OpsManage10 Video Essay Wrap up

Here's a video essay wrap up to OpsManage'10 shot in the Expo hall.

Invensys OpsManage'10 Fills the Hall

Sudipta Bhattacharya

One thing is for sure, unlike a couple of years ago, Invensys Operations Management is firmly in the hands of leaders who know process automation. Another thing is that expectations were exceeded with registrations totaling more than 1,200. (New rule of thumb--figure about 70% customers.) The third thing is that CEO and President, Sudipta Bhattacharya, and his team knew they had to clearly spell out just what an Enterprise Control System is.

The point of ECS is to close the “control gap” between strategy and execution, or put another way by Invensys Operations Management President, Sudipta Bhattacharya, “It’s time to close the profit control loop.”

“We will be foremost provider in the world of ECS. No one has a package solution but us. This is our vision of ECS, and it is one that leads to operational excellence,” added Bhattacharya. The challenge in manufacturing is to be able to manage the real-time plant. To do that, you must understand the plant floor. “That is our challenge and our opportunity,” he added.

The key is to integrate all the levels of the enterprise. Bhattacharya noted the company’s challenge is how well it can put the pieces together better and faster than the competition. “That is our journey,” he said.

Information without context is useless. Bhattacharya pointed to the Skelta acquisition which has led to ArchestrA Workflow—a technology that adds actionable context to plant information.

Grant Le Sueur, director of InFusion Product Marketing, demonstrated a scenario of a leaking control valve to show some of the ECS value. The leaking valve could lead to potential loss of production, profitability or even potential danger. 

Using SimSci-Esscor Dysim, Foxboro I/A Series distributed control system (DCS), Wonderware InTouch, Avantis Pro & CM, Wonderware IntelaTrac and ArchestrA Workflow from Invensys plus integration to SAP, Le Sueur showed how the integrated solution delivers consistent operational integrity, a full audit trail for traceability, control excellence and asset excellence, plus involvement of all plant and business stakeholders to solve both plant and business problems.

So, people have written to me asking, "Does IOM have a chance?" I will take that question to mean, does it have a chance to survive. I think the answer is yes. Two years ago, it was standing on a precipice overlooking the abyss of irrelevance. It was about 18 months ago when Invensys appointed Bhattacharya to his current position, brought together the rest of the brands and charged him with reforming the company. I've asked successful CEOs about team building in this sort of environment. The answer is always, measure the teams in months, not weeks. The team has come together well. The teams obviously enjoy working together. Investment in things that matter for process professionals is back on track. So, yes, IOM has a chance to survive--and be successful.

But then, execution is everything. So we'll continue to watch performance.

Invensys Cognizant Partnership Deepens and Strengthens

I'm in a President's Club on my way to Orlando and the Invensys Operations Management OpsManage'10 Conference. This is the first year for a combined process systems and Wonderware event. I talked with Mark Davidson, vice president of global marketing and communication last week to prepare for the event, and he told me that registrations were running very well at over 1,000. I'll have reports during the week.

Look especially for news about InFusion--what it is, how it's being adopted and how it is being expanded. IOM is also big on its partner ecosystem. There will be a couple of announcements coming up later this week, I'm told, but this one was released late last week.

IOM announced in this one a strengthened strategic relationship with Cognizant, a provider of consulting, technology and business process outsourcing services. The new go-to-market agreement will accelerate the delivery of InFusion Enterprise Control System-based solutions for customers in the manufacturing and process industries.

"This agreement is the logical next step in our relationship with Cognizant. It's good news for our clients and our system integration ecosystem partners, and it's exactly what we envisioned when we joined forces on product development last year," said Steve Blair, president, Invensys Operations Management, North America. "This is a great complement to our delivery mechanism because, in effect, we have expanded our collaboration from global research and development to a strategic alliance where we will jointly deliver consulting and solutions across our mutual clients' operations and business systems, specifically focusing on large-scale, open integration utilizing the InFusion Enterprise Control System– the ECS."

"This partnership adds tremendous value to our clients," said Ravi Gopinath, president, Invensys Operations Management, Asia Pacific. "Invensys will focus on creating and delivering innovative, real-time solutions for the operations management space. These services will be complemented by Cognizant's consulting and system integration capabilities in enterprise IT solutions, especially for large-scale, enterprise-wide projects. Customers will get the combined benefit of two companies: one that is a leader in automation and operations management, and one that has deep expertise in enterprise IT, making this partnership truly unique in the industry.

