Repost, with comments: Survey: Feds sacrificing billions in savings by skipping cloud

This survey discussion posted in SmartBriefs highlights the cost savings being ignored by the government not using the cloud for application hosting and user access.  It states that up to $19 billion could be saved by migrating services and applications to the cloud--$19 billion! 

Of course you'd say, well that would be insane for anyone to not take advantage of the benefits.  But I suspect that education and awareness has a lot to do with the indecision and/or inactivity of not going to the cloud. Not all agencies can be that tech savvy.  And, there is still a slight stigma of security when it comes to the cloud.  Regardless of infrastructure (and I use Microsoft Azure as an example) for triple-redundancy for high availability and security, no one can guarantee fault-free operations. 

So let's look at manufacturing cloud adoption.  A survey by LNS Research, as published in Manufacturing.net last October, showed a slight bump in the anticipated use of the cloud for plant software--around 17% of the respondents intended to use (or consider).  I'd still say this is a small percentage, but it's progress.  The benefits and cost savings for ERP using a cloud SaaS, as defined by Hudson IT, show over $2M in savings over 3 years--extrapolate that to Industrial automation users, and you could still see over a $1M savings (assuming that large, complex industrial automation projects run 50% of the cost of an ERP).

Wonderware has been working with Microsoft for well over three years now to bring solutions and knowledge of the cloud to industry. What have we found?  Well, the cloud is the delivery mechanism--but what customers really want is to make reporting and analysis easier, more accessible, and cheaper.  That's what the cloud does.  Maybe we need to call it "hosted" or "hands off reporting" in order to remove the stigma of what the cloud is perceived to be.  In reality, it's a productivity tool that provides users with unrestricted use of solutions to help them manage and execute their operations. Applications such as #SmartGlance and #Historian Online bring mobile reporting and analysis.  Do you think we should just drop the word "cloud?"  Let me know.
maryanne.steidinger@schneider-electric.com.

Repost, from SmartBrief: Cloud Adoption

SmartPulse

Does your company continually embrace new cloud technologies?

No	54.55%
Yes	45.45%

#Wonderware and #Microsoft have been working together for over 3 years developing cloud-based solutions for productivity and operations. Yet this poll reflects what others are saying--that industry is not yet ready for the cloud. 

Why is that?  I think a number of factors are at play:

• The applications are too specific.  The cloud needs to take an entire factory's applications, and virtualize them.  Mix and match may be too difficult to maintain.
• The applications that are cloud-based may not solve the difficult problems.  Reporting is simple in the cloud, but reporting can be done in a variety of ways, and it may not be enough to go through the IT hurdles to get a cloud solution adopted.
• Education.  It still may not be apparent that either cloud solutions are available, or that they are relevant to a particular function, like plant-wide reporting.
• Security.  Companies are still reeling from security breaches such as StuxNet. Their IP is their lifeblood, and they aren't exposing it if solutions are available that do not have the same perceived risk.

On the other hand, the cloud is a tremendous boon to those companies that may not have the infrastructure, nor talent, to build and maintain applications such as plant reporting, plant data collection, plant intelligence. 

So it is up to us as an industry to continue to break down these barriers to adoption.  Education, success stories, finding the right markets--they all contribute to the proliferation of a solution that really helps industry scale, cost effectively, and easily adopt new technologies.

Repost, with comments: Report: SaaS Usage up 500% Since 2010; Second Cloud Front on Its Way

article at: http://www.telecompetitor.com/report-saas-usage-up-500-since-2010-second-cloud-front-on-its-way/

It's no big surprise that cloud has been thoroughly embraced by IT.  Given its ability to scale with demand (elasticity, going up or down in capacity), offer cost conscious means of using expensive software, and lessening IT burden onboarding new software and technologies, it's a boon to both users as well as vendors of these products.

What is interesting is the lag factor when it comes to industrial automation. 

Repost, with comments: FMI’s Surfing Lessons

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/on-our-minds/id40791/fmis-surfing-lessons/

 

I read this article with interest, not for the "surfing" aspects but for the Toffler similarities, mapping the transformations of the food industry to the development undergone by the industrial automation industry. The two industries are interconnected for a number of reasons: one, due to the supplier/provider relationship--the food industry, like the automotive industry, is one of the key consumers (and drivers) of the automation market.  Their needs--for faster, more accurate production, operations visibility; deep quality functional integration, more advanced analytics, reporting, and control, are answered by the automation industry's developments for better Human Machine Interface products, the dashboards of Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence software, and the convenience of mobile-based reporting. 

 

Taking technology advances and making them usable solutions--that's the focus of industrial automation.

