborate, and share insights to improve production outcomes. Seeq customers include companies in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, food and beverage, and other process industries. Investors in Seeq include Insight Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Altira Group, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Cisco Investments.

In 2021, Seeq announced a $50 million Series C funding round led by Insight Partners, was recognized by Frost & Sullivan’s North American Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Seeq Data Lab, and expanded its products and capabilities, including support for machine learning innovation.

“We are pleased to select four companies as our 2021 Reseller and Service Partners of the Year,” said Will Knight, Head of Worldwide Partner Sales at Seeq. “These awards recognize the impact these partners have on empowering our customers to create advanced analytics insights, and the standards they have set for excellence in delivering the next generation of process manufacturing improvements.”

Resellers of the Year Asia Pacific Nukon is Seeq’s 2021 Asia Pacific Partner of the Year. Nukon was selected among Seeq’s reselling partners for its focus on customer support and its tremendous growth in the Australian market, more than doubling its revenue over the previous year. The company provides a variety of OT and IT solutions and services to its clients in the consumer goods, infrastructure, utilities, and waste management industries.  “We’re honored to be selected as a Seeq Partner of the Year for the second year running,” says Alec Konynenburg, General Manager at Nukon. “Nukon prides itself on providing the best solutions for clients, and Seeq’s capability allows us to do this through their unique set of offerings. The Nukon and Seeq partnership is built on joint values and commitment to our customers, and we’re excited to continue to provide this value in 2022 and beyond.” Americas  Swan-Black is Seeq’s 2021 Americas Partner of the Year. Swan-Black was selected for its rapid growth in the Americas and globally, and its support for Seeq’s customers in the food and beverage and bioscience industries. Swan-Black has expertise in batch and continuous manufacturing processes, with a focus on applying advanced analytics to improve business outcomes.  “We are incredibly honored to be recognized by Seeq as Partner of the Year for the Americas,” says Joe Gardner, Practice Lead at Swan-Black. “The Seeq solution and the team’s support of our efforts empower us to deliver meaningful process data insights for our customers, leading to increased process efficiency and optimization. We look forward to our continued partnership with Seeq and the value it will bring our customers well into the future.” EMEA Crucial Solutions and Services (CSS) is Seeq’s 2021 EMEA Partner of the Year. CSS was selected for its support and leadership of Seeq’s customers in the Middle East, notably its collaboration on Saudi Aramco’s industrial digitalization initiatives. The company provides a variety of technology offerings to its clients in the oil and gas, petrochemical, and power and utilities industries.  “CSS is dedicated to providing customers with game-changing services and solutions that optimize their efficiency and enhance business growth,” says Sulaiman Alzuhair, Founder and CEO at CSS. “Seeq’s complementary products and capabilities enable CSS to achieve this mission and we are honored to be selected as the Seeq Partner of the Year for EMEA.” Service Partner of the Year BKO Services LLC is Seeq’s first Service Partner of the Year recipient. BKO was selected for its expertise in the oil and gas and power generation industries, its work on Shell’s upstream digital initiatives and Tranter’s use of advanced digital tools to manage its clients’ fleet of heat transfer equipment, and its investment in Seeq-certified employees. In 2021 alone, BKO added five certified partner analytics engineers and one certified instructor to its team. The company provides data engineering, machine learning, and OSIsoft application development services for the oil and gas, power, and other process manufacturing industries.  “As the true value of data analytics and machine learning become more apparent, technology must not only keep pace with the increasing availability of data, but effectively utilize it to improve operations and safety,” says Shaun Wright, CEO of BKO. “We are pleased and proud to be a Seeq partner and part of the radical mindset shift driving this rapidly emerging field of science and technology.”

Seeq’s worldwide growth is fueled in part by its partnerships and commitment to cloud-based computing. Seeq is available in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) marketplace, is an AWS Industrial and Energy Competency Partner, and supports many data storage services, including Amazon Redshift, S3, plus machine learning in SageMaker, and others.

On Microsoft Azure, Seeq has been available as a SaaS application in the Azure Marketplace since 2019, with support for many Azure cloud services including Synapse, Azure Data Lake, and Active Directory. Seeq also supports connectivity to Azure Data Explorer, Time Series Insights, and Power BI.

In addition to cloud partnerships, Seeq connects to an extensive set of data storage platforms from vendors including OSIsoft, Siemens, GE, Honeywell, Inductive Automation, AVEVA, AspenTech, Yokogawa, InfluxDB, Snowflake, and others.

