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  • Home > ELUTIONS launches ControlMaestro, the next-generation SCADA software platform for site-wide automation

    ELUTIONS launches ControlMaestro, the next-generation SCADA software platform for site-wide automation

    LYON, France – December 17, 2007

    New Web-enabled automation software development platform supports Windows Vista and offers engineering productivity, user mobility, high security and integration into Enterprise systems. Existing Wizcon Supervisor software will continue to be sold and supported for Windows XP systems, with the recent version 9.4 released last September.

    ELUTIONS, the world’s premier provider of enterprise asset automation and energy management solutions, today announced the launch today of ControlMaestro™ 2008, its new Site-level Automation Software Platform that dramatically improves efficiency and effectiveness for developers and users. ControlMaestro is a state-of-the-art software platform for site-wide automation that is open, complete and scalable. It builds upon 20 years of Wizcon Systems SCADA application experience and Web expertise with the field-proven, time-tested and reliable Wizcon Supervisor (now in its 9th generation) and upon 15 years of ELUTIONS M2M enterprise asset and energy management experience and wireless technologies. ControlMaestro leverages customer investments already made in over 60,000 deployed Wizcon Supervisor applications through a seamless migration path.

    In ControlMaestro a high degree of productivity is achieved using an object-oriented approach to creating an application – the developer can avoid repetitive time-consuming, labor-intensive and error-prone tasks and instead think in logical terms of how real-life objects, devices and processes interact. This frees up time to focus on user friendliness and mobility, or security for mission-critical industrial, commercial, governmental and utilities applications.

    Beyond traditional supervisory visualization, communication and control functionality, ControlMaestro also provides advanced performance Web-enabled remote access, secured enterprise architecture, enhanced engineering development productivity, user mobility, and wide-area wireless control to reduce costs and improve services.

    Summary of main benefits:
    ControlMaestro addresses some of the key concerns of developers of modern SCADA applications, namely rapid application development, portability and easy maintenance.
    • Security and traceability for mission-critical processes,
    • Engineering productivity, saving hundreds of hours of development time,
    • User mobility and wireless wide-area control, for reduced costs and improved remote service,
    • Enterprise integration, enabling connectivity to 3rd-party business management applications,
    • Future-ready, thanks to advanced technologies, including .NET, Windows Vista and Mobile.

    Overview of a few key features:
    ControlMaestro deals with real-world structures by using an object-oriented approach to build an application. Developers need not worry about low-level details, such as how communication is established. As many types of object templates as required can be defined. Once the template has been created, menial tasks can easily be repeated and any number of examples of these objects can be replicated into the application and easily differentiated, via standard functionality. Any object or property can be accessed, modified and displayed from anywhere in the application. This significantly reduces the time to build, deploy and propagate applications, drastically lowering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a ControlMaestro-based application.

    With the Audit Tool, ControlMaestro’s cross-reference utility, new developers will find it easier to take over and analyze existing ControlMaestro applications. This helps provide comprehensive information on the structure of an application, and generate personalized reports of the application structure. The Audit Tool makes it easy to find all the objects used in the application, or to find in which module a particular object is used. Common benefits include easy upgrade of an application that was developed by someone else, simpler maintenance, optimized engineering and project efficiency, accelerated development time while minimizing the opportunity for human error, as well as reduced development costs.

    Two features enable fast, error-free development of Facility Management applications. The CAD Converter automates the generation or update of Building Management System (BMS) applications directly from AutoCAD or DXF drawings. And native integration of BACnet, an object-oriented communication standard for building control, enables fast and easy development of Building Automation applications supporting HVAC equipment from 270 vendors worldwide.

    With ControlMaestro’s advanced Web platform, Supervision and Control can be performed anytime, anywhere through an internet connection. No specific development is needed to deploy a Web application that includes for example Control Panels, Charts and Event viewers. This modern, high-performance Web functionality is user-friendly with a self-configurable Web desktop. It is based on the latest Java technology and functions across multiple platforms and browsers, while offering security from viruses and data corruption.

    Most of the Web features are available on PDAs, Smartphones and Panel PCs with the help of the ELUTIONS mobility kit. With the Mobile Application Manager, customers can select the elements that they want to see on a PDA and configure each of them, for example setting the element size. Clicking the Launch button enables direct visualization of the application rendering on a PDA.

    ControlMaestro allows secured enterprise architectures. A powerful Database Logger enables pushing plant-floor operational performance data into 3rd-party business management platforms. System security for mission-critical processes can be achieved by using biometric or smartcard-based positive user identification; this can be combined with a link to an enterprise’s Active Directory for the added security of centralized user management by the enterprise’s IT resources. Process traceability is enabled with the Audit Trail, allowing full application compliance with strict FDA 21CFR Part11 regulations. Data integrity is protected using sophisticated encryption algorithms to prevent unauthorized manipulations of the core historical database. And video surveillance can be fully integrated in the SCADA console for perimeter security in buildings, large infrastructure facilities, utilities, or industrial compounds.

    ControlMaestro uniquely combines information, communication and automation systems to enable superior remote services, process security, engineering productivity, and user mobility across an entire site or multiple sites. All the benefits of this next-generation SCADA technology are easily accessible to the current installed base of Wizcon applications, “at a mouse-click” using a simple built-in application migration tool.

    Availability: ControlMaestro will be available in January 2008 from ELUTIONS Europe and its authorized distributors worldwide.

    ELUTIONS is looking for new authorized distributors worldwide to market its ControlMaestro software and wireless M2M hardware products. Please contact ELUTIONS Europe at info@elutions-europe.com or call +33 (0)4 72 47 98 98 for additional information.

    About ELUTIONS
    ELUTIONS is the premier provider of enterprise asset management solutions that help companies dramatically improve their asset performance, energy usage, and workforce productivity. With world headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and European headquarters in Lyon, France, ELUTIONS provides real-time wide area solutions used by retail, commercial, government, and industrial companies worldwide. These solutions enable monitoring and control of fixed and mobile assets, machinery, and workflows through the use of advanced M2M technologies comprising communications-enabled end-devices, wireless backhaul services, Web-enabled automation software, and enterprise ASP-hosted applications.
    Further information is available at www.elutions.com.

    ©2008 ELUTIONS. All rights reserved. Maestro, ControlMaestro, Wizcon, Wizcon Supervisor, AEM, ALERT, WLC, ELC, RX, R1600, R1200, GPIM, EPIM and SAM Meter are trademarks or registered trademarks of ELUTIONS. Windows Vista is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk. BACnet is a registered trademark of ASHRAE. All other trademarks are property either of ELUTIONS or of their respective owners.