Repost, with comments: What did Gartner Say About the Cloud in 2013?

http://talkincloud.com/cloud-companies/what-did-gartner-say-about-cloud-2013?cl=article_5?utm_source=011514&utm_medium=TLK100&utm_campaign=NL

Gartner group is one of the premier analysts for the IT market space, so when they talk about a subject, it's good to understand their perspective.  One of the interesting statistics they undercovered is that only 38% of enteprises are now using the cloud.  Although that may not be true for mobile apps, for business applications, I think it's close.  Especially for those companies in industrial automation, they are necessarily wary of any solution that could compromise their security, and the cloud is one of those technologies that has to be deliberately and thoughtfully implemented. 

Certainly, the solutions that Invensys offers for the cloud have redundancy, encryption and supports high availability and disaster recovery. It is both necessary, and expected, and it meets our customer requirements for reliable operations.

Repost: Microsoft's New CEO, survey from MSPMentor, with comments

http://mspmentor.net/careers/microsofts-new-ceo-your-top-pick-plus-our-favorite-longshots?cl=article_4?utm_source=121013&utm_medium=MSP&utm_campaign=NL

This survey from the readers of MSPMentor predicts the next CEO of Microsoft, now that Steve Ballmer has decided to step down.  What's really interesting is that the lead contender is their Cloud Lead. Microsoft has been active in educating the market, building out partnerships, and providing extensive infrastructure to become a leading cloud technology company. 

Certainly, if you read my blog yesterday, you saw that Invensys and Microsoft just completed their Eye Opener Series for the Cloud--Proof Points--to show that there's more to our partnership than just positioning, there are customers, products and services that are attached to this program.  It's an initiative that's pervasive for both companies, bringing productivity, cost savings and flexibility to users.  Although the seminar series is now over, we are planning more events within the next few months to continue our drive and education to help you understand, and utilize, cloud hosting and technology.

PODCAST: Mobility for Industrial Workers Enabled by the Cloud

http://themanufacturingconnection.com/2013/10/mobility-for-industrial-workers-enbled-by-the-cloud/

Invensys' Saadi Kermani

How can mobility, coupled with the cloud, help mobile workers?  Question no more--simply listen to this brief podcast from the Manufacturing Connection, where Invensys' @SaadiKermani explains the benefits of using mobility with cloud hosting.  Gain productivity, access at any time to tools that boost operational efficiencies.

What You Missed: Invensys Expo Showcased Operator Effectiveness, Mobility, Big Data and the Cloud

http://www.automationworld.com/expo-showcases-operator-effectiveness-mobility-big-data-and-cloud

Invensys' Rob Kambach speaks of Operator Effectiveness through new generation InTouch HMI

 

 

What did you miss at last week's Invensys Software Conference & Technical Support Symposium?  A lot!  Besides stellar presentations, a riveting general session, and outstanding keynote speaker, futurist Jack Uldrich, there was an interactive Expo area featuring the latest offerings from Invensys and its partner community.

 

Offerings around big data, the cloud, mobility and operator effectiveness underplayed the theme of #SoftwareRevolution. From new SmartGlance features to situational awareness capabilities from InTouch 2014, this year was all about looking at industrial software in a new way--as a partner bringing you more productivity, profitability, and empowerment.

Invensys and Microsoft, Together Again at the LATAM CIO Leadership Forum 2013

From Sept 30 through October 3, 2013 Invensys joined Microsoft’s Latin America CIO Leadership Forum in Miami, FL.  This event was created for CIO’s from government, industry and education, and offered a full program for both peer networking and deep-dive presentations.

Covering key IT topics as the cloud, devices and apps, mobility, big data, the forum also featured a case study from HP, and product updates from their CRM, Office and ERP teams.

Building on the interest for big data, the cloud, and mobility, Invensys showed solutions for food and beverage and CPG, water/wastewater and oil and gas.

Invensys Solutions for Food and Beverage, CPG were shown at the CIO Summit, based on Microsoft's technology stack

Bill Schiel and Marcelo Zaremba discussed with attendees scalable solutions based on Wonderware MES, SCADA as well as Consulting and Services offerings.

Invensys' Marcelo Zaremba discusses manufacturing operations solutions with CIO

For CIO’s, key care-abouts are keeping up with the pace of technology that is occurring today.  The cloud offers opportunities for cost savings, scalability, and ubiquitous access to applications enterprise-wide, but it also brings with it needed policies for security and standardization.   Mobility and the “Bring Your Own Device” momentum challenge CIOs with creating policies for compliance and multi-platform support. And Big Data feeds the needs for better analysis, knowledge management and decision making, but CIO’s must face multiple data source consolidation/acquisition and visualization.

