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. 

Join me at the #MarketingtoEngineers Conference Monday, March 31 in Downtown Chicago!

http://www.controleng.com/events-and-awards/marketing-to-engineers.html

Join us at what is planning to be "the" event of the season!  A focused day of presentations and discussions on marketing to engineers.  As any of you know, Business to Business marketing is very different than the Business to Consumer marketing.  For one thing, our audience is a lot more educated, less apt to be swayed by shiny objects and pretty pictures, and more fact and logic focused.  This makes it extremely challenging to create the value propositions and positioning that are "real" and tangible, versus soft and fluffy.

I'll be discussing how to create an integrated marketing plan--ie, all of the facets it takes to bring a product (or service) to market.  I'm basing it on my many, many years of working both in sales & marketing in industrial automation.  I'll be joined by Rob McGreevy, VP of Operations, Information and Asset Products here at Schneider Electric (Invensys). It should be a lot of fun, and a lot of great networking.  I hope you can make it!

Operations Innovation & Transformation – the 4 Types Part 1 of a 5 Part Series

by Stan Devries, Senior Director Solutions Architecture, Invensys|Schneider Electric

Operations innovation and transformation: there has been much marketing on the innovations in supply chain and customer relationship management during the last 7+ years.  During this time, manufacturing and industrial operations has begun a less publicized transformation on their own.  This transformation goes beyond lean and total quality management principles.  In the 1980’s, we saw the impact of Japanese quality strategies; in the 1990’s, the consumer globalization fundamentally changed where facilities are built, how frequently new products are introduced, and in the 21^st century, industrial operations focus on how they create value for their customers, often focused on reliability.  These strategies might seem to be dreams without understanding the innovations that make these sustainable and the new risks can be practically managed.

These innovations are focused on unlocking the value of groups of physical and human assets:

• 1.       Physical Assets: the move to unifying the industrial enterprise over multiple sites (in groups or as a whole), with a more holistic view in terms of operating strategy and performance management.
• 2.       Human Assets: the shift to operational teams that spread across the multiple sites (in groups or as a whole), central, and Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) to make a rapid and dynamic decision support system in a dynamic operational world.

The following table published by ARC Advisory Group describes a spectrum of coordination or collaboration across assets, both physical and human:

Repost, with comments: Invensys' MOM Software Capabilities as Part of Schneider Electric

http://blog.lnsresearch.com/blog/bid/192361/invensys-mom-software-capabilities-as-part-of-schneider-electric?source=Blog_Email_[Invensys%27%20MOM%20Softwa]

Mark Davidson of LNS Research just posted a very fair and measured analysis of Invensys' Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) software capabilities, capping his discussion with an overview of the Schneider Electric acquisition of Invensys.

Over the past 10 years, Invensys has steadily increased their focus and investment on the needs of the manufacturing and infrastructure industries, providing full-scope solutions for visibility, reporting and analysis, and process control.  The addition of plant floor control systems from Schneider Electric will offer more choices for customers to fill in the gaps in their solution set, add capabilities and set the path for future improvements.

Fun with Wordle: Schneider Acquisition of Invensys

 thanks to my colleague +Bill Schiel for suggesting! As you may have read, Schneider Electric recently completed their acquisition of Invensys. It's a great time for industry to have more, broader choices.

MESA International's GEP Competency Class: A Reference from an Attendee

You may know that MESA International offers a Global Education Program (GEP) to further industry knowledge and competence.  MESA is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), so attending these classes provides you with continuing education units.

I wanted to share with you a recent experience from one of our senior consultants:

"I recently attended and was awarded the MESA GEP Certificate of Competency.  I attended the class in attempts to better round out my knowledge of the various topics related to Manufacturing Operations Management, particularly the ties to ISA-95.  I was not disappointed!!  The course offered a variety of relevant segments that addressed the different aspects of Operations Management including strategy development, project justification approaches and a review of various technology options.  I would recommend this for anyone determined to successfully tackle an operations management and integration program.  It was well worth the time!!"  Kevin Fitzgerald, Invensys North America Consulting Group.

 

So isn't it time that you invested in  your career?  Consider the MESA Global Education Program for focused training conducted by instructors with decades of experience in automation and operations management solutions.  It's well worth it!

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.

Joe Finn's Top Ten Reasons to attend the Invensys Software Conference

Join us October 15-17, 2013 in Dallas Texas!

We always count on Joe Finn from Wonderware Midwest to create a great list of top ten reasons for attending our annual software conference.  This year is no different!  To see your favorite brands--Avantis, SimSci, and Wonderware, learn about roadmaps, new products, and customer success stories, this is a "must do" event....

Register here: http://ourevents.invensys.com/SoftwareCustomerConf/pages/home.aspx

Repost, with comments: Being found vs. being sought

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/09/being-found-vs-being-sought.html

If you have never read Seth Godin, you should.  He has "nuggets" of insight that for today's world make perfect sense.  This post on being found vs being sought is a great example of how we as marketers must deal with today's world, in which there is so much noise out there that you need to somehow differentiate and really sharpen & direct your value to your audience.  Seth cites social marketing as the key method of being sought, and I agree.  Building out your brand, whether it's a physical product or yourself, is imperative.  It's not enough anymore to simply place an ad in a magazine and hope they will come (I wish!).  It is a multi-faceted and dimensional effort today to get that mindshare and eventually wallet share of your audience.

Look at companies like Apple, Amazon, Microsoft.  They've gone above & beyond in creating demand for their products. We at Invensys hope that we are creating that value for you, so that you do seek us as a potential partner in your journey for industrial automation excellence.