@SeeqCorporation @BkoServices #PAuto 

Machine learning support.

New Seeq Azure Add-on feature enables rapid deployment of Azure Machine Learning algorithms to frontline plant employees.

Additional integration support for Microsoft Azure Machine Learning has been announced by the Seeq Corporation. This new Azure Add-on, which was announced at Microsoft Ignite 2021, an annual conference for developers and IT professionals hosted by Microsoft, enables process manufacturing organizations to deploy machine learning models from Azure Machine Learning as Add-ons in Seeq Workbench. The result is machine learning algorithms and innovations developed by IT departments can be operationalized so frontline OT employees can enhance their decision making and improve production, sustainability indicators, and business outcomes.

Seeq customers include companies in the oil & gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, food and beverage, and other process industries. Investors in Seeq, which has raised over $100M (ca €87m) to date, include Insight Ventures, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, Altira Group, Chevron Technology Ventures, and Cisco Investments.

Their strategy for enabling machine learning innovations provides end users with access to algorithms from a variety of sources, including open source, third party and internal data science teams. With the new Azure Machine Learning integration, data science teams can develop models using Azure Machine Learning Studio and then publish them using the Seeq Azure Add-ons feature, available this week on GitHub. Using Seeq Workbench, frontline employees with domain expertise can easily access these models, validate them by overlaying near real-time operational data with the model results, and provide feedback to the data science team. This enables an iterative set of interactions between IT and OT employees, accelerating time to insight for both groups, while creating the continuous improvement loop necessary to sustain the full lifecycle of machine learning operations.

“Seeq and Azure Machine Learning are critical and complementary solutions for a successful machine learning model lifecycle,” says Megan Buntain, Director of Cloud Partnerships at Seeq. “By capitalizing on IT and OT users’ strengths, the Seeq Azure Add-on expands the Seeq experience and creates new opportunities for organizations to scale up model deployment and development.”

Along with increased access to machine learning models through this integration, Seeq’s self-service applications enable frontline employees to perform ad hoc analyses and use the models themselves, rather than rely on an IT team member for support. As the models yield results, Seeq empowers users to scale them across the organization to improve asset reliability, production monitoring, optimization, and sustainability.

In addition to launching the Azure integration, Seeq is also expanding its list of published open source algorithms this week with the addition of a new Seeq Add-on to GitHub for multivariate pattern search. Seeq’s open source gallery also includes algorithms and workflows for correlation and clustering analytics, which users can modify and improve based on their own needs.

@SeeqCorporation @MS_Ignite #PAuto #Manufaturing

Smart manufacturing move.

CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute™ has added Microsoft to their ranks of partners and members. "Interoperability and innovation that can scale are essential for a more competitive and resilient manufacturing environment, and it’s a pleasure to welcome market leaders that embody these values to our Smart Manufacturing (SM) ecosystem. A relentless focus on these values is essential to achieving CESMII’s vision to accelerate the democratization of Smart Manufacturing."

Microsoft brings their thought leadership, standards advocacy and enabling technologies to our members and our SM Innovation Centers™ and will engage with other industry leaders to participate in their Standing Committees, adding their insights to the Technology, Business Practices, and Education and Workforce Development efforts driving this ecosystem forward.

“This is a pivotal time for CESMII,” states John Dyck, CEO of CESMII. “We are making great progress on many fronts, addressing the real challenges preventing manufacturers from accelerating their Smart Manufacturing and digital transformation initiatives. Our focus on enabling manufacturing system interoperability will have a dramatic impact on our energy productivity, sustainability, and competitiveness as a nation. A big part of that is defining and enabling the adoption of industry standards that will significantly reduce the cost and complexity of deploying Smart Manufacturing solutions. We’re pleased to see Microsoft take this step with us, advocating for standards, for interoperability, and creating a community of thought leaders that can truly transform this industry.”

“We strongly believe in standards, as exhibited by our work with CESMII on key OPC Foundation initiatives, and we appreciate that CESMII is addressing some of the great challenges preventing the adoption of digital transformation at scale,” says Sam George, corporate vice president of Azure IoT at Microsoft. “The focus on interoperability, openness, and the crowd-sourcing of information models for manufacturing assets is an essential accelerator for our mutual vision to accelerate the democratization of Smart Manufacturing,” continues George. “We’re pleased to engage with CESMII and their ecosystem as an enabling force in this industry, working broadly to bring real transformation to this industry.”