Microsoft and Invensys, together have created solutions that build on the base technologies of big data, mobility and cloud.  For more information, please visit http://iom.invensys.com/EN/Pages/IOM_PartnersMicrosoft.aspx and for our cloud solutions based on Azure,  http://global.wonderware.com/EN/Pages/InvensysCloudforManufacturing.aspx

Cloud for Industry Eye Opener Seminar: An Excellent Time Was Had By All

Microsoft has 9 data centers worldwide for Azure hosting

We just kicked off the first of 3 FREE Eye Opener Seminars on the Cloud for Industry: Proof Points.  A packed room heard Jason Short/Microsoft, Paul Shelton & Saadi Kermani/Invensys and Mike West/Saugatuck Technologies speak on the readiness of the cloud, the applicability to industrial automation, proof points of use, and products available today.

IDC lowers global IT spending forecast to 4.6% this year

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130813/ADVERTISING13/308139997/idc-lowers-global-it-spending-forecast-to-4-6-this-year&utm_source=bboe&utm_medium=email&utm_content=editorial&utm_campaign=bboe#

A sobering, yet hopeful view of IT market spending.  Net net, although the industry as a whole is flat, there are some glimmers in the cloud, and mobile.  That will drive SaaS (Software as a Service) from a delivery perspective, and also encourage new development of traditional software, such as HMI, EMI, MES, to take advantage of this new model.

Invensys understands this, and has fully embraced both mobility and cloud, bringing the best to our customers from a form factor and costing perspective. You'll see more offerings in cloud (spanning reporting, visibility, information management, workforce enablement) and mobility (reporting, analysis and visibility). Why?  Because, at the end of the day, you need to have software that matches the way you work--and it's exceedingly shown to not be at a desk.  You are at the plant, you are on a line, you are boarding a plane, but the work doesn't stop.  So, your automation software has to bring you that real-time information, regardless of your location and regardless of the device that you choose to use.  We call it "on demand" and it has become a must have means of delivering and using industrial software. We get it, and you'll see a continuing stream of products reinforcing that vision...

Megatrends: The Cloud, Big Data, Mobility: Why Should You Care?

I've written a lot over the past year on the 2013 Megatrends that we see for industrial automation: The Cloud, Big Data, and Mobility.  When we first started talking about the cloud more than a year ago, the overall response we got from our customer base was "please no." There was no interest in the cloud--it was seen as disruptive technology that had no relevance to an industrial environment.

Repost: 10 Cloud Solutions For Common Business Challenges, with comments

https://www.openforum.com/articles/10-cloud-solutions-for-common-business-challenges/?extlink=of-syndication-sb-p

Eye Opener Seminars

The cloud is becoming a pervasive delivery mechanism for software.  It offers cost-effective, easy to use, on-demand capabilities for scalability and usability.  The industrial automation industry has been slowly introduced to the cloud (Invensys was a leader in bringing cloud-based apps to market, partnering with Microsoft for their Azure platform) and after two years we are seeing not only interest, but demand, in solutions hosted on the cloud.

Why the cloud?  Firstly, because it's scalable.  You can start with one user, or a plant, and then scale on a cost-per-use basis.  Secondly, it's portable.  You bring your application with you, so productivity and uptime are enhanced.  Thirdly, it's light.  A browser is all you need.  And lastly, it's adaptable--it adjusts to your needs, you pay for only what you use, so access and performance are ensured.

Invensys now offers multiple cloud-based apps. Some are client-based, such as the Wonderware Workflow Mobile Client, others are fully cloud-enabled, such as the smart-device enabled reporting capabilities of SmartGlance.  Both offer as-you-need-it capabilities to bring either work tasks (Workflow) or reporting (SmartGlance) to users in an easy-to-use format.  Historian in the cloud and other applications will follow, as will services capabilities for application monitoring.

The cloud is now "real" and offers value to both the office worker, as well as the industrial worker.  More applications will leverage the cloud's "elasticity" and scalability, and it's the users that are the beneficiaries of this technology, as well as it should be.

Repost, with comments: CPG marketing differs for boomers and millennials

http://www.smartbrief.com/08/02/13/cpg-marketing-differs-boomers-and-millennials

An interesting commentary on the differences in buying habits of boomers and millenials--tried and true versus try anything.

How can we take this knowledge and better attract a new audience for our automation products?  I'd say, in the same way that they buy CPG products.  Tout the new stuff, versus the stuff we do now that highlights the safety, security, and standardization of our products.  Not that it's not important, but it doesn't tip the scale.  It's a given.

