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IOM Management Strategy Momentum Increases
IOM Management Strategy Momentum Increases
By Bill Lydon - Editor, December 2010
Again this year I had the opportunity to have a one on one discussion with Sudipta Bhattacharya, President & CEO of Invensys Operations Management, during OpsManage ‘10. Last year we discussed the new organizational structure and his management philosophies. Bhattacharya is still enthusiastic about the direction of IOM. Under his leadership, people at the company seem to have renewed energy, creativity and purpose. My view is based on discussions with a number of IOM employees, partners, and Wonderware distributors, many whom I have known for a long time.The Enterprise Control System (ECS) concept is becoming the focal point for the company. ECS is the open architecture framework to integrate control systems with the enterprise while adding functions to improve business performance including MES, optimization, workflow, quality management, and asset management.
The product companies have been pulled together under IOM and have been updating the product mix with a number of new offerings including the PAC (Programmable Automation Controller), nanodac, and lower cost Triconex GPS.
The Enterprise Control (ECS) System is built around the premise that manufacturers need a system to integrate business systems and manufacturing in real-time. The concept of the Enterprise Control System encompasses everything from sensors and people in manufacturing to the ERP system. The ECS is really a re-architecting and refinement of InFusion which was introduced in 2006 and announced as, "the world's first enterprise control system." I think Invensys was ahead of the software standards, computer hardware performance, and the user adoption curve with the product.
Bhattacharya claims the IOM Enterprise Control System is unique as an integrated offering. Comparing it to demonstrations from other companies it does feel more integrated and easier to use. Truly verifying this would take an in-depth analysis. Other competitive offerings require users to knit together separate products to achieve the same level of functionality, requiring users to work with more interfaces.
I asked Bhattacharya what keeps him up at night. He is not very concerned about competitors but what might come with a shift in technology citing iTunes as an example of a disruptive technology and business model. I think this is one of the reasons he is highly committed to their Partner Ecosystem and fostering creativity in the company. He views the Partner Ecosystem as “an absolute pillar of our differentiation in the market.” Bhattacharya said, “We really see a large part of innovation, maybe 50% of our innovation, coming from our Ecosystem.” “On the one hand, I see what some of our partners have done and think why couldn’t we have done that? They did it, a 20, 30, 100-person shop and they did it so quickly.” He has already worked with some partners to productize their offering, paying them a royalty.
IOM has multiple market distribution methods depending on the product and location, with a regional president for each geographical area around the world. These presidents have a head of direct sales and indirect sales that are at an equal level. The traditional Wonderware distributors are selling the ECS as Wonderware System Platform. The ECS is defining a new class of product that may be the missing link from sensor to enterprise.
Thoughts & Observations
Under the management of Sudipta Bhattacharya and his team, the product groups have created some capable and innovative control products such as the Foxboro PAC and nondac.
The ECS offering may be a way for both discrete and process manufacturers to gain an advantage over their competitors. Companies considering implementing an MES or other plant integration will benefit from including the Invensys Enterprise Control System or Wonderware System Platform in their analysis.
I view Invensys Operations Management as two basic businesses - control systems and Enterprise Control Systems - that are designed to work well together. The Enterprise Control Systems business has a good possibility to be significantly larger since the offerings may be used with any vendors control systems.