Gartner Recognizes Microsoft as a Cloud Infrastructure as a Service Visionary

this post is from Microsoft's Azure Blog.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/08/28/gartner-recognizes-microsoft-as-a-cloud-infrastructure-as-a-service-visionary.aspx

Although Gartner does not endorse any specific vendor, it's exciting and encouraging to see that Invensys partner Microsoft is recognized as a Service Visionary for their Azure offering.

If you are interested in hearing more about Microsoft's Azure offering, we have a series of upcoming free seminars--the first one is in Mountain View, CA on September 18, from 8am through 1:30pm. Registration is free and you can access from here: http://global.wonderware.com/EN/Pages/EyeOpenerSeminar-TheCloudforIndustry.aspx

So check this blog for more updates, congratulations to our partner Microsoft for their Visionary position, and we hope to see you in Mountain View on September 18th.

Repost: What Schneider Electric’s Acquisition of Invensys Means for the MOM Software Space

http://blog.lnsresearch.com/blog/bid/186323/what-schneider-electrics-acquisition-of-invensys-means-for-the-mom-software-space?source=Blog_Email_[What%20Schneider%20Elect]

A good and I think fair assessment of the benefits of the Schneider acquisition of Invensys, by Mark Davidson.  Mark, for those of you that know him, was a longtime marketing executive at Invensys and a strong industry participant, and he rightly points out the potential strengths of the purchase. 

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!

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.

Smart Manufacturing Coalition-led Project Wins DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Contract

From Gary Mintchell, via 

garymintchellsfeedforward.com 

http://www.garymintchellsfeedforward.com/feed-forward/2013/3/26/smart-manufacturing-leadership-coalition-wins-funding.html

 

 The Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition (SMLC) announced March 26 that it won a 2013 Clean Energy Manufacturing contract to start developing the nation’s first open smart manufacturing technology platform for collaborative industrial networked information applications. The innovative project, led by the SMLC, will receive $7.8 million in funding from the U.S. Dept. of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Program.

 

Invensys Operations Management is proud to be a member of this extremely important initiative!         

What you don’t (but should) know about MESA International

MESA International is an organization dedicated to the promotion and development of driving improvements into the manufacturing industry.

From their website:

MESA (Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association) International is a global community of manufacturers, producers, industry leaders, and solution providers who are focused on driving business results from manufacturing information. MESA helps members formulate strategies to turn plant-floor data into valuable knowledge to be used throughout the enterprise.

• We collect, share, and publish best practices to help drive greater productivity and the overall profitability of the manufacturing enterprise. Over 20 years of valuable information can be found in our Resource Library.
• We educate manufacturing and service providing professionals through the MESA Global Education Program.  
• MESA facilitates innovation and collaboration to enable the real-time enterprise and Plant to Enterprise (P2E) integration.
• Members connect, contribute, cultivate understanding, and exchange strategies to drive business results and to help define the ever-evolving MESA Model.
• Merger with the World Batch Forum (WBF) broadens our knowledge of ISA-95 related standards like B2MML, and ISA-88 related standards like BatchML.

Using OEE to Drive Operational Improvements for Food Processors

On February 20, Invensys and partner Callisto presented an overview with case studies on why OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is useful when establishing a continuous improvement culture.

 

Using examples from customers Campbell Soup and  Mars, Mike Grasley from Callisto discussed why OEE, its fit into DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve), and challenges to implementation of OEE for Continuous Improvement.  Mike finished the presentation with a tangible example, implementing OEE on a packaging line.

 

For more information, or to view the archived webinar, please visit http://www.automationworld.com/using-oee-drive-operational-improvements-food-processing

Repost: Increasing Productivity with Workflow

http://www.mbtmag.com/articles/2012/12/increasing-productivity-workflow

Excellent article from Invensys' Tom Troy on the benefits of workflow for industrial enterprises.

Automation World Readers Name Invensys a “First Team” Supplier

http://iom.invensys.com/EN/Pages/IOM_NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=526

Invensys Operations Management was honored to be recognized by the readers of Automation World as a "First Team" supplier.  The Company was recognized in several Leadership in Automation Program categories, including Process Safety; Simulation Software; SCADA; Asset Management/Optimization Software; HMI Software; HMI Mobile; HMI iPad Apps; HMI Hardware; and Manufacturing Execution Software.

FREE Seminar: The Cloud for Manufacturing

Understand the business benefits and applicability of Azure Cloud Technology in industrial automation.

Join the top experts from Microsoft, Invensys, ARC Advisory Group and Sarla Analytics in a COMPLIMENTARY, interactive half-day seminar.

Register Today!

Dates & Locations

• Houston, TX - May 14, 2012
• Minneapolis, MN - May 17, 2012
• Boston, MA - June 5, 2012
• Redmond, WA - June 7, 2012

Topics

• Business Benefits & Rationale for Cloud Computing
• Azure Cloud Services for Manufacturers
• ARC Advisory Group: Is Industry Ready for the Cloud? ARC Advisory Group: Is Industry Ready for the Cloud?
• Invensys: Collaboration & Reporting in the Cloud
• Sarla Analytics: Analytics in the Cloud 

Accelerating Microsoft Windows Azure Development

Invensys announced an alliance with Microsoft Corp. for migrating some Invensys applications to the Windows Azure cloud. By bringing together industrial thought and technology leaders, the alliance expands our relationship with Microsoft and will afford end users cloud-based offerings in the manufacturing and infrastructure operations space.

Three month free trial of Windows Azure available here.