To All:
Speaking of the plant floor information opportunity, yes there will be competition, and opportunity. The Y2K gets TAVA on track with a unique position in the market. Note that the market does not stand still, anybody ever hear of a little company named SUNW? They seem to think there are opportunities.
Web@aGlance Available for Sun Solaris Operating System; Innovative 100% Pure Java Application For Process Control From Intuitive Technology
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 1998--Sun
Microsystems, Inc. and Intuitive Technology have announced that
Intuitive's Web@aGlance software has been ported to the Sun(TM)
Solaris(TM) 2.6 operating environment.
Web@aGlance for Solaris delivers 100% Pure Java(TM) renderings of
real-time animated GUIs to process professionals.The Web@aGlance
Automation Server accepts requests from a browser, which are passed through any standard HTTP server. It gets the requested data from the data server, and presents real-time data as animated graphics and historical data as tables and charts.
Web@aGlance was recently named one of IndustryWeek's 25
Technologies of the year. According to IndustryWeek, "...factories can't usually accommodate all the people who'd like to know what's going on inside them. Even if access to the plant floor isn't restricted, it may be awkward for someone based in, say, Amsterdam to go to Detroit just to make sure the lines are running smoothly.
"But a new software application that runs over the Internet makes
it possible for anyone with a PC to monitor a wide range of
process-control information, real-time or historical, with just two
clicks of the mouse."
Web@aGlance uses Java(TM) technology to deliver live process
graphics screens from DCS, HMI, SCADA and other process applications to Web browsers. The data can be viewed in tabular form, in graphical charts, and on customized Web pages using the supplied Wizards. The Web@aGlance family also features an editor and a Java language VCR that allow for the creation and replay of historical data in an animated environment.
"Web@aGlance is a great example of the exciting capabilities the
Internet and Java technology are bringing to the process control
industry," said Reed Hornberger, director of manufacturing market
development at Sun. "Intuitive's software shows how Java computing can free factory personnel to do their work from any location. Not only
does this make life easier for engineers and managers, it can be a
critical time-saver in the case of a production problem or emergency
situation."
"The Web presents a unique opportunity to de-couple the HMI from
the control and monitor system and let it float to where the user is,
anywhere in the world," according to Dave Copeland, Intuitive
Technology president. "Users can view the console screen, including
real time graphics, from remote locations from any device that has a
browser. Web@aGlance eliminates the need to install software in the
remote system."
Web@aGlance is the first general purpose product that converts
existing HMIs for the Web. In addition to being able to convert
existing HMI screens, Web@aGlance includes an editor that makes it
extremely easy to edit or create the Java technology animated graphics displays and link them to data feeds from the Web@aGlance server. Simply by drawing objects and setting properties, critical real-time information can be linked to the graphics objects and animated within standard Web browsers.
Intuitive's @aGlance/IT is the de-facto client/server standard in
the process control industry for delivering process information to the
desktop. Most of the leading suppliers of process manufacturing
information systems currently offer their solutions as @aGlance/IT
"ready" servers. These suppliers will now be able to offer their
customers the ability to view process information, including animated
process graphics, over the Internet. Elsag Bailey, Intellution and
Wonderware are among industry leaders who have licensed Web@aGlance to implement their browser-based display systems on the Web.
Java technology, used by Intuitive to develop Web@aGlance, is
rapidly taking hold as a new computing paradigm. Organizations
everywhere have been adopting Java Computing at an astonishing rate. Of the Fortune 1000 companies polled by Forrester Research, 84 percent have been working with the Java language or had plans to do so within the year.
Businesses are discovering the increased productivity due to ease
of use and shortened learning curves for Java applications, while
programmers are flocking to the Java language because they are many times more productive and can write sophisticated applications with fewer errors than with other object-oriented languages. Once written, Java applications can run on a wide range of platforms from powerful UNIX(R) servers to PCs and embedded devices.
The Solaris(TM) operating system, the most scalable, multiprocessing, multithreaded network UNIX operating environment, offers significant advantages to meet today's most demanding enterprise challenges: competitive performance, integrated networking and database connectivity, and superior reliability and security.
Designed to be an extremely reliable, available network computing
environment, it was recently voted the "Best Internet Platform" by
Network Computing magazine. With Solaris Web Start, a Java
application, installation of the operating system and Solaris
applications is fast and easy; the standard configuration installs
with the click of one button.
Intuitive Technology Corp., based in Marlboro, Mass., is the
leading supplier of industrial strength client/server technology for
the process manufacturing industries, offering a family of products
called @aGlance/IT (pronounced "At-A-Glance") which enables PC desktop and non-PC applications to access data in large scale process manufacturing systems. @aGlance/IT products allow process control engineers, plant managers, and plant cost accountants to bring live or historical process data directly into their PC spreadsheet packages and Web Browsers.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision, "The Network Is
The Computer(TM)," has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
(NASDAQ:SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of hardware,
software and services for establishing enterprise-wide intranets and
expanding the power of the Internet. With more than $9 billion in
annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 150 countries and on the WorldWide Web at sun.com.
Sun, the Sun logo, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, Java, and "The
Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and in other countries.
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Press announcements and other information about Sun Microsystems are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web using a tool such as Netscape Navigator or Sun's HotJava. Type sun.com at the URL prompt.
CONTACT:
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Christine Holland, 650/786-4174
christine.holland@sun.com
or
Intuitve Technology
Dave Copeland
dcopeland@aglance.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA MASSACHUSETTS
BW1140 FEB 17,1998 |
