|
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Product Overview |
| |
 |
|
Machine Online enables machine builders to provide production information and alerts to its clients at a fraction of the cost of a machine.
Your customers want intelligent machines capable of generating usable information. I/Gear will help you exceed this requirement in a way that leverages the latest in software development and delivery techniques
 |
This approach ensures software is easily installed, supported and upgraded. There is no need for the client to install or maintain capital intensive software or hardware.
Machine Online can be privately labeled. To your clients the solution they are subscribing to is from you. The front-end screens, web domain, etc., are branded as an offering from you, our machine builder partner.
 |
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
Introduction |
| |
| |
|
In a typical manufacturing facility there are hundreds of machines and OEM-supplied systems operating in concert to ensure a product is manufactured in a timely, high-quality and cost-effective manner. Each of these machines generates data, but aggregating this information and presenting it in a useful format is cumbersome. As a result, it is difficult to monitor production, identify trends, and respond to issues immediately, ensuring that a machine, line, or production area is operating at peak performance.
Manufacturers looking to optimize production processes and profitability are turning to machine builders and OEMs to provide information such as:
• Current view of machine status and overall
equipment performance
• Historical analysis of production trends
• Immediate alerts of concerning conditions or
machine faults
• Notification of when a machine needs service
or scheduled maintenance
• Audit trail data to document quality and satisfy traceability reporting requirements
Satisfying such customer expectations enable machine builders to differentiate their offering from their competitors and, in turn, sell more machines. Delivering this information also enables machine builders to sustain customer loyalty by providing ongoing, enhanced customer service and support. |
Beyond the end-user customer benefits, the machine builder can benefit from having knowledge as to how its machines are performing in the field. This information can enable the machine builder to identify root cause problems and re-engineer their machines accordingly. The information can provide the machine builder insight as to how to better structure warranty and service agreements.
I/Gear partners with machine builders to solve information technology challenges, improving the way your machine runs and enabling you to better serve your clients. Together, we create a unified approach to address your customers’ requirement for critical information and in doing so create a business opportunity to grow profitable revenue. We work together to maximize the value you can bring to your customers, leveraging the latest in software development and delivery techniques known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).
The SaaS approach ensures that software is easily installed, supported, and upgraded within your customer base, and we make this functionality available to you for a tiny fraction of the cost of your machine. This approach enables your sales force to spend more time selling the features that differentiate your machines.
With the SaaS business model, the information your clients want is delivered via a web browser – private-labeled and branded by you. Your clients only need access to the Internet. I/Gear hosts and maintains the solution off-site, eliminating all computer hassles for you and your clients. The clients simply subscribe to a service that is tailored to their specific needs. |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
|
| |
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Explained |
| |
| |
|
SaaS is an increasingly popular way of running and paying for software. Instead of companies hiring or contracting expensive IT personnel to install software on their own servers, they open accounts on servers that are owned and operated by the Software-as-a-Service provider. And, instead of licensing and paying lump sums for hardware, software, and third-party licenses, companies pay an annual subscription fee.
Subscribers use the software service the same way they interact with modern enterprise applications running on their own servers – through the user interface that loads into the browser.
Software-as-a-Service providers use a multi-tenant architecture. This means that like a landlord who rents an apartment building to many occupants, the provider runs a single, very large instance of the software application that is rented by all users. Within this architecture, software improvements and bug fixes can be pushed out to all users at once at a fraction of the cost of traditional premise-based, software licensing approaches. As the cost and complexity of maintaining software applications has grown, so has the number of Software-as-a-Service subscribers.
solution architecture
While traditional software runs on-premise, or inside the customer’s firewall, SaaS applications run remotely, on-demand in a multi-tenant platform. These applications, tailored to the needs of your specific market, are available to your clients via the web. No code is installed outside of the SaaS provider. |
Developing and Testing the Software
Traditional software follows lengthy development, testing and release cycles to verify the application can run in a variety of end-user client environments and platforms. Conversely, SaaS solutions are iterated continuously and developers can focus on value-add application development because of the controlled, hosted environment. Many more people can be involved in the testing effort without the negative side effects associated with PC installation and faulty beta versions. Partners are an essential group in the test cycle.
Providing the Application
Access to SaaS applications is provided via the web by a simple login. Password protection ensures security. A user can configure it without ever physically installing the software. Nothing gets shipped or installed, nor are there issues of compatibility with existing systems. The client does not have to install any server hardware or database software at their facility. In some cases, a data concentrator appliance may be necessary to collect data from our partner’s machine or system depending on the control and information technology architecture.