• Plattform Industrie 4.0 and CESMII announced their partnership to address similar challenges and needs related to Industrie 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing earlier this month: Industrie 4.0 and CESMII (14/4/2021)

@CESMII_SM @Azure @plattform_i40 #PAuto #Smart

Noise, vibration and dust monitoring from the cloud!

The well proven SvanNET cloud-based solution from Svantek,  now offers noise, vibration and dust monitoring with new 24/7 support functionality ideal for large infrastructure projects. The enhanced, all-in-one portal offers multi point internet connection with the company’s high performance instrumentation to provide alarming, reporting and management in a convenient central location.

It has been specially developed for use with the company’s advanced SV 258 PRO vibration and SV 307 noise monitoring stations, as well as its exciting new Met One ES-642 Remote Dust Monitor. It provides measurement status, alarms indication, power source including battery charge and external power information as well as GSM strength.

The new ES-642 remote dust monitor is an industrial air quality sensor designed to provide accurate measurements of particle concentration in both indoor and outdoor environments. Supplied in a rugged waterproof enclosure, it includes an LCD display to provide information about particulate concentration, flow rate, instrument status and power.

Svantek’s SvanNET enables web interface, access to data files in the instruments and status alarms for battery or memory. It sends out advanced alarms for noise, dust and vibration parameters which can be set for different times of the day rather than just during normal work hours. It means emails and SMS messages can be delivered to the correct person regardless of shift pattern.

Aidan Hubbard, Svantek’s Sales Director comments: “SvanNET is the central portal for all noise, vibration and dust monitoring data to be displayed and managed. Users are now looking for an easy to use all in one solution instead of running multiple portals for multiple instruments. They would much rather have a single portal and see everything in one place.

“In addition, a new support functionality enables users to easily get back up and help from a Svantek engineer on a 24/7 basis which is particularly ideal for large infrastructure projects.”

Sharing access with key people is made easy with Tokens. This feature does not require a password or username to enter but provides a website with live data streaming. Whilst the user is unable to make changes to the project, it is useful for making data more accessible.

Svantek’s IEC61672 class 1 SV 307 noise monitoring station now has the ability to alarm from vibration or tilt detection. This alerts users when it has been adjusted by strong winds or from attempted theft. It can also be alarmed from GPS movement although this is more appropriate for time synchronisation of multiple systems.

As an online solution, SvanNET does not require software installation and is accessible through a web browser or dedicated App for Android and IOS platforms. The responsive design enables use of SvanNET on various devices such as smartphones or tablets.

SvanNET allows usage of all types of SIM cards with the Svantek monitoring station modem regardless if they have public or private IP. Once a card is inserted into the instrument it automatically connects to SvanNET.

The web user interface is easy to use and intuitive to operate. The connectivity service offers management and gives full control of the monitoring system using any web browsing device like a mobile phone, tablet or PC.

The online preview template provides current results, time-history graphs as well as information on status of monitoring points. The preview website can be customised with logos and individual project names. The preview content can be configured in SvanNET interface that works as the Content Management System (CMS).

To ensure reliability and data security, SvanNET has been located on the Microsoft Azure™ cloud platform that works through the global network of Microsoft-managed data centres.

The SvanNET project is an optional feature designed to offer fully automated management of multi-point noise and vibration monitoring tasks. Tools such as Automatic Files Download, Data Storage, Advanced Alarms and Data Sharing for generating restricted access log ins to SvanNET enable unattended monitoring.

The functionality of SvanNET Projects allows grouping of monitoring stations so that alarms and reports are separately defined for each project. The data files are also grouped automatically in accordance with Project assignments.

@Svantek_UK   @elhcomms  #Pauto

Cloud support for process manufacturers.

Seeq Corporation now provides expanded support for Microsoft Cloud services.

“We’re expanding our support for the Microsoft Cloud to better serve the digital transformation needs of our process manufacturing customers,” says Megan Buntain, Director of Cloud Partnerships at Seeq. “Seeq’s success is a credit to our team’s investments in integration with Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, and other Microsoft cloud offerings.”

Seeq support for Azure-based services includes
• Azure Data Explorer is a fast, fully managed data analytics service for near real-time analysis of large volumes of data from IoT devices and industrial assets. Seeq integration enables process engineers to query Azure Data Explorer to support a full range of Seeq analytics types and features: predictive, descriptive, diagnostic, collaboration, etc.

