Innovative tools for the evolving systems integrator
Industrial software is playing a leading role in the current intelligence revolution and system integrators must adapt.
The personnel challenges facing virtually every industry over the last few years have been nothing short of astonishing. Proper candidates have become increasingly difficult to court and bring on board. New staff in key roles are tasked to accomplish more with fewer floor operators and technology is increasingly leveraged to close the resulting gaps. This is not unique in history although it may seem that way due to the current media deluge surrounding business intelligence and general-purpose visibility software that makes life easier, smarter, and generally more efficient.
Industrial software is again playing a leading role in the current intelligence revolution. Inductive Automation didn’t invent floor supervisory (SCADA) software, nor did they invent the first responsive, general-purpose web software. However, their current offerings certainly do marry these concepts together in a way that hasn’t existed in industry before. Since 2010 their award-winning Vision Module has enhanced the experiences of factory floor users everywhere, easily connecting complex factory controllers to databases, alarm and reporting systems, and intuitive visualization tools. This product is robust, proven, and works very well for users “inside the industrial network” of many facilities. Today this is coupled with the newer Perspective Module which is an equally powerful tool for use in mobile-responsive applications. For situations where a user may be “outside the industrial network” or simply need to utilize a variety of hardware platforms like PCs, phones, or tablets, Perspective provides an ideal solution.
Top-tier systems integrators are evolving alongside these changes in products, delivering more comprehensive usage and intelligence solutions to entire organizations. At ECS Solutions, Inc., we’ve been a proponent of Inductive Automation’s floor-side solutions for many years. Products like Perspective are ushering in a new era of connectivity and usability within our clients’ organizations. These changes are welcome for our developers who have traditionally been confined to the factory floor or who have connected applications to a database where someone else would integrate ERP or other packages beyond our traditional demarcation points. Today our team examines the entire enterprise more holistically and considers not only personnel working equipment side but also consider the needs of those working at the bridge between the floor and office as well as those who rarely visit the production floor.
Our team has learned and grown to appreciate the way that these products combine to accomplish the unified factory mission. Certainly, we encounter applications that exhibit traits that make them better for either Vision or Perspective, respectively. When users need the familiarity of intuitive industrial graphics on a single operator interface or ganged monitors inside of a true industrial control room then Vision connected to the Ignition gateway is a powerful solution. This type of application is typically secured inside dedicated machines that are purpose-built for floor-side operations. When organizations want to expand access to critical data which may appear outside of the floor environment then Perspective connects to the same gateway and delivers lean, responsive action on mobile and other operating systems. The machines on which Perspective modules run are typically connected to many other things both inside and outside of the plant, require a leaner operating viewpoint and obtain security from other means.
The true cross-application power is realized when the products are leveraged together. Companies that want to inspire users to accept the entire factory as a single entity will benefit from the connectivity that Vision and Perspective can deliver across the entire enterprise. We’ve adapted both our hiring and training methods to not only best identify these options but also to deliver tactical solutions that provide maximum value. The evolution of products like this will continue and true partner-level integrators will advance as well to bring the power of these solutions to the fingertips of users everywhere.
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