ILS Technology Demonstrates deviceWISE Enterprise Edition to Enable Production Connectivity From IT Network Infrastructures

Business Wire,  Nov 26, 2007  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Software Establishes OPC-UA and Native Connectivity From Industry-Standard Windows, Linux, AIX, Solaris, HPUX servers

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- ILS Technology LLC, an industry leader in enabling intelligence through connectivity, today unveiled the deviceWISE Enterprise Edition, a standards-compliant version of its connectivity platform for information technology network infrastructures. The platform enables real-time, intelligent data transfers between production controls and the enterprise to offer companies greater intelligence gathering for business decisions.

Previously available only as an embedded platform for plant floor devices, deviceWISE Enterprise Edition runs on any industry-standard enterprise server system and provides flexibility for companies that want to establish downstream links from the IT side of operations. Based on deviceWISE 2.0, the platform supports both the OPC-Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) and native device connectivity standards used in most production domains. The Enterprise Edition will also support upstream IT application and middleware connections that allow devices to be linked to service oriented architectures (SOAs), databases and message queues (MQs).

"The Enterprise Edition of our deviceWISE platform gives companies the flexibility to implement deviceWISE connectivity anywhere in its network technology infrastructure," said John Keever, executive vice president and CTO for ILS Technology. "Some connectivity tasks are best performed on the edge of networks in the production domain using our deviceWISE 2.0 Embedded Edition platform. But our new offering lets companies establish OPC-UA connectivity from the IT side for information transactions that are best initiated from the enterprise. The deviceWISE Enterprise Edition gives companies more options for establishing secure, intelligent data links."

Designed for installation in IT domains, the deviceWISE Enterprise Edition offers easy configurability for any system and offers cross-platform support for servers running Windows, Linux, AIX, Solaris and HP/UX. In addition to OPC-UA connectivity, the platform offers native device support for legacy and custom devices. The links established by deviceWISE offer high-integrity, policy-based security that allows companies to protect their valuable production information.

ILS Technology will demonstrate the deviceWISE Enterprise Edition running an OPC-UA connectivity demonstration at the SPS/IPC/DRIVES Electric Automation Exhibition and Conference, Nov. 27-29 in Nuremberg, Germany. The demonstration will show the platform's versatility in supporting a full range of communication standards used in transporting data from legacy, current and future production devices to the enterprise.

"The deviceWISE Enterprise Edition has been designed with an eye toward versatility and connectivity from a broad spectrum of enterprise platforms to the plant floor," said Thomas Burke, president of the OPC Foundation. "This announcement demonstrates the strategic 'Clear View to The Top' vision of the OPC Foundation. ILS Technology's deviceWISE Enterprise Edition offers the ability to establish OPC-UA connectivity from the enterprise down through devices on plant floors. We welcome the company's pioneering spirit and dedication to move OPC-UA directly into the enterprise domain."

ILS Technology's deviceWISE 2.0 connectivity platform enables seamless communication between intelligent devices and the enterprise, providing businesses with a detailed view of their production environment and the ability to monitor and respond to operational issues in real-time.

"ILS Technology continues to make advancements in establishing OPC-UA as a viable industry standard for plant floor connectivity to the enterprise," said Craig Resnick, research director, ARC Advisory Group. "ILS Technology's deviceWISE Enterprise implementation of the OPC-UA standard resolves many connectivity issues for companies and makes plant floor-to-enterprise data transfers a seamless process regardless of operating systems or installed base. Corporations seeking to improve their productivity will need solutions supporting OPC-UA, and ILS Technology will be well-positioned to benefit from that demand."

ILS Technology will be conducting a select number of pilot programs for its deviceWISE Enterprise Edition in the first quarter of 2008. For further information, visit www.ilstechnology.com or send an email to dWEnterprise@ilstechnology.com.

ILS Technology's modular framework for deviceWISE facilitates integration with existing vendor equipment and improves communications between intelligent devices and IT applications. The deviceWISE 2.0 framework links all PACs, PLCs, RFID readers, printers and other intelligent devices in a network and communicates actionable information between upstream and peer systems running Oracle, IBM DBS2, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase and other databases.