|
 |
Friday, June 20, 2008 |
My other interview yesterday was the result of posting something I saw in InfoWorld about a SAP competitor. They saw the post, contacted me and I learned more about the company.
The company is NetSuite, and it just released some news about some partners who have built on its SaaS (software as a service, or cloud computing) platform. The Partner companies include Omnify Software (PLM), Configure One, SPS Commerce and SuiteCommerce. The company calls its offering "on-demand, integrated business management software suite" and "the NetSuite
Business Operating System (NS-BOS)." The add-ons provided by these partners move the product from ERP-type functionality to MES for light manufacturing.
Sr. Director of Product Management Malin Huffman told me that the company started in wholesale/distribution. Many of its customers were also doing light manufacturing, and their need fueled NetSuite's expansion.
The Software as a Service (SaaS) model is a growing trend. Are any of you ready to try out this new cloud computing paradigm? Or are you already using it? What do you think? I'll tell you, looking at the changes in the technology industry, especially Microsoft's Live Mesh, this is the future.
4:58:11 PM 
|
|
I promised "Sandy" that I would immortalize her on the Web. She's a clerk in Customer (anti)Service at the local Wal-Mart. I bought something at the Wal-Mart in the next city down the pike (Piqua), but it wasn't what I was looking for. I thought I'd return it to the local Sidney store. But no. Sandy stepped in. She checked a bunch of things and came back and told me that the article (reading glasses if you're curious) didn't match the tag. So she wouldn't take them back. I told her that I walked into the store, picked them up as she saw them from the rack, paid for them, received the receipt that she was staring at, and left the store. She said no way that happened. So, I told her that I didn't appreciate being called a liar and scam artist and that I wouldn't visit there again.
I was just about to write Wal-Mart entirely off my list until I decided to take the time on a nice sunny Friday afternoon to drive down to Piqua. The clerk there looked at the recipt, the material, and gave me my money back with a smile. So, here's to you, Sandy, if I buy from Wal-Mart, it's the Piqua store I'll visit.
4:09:37 PM
|
|
Yesterday I spent most of the day on the phone. Had two great interviews about new products. One was from Adobe Systems--yes, those people who bring you the ubiquitous Acrobat Reader. The company is getting very serious about engineering document management. Previously I wrote about Acrobat 8. I can't find the write up for Acrobat 9, but that offers all the usual Acrobat security in a terrific support of 3D CAD. This update is a Web based document sharing application where someone can develop document files (Microsoft Word, 3D and 2D CAD, and the like) and drag them to an update folder. The application watches the folder. When it notices something in there, it converts the file and sends it to preassigned locations.
Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite Update 1. It adds new components for rapid development of content-rich applications, automated conversion of two- and three-dimensional CAD design data to PDF and new Adobe Solution Accelerators to help customers expedite deployment of enterprise applications. LiveCycle ES Update 1 adds Adobe LiveCycle Content Services ES, a fully integrated set of content services and Adobe LiveCycle PDF Generator 3D ES, a solution for automating the creation and assembly of PDF documents from engineering product data.
This update also integrates the capabilities of Adobe Flex 3 and Adobe AIR, while leveraging the ubiquity and reach of Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Reader. Furthermore, with LiveCycle ES Update 1, LiveCycle Rights Management ES extends policy protection for Microsoft Office 2007 and PTC Pro/ENGINEER files.
Product designers can create rich, complex PDF files with confidence that the full features and measurements will be retained when viewed through Adobe Reader. LiveCycle PDF Generator 3D ES automates the conversion and integration of more than 40 CAD and other formats, which may then be policy protected and forwarded for review and collaboration.
4:03:14 PM
|
|
Mid-August will find me once again going where it's hot--Las Vegas and the Schneider Electric Ini@tive 2008 conference. The company has planned over 100 seminars over a variety of topics--many related to power and energy, but also some automation--at the exposition on Aug. 13 to 15 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. Details can be found here.
3:38:19 PM
|
|
Here's another wireless sensor network (WSN) offering. Arch Rock Corp. designs products using IEEE 802.15.4 radios but its unique take is using IP (Internet protocol) rather than another proprietary protocol.
Its new PhyNet OEM Edition allows solution providers to wirelessly connect a broad array of devices that were previously either "offline" or connected via wires, expensive and power-hungry cellular technology, or proprietary wireless mechanisms. These devices now can become part of large, resilient and secure router-based wireless mesh networks, communicating via standard IP protocols over IEEE 802.15.4 low-power wireless radio.
A new hardware/software module, ready to embed into third-party sensing and control devices, turns those devices into low-power wireless nodes that form resilient and responsive multi-hop mesh networks. These networks join the other components of the PhyNet architecture, the PhyNet Server and PhyNet Router, to form a WSN solution that the company claims can scale to virtually limitless numbers of geographically dispersed meshes, all centrally manageable within an enterprise network. The embeddable PhyNet OEM module runs Arch Rock's WSN software suite, which includes an implementation of the IETF 6LoWPAN standard for IPv6 communication over low-power radio, high-performance mesh routing protocols, full TCP/UDP services, ICMP/DHCP management, and embedded web services.
By addressing common integrator requirements such as small footprint, deployment flexibility, long field-life on limited power, and the ability to custom-tailor the sensing environment, PhyNet OEM Edition significantly expands the range of devices that can be "PhyNet-enabled." Target customers include developers of remote monitoring and control solutions for the utility, municipal, environmental and safety compliance, and energy management markets.
3:34:30 PM
|
|
© Copyright 2008 Gary Mintchell.
|
|
|