Licensing and Protecting the Application
Licensing is easier in SaaS because access to the application is controlled by the SaaS provider. There is no media, no copying, no copyright infringement and less risk that IP can be stolen; that means fewer legal issues between you and your customers. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Explained |
| |
| |
|
Operating and Updating the Application
The application is not installed, embedded, integrated, adjusted and setup onsite with the customer; it is operated by the SaaS provider. Machine visibility, reports and alerts are generated without any impact to the real-time machine operation. Technical support is an SaaS provider internal task. Updating the software is also an SaaS provider task. We work with you to determine which enhancements you want to activate and we make it happen. There is no technical job for our partner. You simply provide consultative insight as to how to use the information your clients now have available to them to better run their business.
Selling the Application
SaaS is a proven business model that has grown in popularity primarily because there is no capital expenditure required by the customer and no in-house IT support required. Traditional premise-based software involves the up-front cost of the software license, and the computer hardware and associated database licenses required to run the application. There is also the hardware and operating system upgrade costs on an ongoing basis. In addition, traditional software solutions come with the hidden costs of in-house IT personnel required to support the installation. SaaS subscriptions encompass the partner software application along with the hardware and associated database licenses to run it. The SaaS provider provides the technical staff to support the entire solution and eliminates all hardware concerns. |
Activating and Terminating UseIf customers want to access information and alerts on your machine, they simply subscribe to it like they would to their cable TV service. It is very easy to explore what the service has to offer. The SaaS model is scalable. New machines can be added at any time. If the clients fail to see the value in the solution, they simply discontinue the service by not renewing the monthly or annual fee.
Application Uptime and Reliability
Application up-time is greater than traditional premise-based systems. The SaaS provider architecture incorporates a redundant cluster of high-powered servers that leverage the latest in load balancing techniques. Routine backups are made and disaster recovery procedures are in place for natural disasters and service failures. Hosted servers are monitored and patched with the latest virus definitions and patches to avoid hackers. Secure storage servers host and archive all data. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
How Machine Online Works |
| |
| |
|
Machine Online is an on-demand, Software-as-a-Service offering that improves the way machines run and plants operate. Machine Online makes the “smart machine” a reality with:
• No up-front investment enabling the payback to be immediate
• No IT headaches compared to traditional on-premise software installations
• No obsolescence as new capabilities are made available to all upon release
• No capacity issues as demand loads are balanced amongst all users
• No separate maintenance or upgrade charges
Step 1: Collecting the Data
Through various methods, Machine Online connects the machine to the Internet and collects pertinent data. I/Gear’s powerful middleware technology makes integration easy.
Step 2: Hosting the Data
I/Gear’s hosting architecture enables the quick deployment of your data. Servers and related hardware and software are configured in a redundant fashion with multiple backbone connectivity to ensure the successful delivery of information. I/Gear’s powerful infrastructure guarantees delivery of your application solution and supports peak demand to process all of your customers’ transactions in an environment that is secure and reliable. |
At the heart of the SaaS model is an innovative, secure, multi-tenant architecture in which users and applications share a common infrastructure and code base that is centrally maintained.
Customers share the same physical instance and version of an application. Individual deployments of those applications occupy virtual partitions rather than separate physical stacks of hardware and software. These partitions store the data that defines each client’s business rules, fields used, custom objects, and interfaces to other systems. Multi-tenant architectures provide a boundary between the platform and the applications that run on it, making it possible to create applications whose logic is independent of the data they control. Virtual servers or partitions store code in an isolated fashion ensuring that any potential problems with that code will not affect other customers, and preventing bad code associated with one object from affecting any other aspects of an individual customer’s application. The result is a hardware/software hosting architecture that is 5-10 times less the cost of traditional on-site server installations.
Step 3: Delivering the Information
Our partners and their clients can get started with a basic connection. Full deployment is measured in terms of hours rather than in weeks when compared to traditional approaches. The benefits of receiving the information begin accruing immediately. Through a customized web portal (your domain name and front-end) the information is delivered as our partner’s product. Your client can receive notification/alerts, production reports, and traceability information via a simple user login and password.
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
How Machine Online Works |
| |
 |
| |
contact
For More information on how Machine Online can improve
the way your machines run, contact us at: |
|
 |
 |
|
|