“Additionally, the two companies will leverage new and existing client relationships where there is an opportunity to provide enterprise control solutions and services to support these clients. Cognizant has also certified its sales and support teams on Invensys offerings, enabling Cognizant to fully support the go-to-market model envisioned in this partnership,” Gopinath said.

"We are pleased with our maturing relationship with Invensys Operations Management," said Venkateswaran Mahesh, senior vice president,  engineering, manufacturing and retail practice, Cognizant. "By combining our deep knowledge of Invensys products with our consulting-led approach, global delivery platform and proven capabilities in enterprise systems integration and analytics, we are delivering a compelling value proposition to Invensys customers by way of industry-aligned enterprise control solutions. The success of this relationship truly underscores the power of collaborative innovation."

IOM OpsManage'10 Conference Line up

I've been a little under the weather, so the posts dwindled. Now I'm much better and have a backlog of news. This is the beginning of Fall Conference Season. Here's some information about upcoming Invensys Operations Management (IOM) conferences.

Invensys Operations Management announced a series of international events focused on enabling Operational Excellence with innovative technologies and strategies. Dubbed OpsManage'10, the series kicks off in North America at the Peabody Orlando hotel in Orlando, Fla., October 18 to 22. Additional OpsManage’10 conferences will be held November 8 to 10 in Sydney, Australia; November 17 in Tokyo, Japan; November 24 in  Seoul, Korea; December 2 in Taipei, Taiwan; November 16 and 17 in Paris, France; and December 1 and 2 in São Paulo, Brazil. For more information on the OpsManage’10 and to register online, please click.

The event series will be a multi-discipline educational experience that will give attendees an in-depth look at how the company’s InFusion Enterprise Control System (ECS) enables new opportunities for Invensys clients and partners to deliver Operational Excellence across four key areas: Control, Asset, Productivity and Environment & Safety. The latest open technologies and collaborative business models will be explored, along with the role of Invensys’ industry-leading Avantis, Eurotherm, Foxboro, IMServ, SimSci-Esscor, Skelta, Triconex and Wonderware brands, all components of the InFusion ECS, the world’s first enterprise control system.

“Last year’s OpsManage event series garnered a 98 percent approval rating from attendees, and we have put together an even more comprehensive and valuable program this year,” said Mark Davidson, vice president, global promotional marketing and communications, Invensys Operations Management. “We are offering 12 different vertical industry strategy and solutions tracks, along with product brand and user-group tracks, hands-on experiences and training that cover virtually all aspects of enterprise control, from industry and business strategy to instrumentation to connecting with ERP systems. We anticipate that more than 3,000 clients and partners from around the world will be collaborating at the OpsManage’10 event series. While there, they will be able to explore how to overcome traditional barriers to achieving real-time visibility, enterprise-wide profitability and Operational Excellence.”

This year, the OpsManage’10 Expo area will host a wide variety of Invensys ecosystem partners who will present methodologies and solutions expertise for achieving Control, Asset, Productivity and Environment & Safety Excellence. Industry-specific presentations will showcase manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, products and software experiences, and attendees will be able to participate in hands-on demonstrations of Invensys Operations Management and partner solutions. Additional detailed product and application training opportunities are also offered as part of the conference agenda. As global sponsors, Microsoft and Cognizant will be on hand to discuss the results of co-innovation between Invensys, other Invensys partners and Invensys customers using their latest technology and services capabilities.

“The success of our co-innovation with Invensys demonstrates the power of Microsoft’s partner-led approach in addressing the mission-critical needs of our customers,” said Chris Colyer, senior director, Worldwide Alliances, Microsoft. “Microsoft and its partners deliver the strongest heterogeneous platform to provide end-to-end solutions for collaboration, analytics and integration.”

The events will include educational sessions covering asset management and effectiveness, mobile solutions, safety practices, manufacturing intelligence, process automation and energy management. Forums focused on specific vertical industries, including food and beverage; mining, metals, and minerals; facilities management; power; water/wastewater; upstream oil and gas; hydrocarbon processing; pharmaceuticals; and chemicals, will also be featured.

Keynote speakers in Orlando will include Chris Trimble, business innovation expert and author of Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators from Idea to Execution, and Sudipta Bhattacharya, chief executive officer and president of Invensys Operations Management.

Video Essay process systems automation conferences