• Azure Time Series Insights enables faster decision-making with IoT and industrial data as the preferred storage service for Azure IoT Hub. Seeq users will be able to leverage Azure Time Series Insights as a data source for near real-time data insights and interactive analytics to accelerate data-based decision making within their organization.

• Microsoft Power Automate boosts productivity by enabling users to automate manual tasks in a low-code/no-code service for time-saving workflows. Seeq integration will enable Seeq analytics and insights to be the starting point for these secure workflows to share insights and actions across organizations.

Seeq has been available as a SaaS application in the Azure Marketplace since 2018 with support for many Azure cloud services including Synapse, Azure Data Lake, and Azure Notebooks for machine learning integration, in addition to on premise support for Windows Server, Active Directory, and SQL Server. Seeq is now adding connectivity to Azure Data Explorer, the latest release of Time Series Insights, and Power Automate. Power Automate is Microsoft’s low code/no code service for defining custom workflows, enabling Seeq users to automate processes based on their insights and events.

Seeq’s comprehensive set of applications for analyzing and sharing insights on process manufacturing data include Workbench for easy to use advanced analytics, Organizer for publishing reports and dashboards, and Data Lab for accessing Python libraries. Seeq applications empower engineers and subject matter experts to rapidly investigate, collaborate, and distribute insights to improve operations and business outcomes.

Seeq enables engineers and scientists in process manufacturing organizations to rapidly analyze, predict, collaborate, and share insights to improve production outcomes. Customers include companies in the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, food and beverage, and other process industries. Specific examples of Seeq usage include diagnostic analytics for well completions and intervention campaigns, predictive analytics on equipment failure, and sustainability and optimization efforts for energy and carbon reduction initiatives.

“Seeq’s focus on driving advanced analytics innovation in process manufacturing organizations makes it an ideal addition to the Azure ecosystem,” says Julia White, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure. “As Microsoft enables digital transformation initiatives in process manufacturing and IIoT customers, we are excited for the insights Seeq will deliver.”

All of the browser-based Seeq applications—Organizer, Workbench, and Data Lab—connect to a shared Seeq server to enable collaboration, provide access to connected data sources, and enable administrative control. For example, graphics created in Data Lab may be viewed in Organizer Topics, data modeled in Workbench may be accessed by Data Lab users, and Data Lab algorithm results are available for use in the other Seeq applications.

"Seeq continues to release compelling analytics solutions for customers in process manufacturing and Industry 4.0 engagements," comments Janice Abel, Principal Analyst at ARC Advisory Group. "The need for the faster and better insights provided by Seeq is a consistent requirement for customers investing in IIoT and Smart Manufacturing."

• In addition to Microsoft Azure support, Seeq partners with many process automation vendors to support on premise deployments by connecting to systems sold by OSIsoft, Siemens, GE, ABB, Honeywell, Inductive Automation, AVEVA, AspenTech, Schneider Electric, and others.

@SeeqCorporation @AzureMktPlace #PAuto 

Machine condition monitoring.

ADLINK Technology has announced an upgrade to its MCM machine condition monitoring solution, with the launch of the DataConnect Pro Remote Facility Information Dashboard, integrating sensor management, data acquisition, edge platform, and vibration analysis, via dashboard-based operability.

Users can simultaneously monitor multiple system devices, master real-time machine operation information, and create effective dynamic preventive maintenance strategies for reduced downtime, and increased production capacity.

“With the rise of the Internet of Things, manufacturers who have actively established automated monitoring systems can often end up suffering due to the large amount of resources invested, lack of software developers and system integration capabilities, and difficulty in assessing benefits.” said Tim Juan, Chief Director for ADLINK’s Smart Factory Business Center. “ADLINK aims to help enterprises break through the deadlock and build smart device monitoring applications from the end (device, sensor, gateway) to cloud (Paas, SaaS) to implement more effective equipment failure prevention.”

Based on powerful Microsoft Azure cloud platform architecture and SaaS services, ADLINK DataConnect Pro provides an expert built-in equipment monitoring system utilizing spectral features for more precise notification. With no need for additional program development or architecture modification, it is easily deployed in multiple fields. As users grow and add new system equipment, their expansion is guided by dashboard-based existing facility information rather than redeployment or reconstruction of the whole system, thus significantly reducing expansion costs.

 @ADLINK_Tech  #PAuto #IIot @ADLINK_IoT

Availability of cloud-based advanced analytics applications.