Apparently, the newer generation isn't afraid to try new things, make mistakes, push the envelope.  And that's great from an industry momentum perspective.  Because we have long been wrestling with an industry that is slow to change, and rightfully so, because productivity and lives have depended on that thoughtful, rational approach to process control and industrial automation.

This definitely has me thinking--mobility, cloud, usability of our apps--is that the way to go?
What do you think?  Let me know: maryanne.steidinger@invensys.com

Repost: Top 100 Cloud Services Providers (CSPs) List And Research

http://talkincloud.com/tc100

For vendors such as Invensys, that use the cloud for both software as well as services delivery, providers that offer other services, such as metering, billing, security, become an important part of the ecosystem.  This rating by Talkin' Cloud lists the top 100 for 2013.

Repost: Hey You, Get Off of My Cloud: CIO Concerns with Cloud ERP Systems

http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/erp-roi/hey-you-get-off-of-my-cloud-cio-concerns-with-cloud-erp-systems-54350

IT Toolbox conducted a web study of CIO's to understand their proclivity for purchasing cloud-based ERP systems.  For me, the findings were somewhat surprising, for it indicates that there is still uncertainty and doubt that a cloud-based ERP will provide the stable platform and confidence in performance that you'd get from an on-premise system.

But I think it goes beyond that.  There are 3 manifestations of the cloud that can be used for hosting an application: public cloud (like Amazon), private cloud (like an ASP/Application Solution Provider) or hybrid cloud (mix of the two).  The concerns of the CIO's in this instance seem to be fixated on the downsides of a public cloud.  This makes sense, because a public cloud normally has multiple tenancy (ie, more than one entity using it at any time) and so you must deal with bandwidth, uptime, and oftentimes, security.  But a private cloud avoids all of those pitfalls.  So for me, it's a matter of education.

The cloud does not equal the internet.  It is infrastructure, software, and platform.  And there are multiple ways of addressing to ensure that uptime, security, and reliability are not in question.  It's no different than having a bank of servers in your facility.  Sometimes, things happen...

Invensys has been working with Microsoft now for almost a year to bring cloud-based industrial solutions to market: reporting, storage and analysis.  So it's interesting that the hesitancy we heard from customers a year ago still exists.  Hopefully, with continuing education, customer successes, and economic benefits, we won't have the same discussions in another year!

Smart grid challenges: Annual survey reveals a worried industry

Smart grid challenges: Annual survey reveals a worried industry

An interesting survey by Black & Veach indicates that the utilties industry is concerned about costs, availability, economic stability--ie, status quo.  What can we do, as automation providers, to ease these concerns?  Certainly, providing access to information to help them make better decisions, gain more operational visibility, and fine tune operations, are critical.  Taking advantage of the latest technologies (mobile, cloud, big data) gives them more knowledge and collaboration. It's a start.

Apps, Cloud Top Mobile Priorities (Yankee Group)

http://mobileenterprise.edgl.com/top-stories/cloud-enables-enterprise-apps86081?referaltype=newsletter

Yankee Group tells us that mobile is becoming an IT platform of choice for both user interface as well as infrastructure.  Certainly, we at Invensys have been taking advantage of this platform for well over two years now.  Starting with our core mobile-workforce enabled product, IntelaTrac, we've developed reporting, training and maintenance applications from SmartGlance, Intelligence, SimSci-Esscor EYESIM and Avantis to have mobile components.  The boost in workforce productivity is evident, but even more so, it's the training, the familiarity in user interface and the intuitiveness of the device that are pushing development of these applications forward.

What about your company?  Are you taking advantage of these new form factors? We'd like to hear from you!

Industrial Automation & Robotic Systems | April 10, 2013 | IHS GlobalSpec Events

Industrial Automation & Robotic Systems | April 10, 2013 | IHS GlobalSpec Events

I was pleased to be able to provide a view of the cloud for manufacturing through Global Spec.  Invensys has, for the past year, been actively involved in creating products for hosting on Microsoft's Azure.  This presentation is a "back to the basics" on what the cloud is, and how you, as a manufacturer, can start to take advantage of its benefits: scalability, accessibility, lowered costs of use, and enhanced security.

I'm now an Americas Board Member At Large for MESA International!

I'm now a voting Board Member of MESA International, Americas Board, representing Invensys.  You may recall a post I did last month, introducing (or in some cases, re-introducing) you to MESA, its charter, and its purpose.

MESA has been in existence for almost 20 years, and I personally have been involved, in some manner, since 1996.  MESA has always fostered open cooperation between industry participants, be them collaborators, or in some cases, competitors, by providing a forum for bettering the state of the operations management industry.