Invensys Operations Management this week announced that it has added a Web services application to its manufacturing execution system software suite that it said allows easy integration between any shop floor application and a variety of enterprise applications.
Version 3.5 of the Wonderware Enterprise Integrator, announced this week, can be configured to connect any Invensys MES, batch management, or manufacturing intelligence application to ERP, PLM, or supply chain management applications.
This latest evolution of Enterprise Integrator replaces version 3.1, a toolkit with a basic framework for building point connections. Version 3.5 is a full-featured middleware application that Invensys co-developed with a partner, which it declined to name. Prior to version 3.5, MES-to-enterprise integration happened mostly through Invensys’ Supply Chain Connector, which is a hard-coded, point-to-point customized solution. The Web services middleware, on the other hand, is a more flexible programmable application that facilitates connections between any plant application through a variety of file transmissions, such as XML, FTP, or Web services, to securely manage messages across the network, company officials said.
Supply Chain Connector remains part of the product portfolio, but manufacturers now have more choices when it comes to integrating plant floor and enterprise applications, the company said. “Customers want to be able to purchase a product and know it is flexible enough to change with them,” said Maryanne Steidinger, commercialization director of Invensys Operations Management’s Operations & Information portfolio, in an interview. “Scalability and reliability is very important, and that is what this product provides.”