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Wednesday, May 28, 2008 |
Coverage of embedded development tools has not been a primary area, but there are significant things to know about whatâo[dot accent]s happening in this technology. IBM acquired Telelogic last month. Telelogic is known for DOORS, Rhapsody and Tau among other products. It has released a number of significant upgrades. One last introductory item, reference to "Eclipse" in the last note refers to an open source integrated development environment. I downloaded it when it was first out and thought it was really cool. Originally for embedded Java development, it has grown over the years. The two items I'd point out for special mention are the change management tools and the model-driven workflow engine. Workflow automation is one of the most important new things coming down the road.
Telelogic Change 5.0 allows global development teams to adopt consistent, proven processes as best practices as they move from project to project. Organizations can unite development teams around a single change management product, even if they use diverse configuration management solutions and are based around the world. This allows management to enforce common processes and collect consistent metrics, without the potential risk and burden associated with SCM tool migration. With Telelogic Change 5.0, organizations can manage and assess the impact of change to business processes, business strategy, and variation across product portfolios, enabling them to build better systems and software and bring them to market quickly.
Telelogic DOORS enables systems development teams to define, review, analyze and change requirements, trace progress toward goals, collaborate and validate results. New capabilities include a Rich Internet Application that promotes the review and discussion of requirements through Web access to the DOORS database, as well as new visual methods for managing complexity in requirements and their relationships.
Telelogic System Architect/Change Integration plus Enhanced SOA Workflow represents a milestone in governance and change management for enterprise architecture and business process analysis projects. The integration between Telelogic System Architect and Telelogic Change offers an important layer of granularity for change management as well as a formal approach to governance for projects and related initiatives, including service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process analysis.
In addition, through its enhanced integration between System Architect and Tau, Telelogic is taking the next steps to provide a model-driven workflow that helps customers implement an enterprise-wide approach to service oriented architecture (SOA). Extended Defense Industry Support through new capabilities for defense agencies, contractors and system integrators. The new capabilities include an interface between Telelogic System Architect and Rhapsody, along with Rhapsody support for net-centric operations and the Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF). Through these capabilities, Telelogic offers a seamless transition from 'system of systems' enterprise architecture through systems engineering and software development for both information systems, and real-time and embedded applications.
Telelogic Dashboard 3.5 improves decision-making by providing managers the project status and trend information they need to measure progress so that application development projects meet their goals. The new features available in Dashboard 3.5 help managers to easily work together on vital information across multiple projects.
8:07:26 AM 
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I thought I had pointed to the video of the "Last Lecture" a long time ago, but I can't find it. Steve Leveen of Levenger posted a note about the book. I read about this one from a former student who pointed to the YouTube video of it. My wife's book club is reading it this month. Randy Pausch a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, delivered this in 2007 after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Powerful stuff about how to live. Yes, there is more to life than technology.
7:04:41 AM
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Kepware Technologies is keeping the momentum going as it pushes for leadership as the connectivity company. Its latest deal is with Opto 22, one of the four founders of the OPC Foundation. It has joined the Kepware Vendor Managed Protocol program. Opto's Bob Sheffres, in the obligatory quote, hit's it right with the comment about Kepware getting scale in connectivity. And Tom Burke's comment about consistency resonates as Kepware begins putting it all together in one tested platform. OPC is widely used--and widely dissed. This initiative should bring all the pieces together for this important technology.
This program enables Opto 22 to work with Kepware to develop and maintain protocol plug-ins for KepServerEX. In this partnership, Opto 22 takes responsibility for ensuring all key aspects of their protocol is supported through the KEPServerEX protocol plug-in. Kepware takes responsibility for testing and long term maintenance of the protocol plug-in, delivering consistency across all plug-ins, and managing all Server technology including OPC and native interfaces. Finally, Kepware will make the new Opto 22 protocol plug-in available to all Kepware Software OEM partners. KEPServerEX with the Opto 22 protocol plug-in will also be available for purchase through Opto 22 and its sales channels.
"Opto 22 is the ideal company, fitting the model for our new VMP program. They are an excellent provider of automation hardware that would benefit significantly from the OEM software relationships Kepware enjoys," says Roy Kok, VP of Sales and Marketing for Kepware Technologies. "Opto 22 was the first company I approached for membership to our new VMP program and we are excited about the opportunity to work in partnership with them."
"Opto 22 has always had quality OPC Servers for our products," says Bob Sheffres, VP of Sales for Opto 22. "However, Kepware has the scale in communications to invest heavily in all new technologies, such as OPC-UA, and they have the OEM relationships to offer Opto 22 the ability to demonstrate a certified and proven communication solution with virtually every automation software vendor, from plant floor to enterprise solutions. Kepware's expertise allows our engineering team to focus on our core programmable automation controller (PAC) products, industrial I/O. and related software tools."
"We are seeing an interesting shift in the deployment of OPC technology. The increased importance of quality and reliability is driving a shift from independent development to the licensing of proven technology," says Thomas Burke, President of the OPC Foundation. "The OPC vision / goal is to be the standard for seamless 'Plug and Play' interoperability in the automation industry. What has been missing, and what has caused additional levels of support, is consistency in development and overall quality, not just in one protocol, but across them all, in any combination. Kepware has addressed those issues with the design of the KEPServerEX product, and throws in the bonus of vast OEM relationships that will benefit from any protocols they deliver in their solution. I expect this to be a very successful program for both Kepware and their partners. I am very excited about Kepware partnering with Opto 22. Opto 22 truly understands the challenges end-users face, and recognizes that a relationship with Kepware is the mechanism to meet and exceed end-user expectations."
6:55:43 AM
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© Copyright 2008 Gary Mintchell.
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