Invensys Announces Unified Automation and Information Infrastructure for Process, Batch, Discrete, and Hybrid Manufacturing Applications

Business Wire, Sept 10, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2001

New capabilities will lower customer engineering and maintenance costs

and offer faster solutions delivery

Invensys Software Systems, a division of Invensys plc, today announced significant advancements in their ability to deliver open, unified automation and information solutions for process, batch, discrete and hybrid manufacturing applications.

"Our unified software architecture and the organization we are building around it demonstrates our commitment to the total unification of our automation and information solutions," said Bruce Henderson, division chief executive, Invensys Software Systems. "Today's announcement is another major milestone in our drive to be the full service, 'Sensor to Boardroom' systems supplier across the process, batch, discrete and hybrid manufacturing markets. This is a capability that only Invensys can offer."

The unified software architecture is built around the Invensys ArchestrA(TM) framework, which has been in development since 1998. It will be used to both extend and unify existing Foxboro, APV, Wonderware, Triconex, Esscor, and Simulation Sciences product lines for broader applicability across all manufacturing industry and application domains.

"In tomorrow's business environment, many customers will converge their process, batch, hybrid and discrete operations into lean systems that span upstream, process/production, delivery, manufacturing and distribution," Henderson said. "Our collaborative engineering, unified products and performance solutions are focused directly on the needs of this rapidly evolving e-solution world."

"ARC has been advocating a vision for manufacturing based on collaborative manufacturing management. At the heart of this is the requirement for seamless integration of information. A common information systems platform, built around open systems, that is easy to maintain and offers solutions tailored to the needs of the manufacturer, is exactly what customers are looking for," said Dick Hill, vice president with ARC Advisory Group. "Fewer and fewer new plants are being built and customers want to reduce costs and increase efficiencies on their existing systems. Those manufacturers that can boost their return on investment with their information systems will be the future winners."

The unified software architecture, which runs on the latest Microsoft technologies, will offer a migration path for customers looking toward a future of lower development and maintenance costs. Customers taking advantage of this architecture will have an opportunity to realize a higher return on investment for their capital expenditures; lower engineering, start-up and maintenance costs; and seamless integration with enterprise information. The software architecture is component based, and takes advantage of open standards throughout.

Resulting products and solutions offer customers' greater ease of use, scalability and functionality, as well as multi-language capability for global implementations, and will preserve a customer's intellectual property and their investments in their existing technology.

Application development and business support will be enhanced by combining the Foxboro, APV, Wonderware, Triconex, Simulation Sciences and Esscor businesses under one common leadership.

Joe Cowan, former president of Wonderware, has been named president of the new organization, called Invensys Manufacturing and Process Solutions. He will continue to report to Bruce Henderson.

"While this software architecture offers a migration path on Microsoft technology, ArchestrA technology will allow Foxboro to continue to support the UNIX platform as well as to expand and improve existing I/A capabilities," Cowan said. "We are committed to protecting the technology investments of our customers."

"The technology approach undertaken by Invensys will enable both new and existing applications and components to seamlessly `plug and produce,' leveraging the underlying strengths of the Microsoft .NET infrastructure. Invensys is also aligned with Microsoft's focus on partnering to deliver complete industry solutions," said Don Richardson, Group Manager of Product Industries, Microsoft Corp.

By taking advantage of the ArchestrA framework and the new solutions built around it, internal and external application developers, process/manufacturing engineers, and systems integrators will be able to spend less time around the complexities of underlying information technologies, and more time focusing on domain issues. They will be able to more efficiently reuse engineering, often utilizing as much as 70% of the work developed for previous projects.

ArchestrA toolsets are being released to third-party developers and systems integrators later this year.

"We could not complete the development of this groundbreaking new automation and information solution architecture without a new organization, designed specifically to bring it to market as quickly as possible," said Cowan. "Our team is dedicated to creating a new standard of excellence for industrial automation and information integration, functionality, performance improvements, and ease of use. By offering one open and integrated software framework that can be applied to literally any manufacturing or process requirement, our customers will enjoy the rewards of faster installation, lower startup and life cycle costs, more efficient production operations and far higher economic performance. Our customers will also benefit from a single point of contact for services and support."