It’s on the Vista: Business, process systems aligning

In a discussion of its new system, representatives of ICONICS and ARC Advisory Group talked about the emergence of manufacturing execution and manufacturing intelligence systems as a bridge between the plant floor and the enterprise.

“The reality is that the business and process worlds

are moving closer together,” said Mark Hepburn, VP of worldwide sales for ICONICS. “Businesses need that connectivity. There’s an avalanche of investment coming into the market. People are looking for a unified management system.”

“Manufacturing is part of the supply chain,” Hepburn continued, “and you have to maximize your supply chain.”

ICONICS plans to announce its 64-bit technology shortly, and the new Windows Vista operating system also will have an impact on end users. “We’re all going to be using Windows Vista,” said Hepburn.

Craig Resnick of ARC noted that the adoption of OPC Unified Architecture allows end users to build on existing systems rather than starting from scratch. “One thing we are strong advocates for is protection of the legacy system,” Resnick said. “One of the things that’s key with OPC UA is that it connects to some state of the art technology, but it also connects to the legacy.”