The advanced analytics solutions from Seeq Corporation is delivered via software as a service (SaaS) on Microsoft Azure. Seeq enables engineers and scientists in process manufacturing organizations to rapidly analyze, predict, collaborate, and share insights to improve production outcomes. Customers include companies in the oil & gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, food and beverage, and other process industries.

“The move to cloud platforms for advanced analytics on large manufacturing data sets is clearly underway and will only accelerate,” says Michael Risse, Vice President and CMO at Seeq Corporation. “Our goal is to ensure our customers have the advantages of Seeq insights on their cloud platform of choice.”

Seeq is already run by customers on Azure and includes support for Azure-specific features such as Azure Directory Service. Seeq will now offer its software as a SaaS application on Azure to address customer interest in cloud-based analytics solutions. Shell, headquartered in The Hague, (NL), is an example. Shell will be providing cloud-based access to Seeq for its process engineers and experts working with OSIsoft PI data.

"Easy cloud-based access to Seeq by our engineers will enable faster insights and reporting on our key real-time data," comments Johan Krebbers, IT CTO of Shell. "Our ability to tap advanced analytics offerings for predictive and root cause analysis of assets and process outcomes delivers on our commitment to continuously improve execution results."

“Seeq’s focus on driving advanced analytics innovation in process manufacturing organizations makes it an ideal addition to the Azure ecosystem,” says Julia White, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Azure. “As Microsoft enables digital transformation initiatives in process manufacturing and IIoT customers, we are excited for the insights Seeq will deliver.”

Recent releases of Seeq have focused on enabling larger deployments through scalability features, and making the Seeq applications easier to use. R20 features, released this summer, include the ability to have live updates to Seeq Topics, which publish insights from Seeq to other users; expanded machine learning functionality for customers doing predictive analytics with Seeq; and an improved query model for customers accessing contextual data from SQL-based data sources to provide faster connections to big data sources.

"Seeq continues to release compelling analytics solutions for customers in process manufacturing and Industry 4.0 engagements," says Janice Abel, Principal Analyst at ARC Advisory Group. "The need for faster and better insights is a consistent requirement for customers investing in IIoT and Smart Manufacturing."

@SeeqCorporation #PAuto @Azure

Gold standard in cloud!

In addition to classic automation projects at field level, the demand for scalable solutions that offer connectivity from the sensor to the cloud and with mobile devices is increasing among industrial manufacturing firms. COPA-DATA is responding to this demand by integrating its zenon software with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Thanks to its knowledge and wealth of experience in cloud-based smart factory and smart city solutions, the company has now achieved Gold status in the Microsoft Cloud Platform competency.

Stefan Reuther

With the awarding of competencies, Microsoft is supporting its partners in the Microsoft Partner Network to advertise their industry-leading skills and specialist knowledge in a professional manner and to clearly set themselves apart from the competition.

In order to achieve one or more of the 18 competencies in the six categories available at present, it is necessary to meet certain requirements and to evidence these in annual reviews. Depending on the extent to which these requirements have been met, a company may be awarded either a Gold or a Silver competency. Only partners that have shown consistent high performance and exceptional commitment are given Gold competencies.

After achieving Silver status in the Cloud Platform competency in 2016, COPA-DATA has now satisfied all the requirements for the highest level – Gold – in this category.

“The requirements for achieving Gold status in this competency are high,” explained Johannes Petrowisch, Global Partner & Business Development Manager at COPA-DATA. “One of the criteria, for example, was to have achieved Microsoft Azure sales amounting to at least 100,000 US dollars within the last twelve months. This shows that companies have to implement customer projects on a relatively large scale and in a relatively short space of time to obtain the necessary competency. We are therefore particularly pleased that we have been able to evidence this and put ourselves forward as an expert partner for cloud projects.”

As zenon is seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Azure, data can be retrieved and further processed centrally and in real time. This means, for example, that relevant production, performance, or consumption indicators from various locations can be captured, collected, processed further, and compared in order to identify potential for improvement and to take corresponding optimization measures. Thanks to connectivity from the field level up to the cloud, the interaction between the two technologies presents an entirely new range of applications which sees classic automation projects merge with typical IT or business intelligence projects. As a result, production efficiency can be increased, use of resources optimized, and completely new service or business models implemented, to name but a few benefits.

Integration between zenon and Microsoft Azure started back in 2014. Initially, the main reason for integrating selected Microsoft Azure services was to provide a scalable solution for storing the large volumes of data collected in industrial projects centrally in a cost-effective infrastructure.

“In today's industrial applications, which extend up into the cloud, the delivery model is mainly used for calculations across systems or locations, and for predictive analyses,” explains Stefan Reuther (Pictured above right), Chief Sales Officer at COPA-DATA. “In order to capture, collect, aggregate, further process, and present data, users require a high-performance piece of software like zenon to obtain valuable insights into production output, energy consumption, and quality indicators.”

In addition to its Gold Cloud Platform competency, COPA-DATA is also listed as a Microsoft Gold competency partner for Application Development.

@copadata #Pauto @Azure

Industrial computer system certified.

Harting’s MICA industrial computer system has been certified as meeting the requirements of Microsoft’s “Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT” programme.

Microsoft’s certification process places certain demands on end devices which work with Microsoft Azure services. As a result, MICA has gone through a series of tests provided by Microsoft in order to evaluate the functionality of the hardware. The results have been validated by Microsoft, meaning that MICA meets the requirements of the programme.

The “Microsoft Azure Certified for IoT” programme is also intended to help speed up IoT projects with Azure by providing a set of available sensors and devices that are tested for usability and compatibility with the Azure IoT Suite.

Harting’s MICA (Modular Industrial Computing Architecture) is an edge computing device based on a modular open computing platform which can be customised as required, including the hardware, software and interfaces, making it compatible with the world of Integrated Industry.

MICA functions as a small, robust computing unit between physical devices and the higher-level IT system. It provides a cost-effective solution that allows users to run computing power at all levels as well as communicating with central IT systems and the cloud, offering fast data analysis and decision-making at the field level network edge along with storage and data-collection capability.

 @Harting, #PAuto @Azure

Visual analytics application upgraded!

The 7th release of Seeq software in just the past 18 months has been announced. This has been driven by input from customers expanding their use of the Seeq visual analytics application for engineers and scientists in process manufacturing organisations. It enables them to rapidly wrangle, investigate, and share insights on production data. Target markets include oil & gas, pharmaceutical, chemical, energy, mining, food and beverage, and other process industries.

“We are very happy to welcome Seeq and its innovative solution for process manufacturing analytics to Microsoft Azure,” says Vasily Mlanin, Senior Program Manager, Commercial Software Engineering at Microsoft Corporation. “Seeq will be a valuable compliment to the investment of Azure customers in IoT Hub and other Azure-based services.”

R18 adds new ease-of-use features, additional flexibility in the way items are displayed in Seeq’s advanced trending interface, and a new Organizer feature to assemble the results of investigations and analytics on time series data into dynamic documents for reports and dashboards. Seeq also announces support for the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, with Seeq availability on the AppSource marketplace.

Prior to supporting Azure, Seeq was already a Microsoft partner with extensive support for Microsoft platforms and products. Seeq runs on Windows Server, supports Active Directory for user management and SQL Server for data access, and can export data to Excel, PowerPoint, and PowerBI for visualization and reporting. The new Azure support includes availability on Microsoft AppSource and support for Azure Active Directory.

“We are excited to expand Seeq to the Azure cloud to support IIoT and data aggregation scenarios for our customers,” says Steve Sliwa, CEO and co-founder of Seeq Corporation. “The combination of investigation and publishing features, for on-premise and cloud deployments, is the next step in our effort to redefine the creation of actionable intelligence from process data."

The new Seeq Organizer module builds on the investigation and analytics in Seeq Workbench, enabling Seeq visualizations from any worksheet to be inserted into a document dynamically generated for any time range and/or operating condition. These documents can serve as the basis for weekly/monthly reports, daily standup meetings, operating period comparisons, batch summaries, incident analyses, and many other scenarios. Insights from process engineers can be quickly accessed via these documents by operators, analysts, managers, and other plant employees.

Seeq’s recent partnering announcements with Inductive Automation, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, OSIsoft—along with support for all the leading historians—make it the most widely accessible and extensively used visual analytics solution among process manufacturing companies. Other supported historians include GE Proficy, AspenTech IP21, Emerson DeltaV Continuous Historian, Ovation DCS Historian, and WonderWare Historian.

“Seeq continues to push the envelope of modern analytics for process manufacturing companies,” says Janice Abel, Principal Analyst at ARC Advisory Group. “To the best of our knowledge, the addition of the Organizer functionality to the company's existing work with Journals for knowledge capture, on top of its visual analytics features, sets Seeq apart from any other offering in this space."