Service Oriented Architecture for MES

Citect announces the release of version 3.2 of its Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Ampla; a highly scalable MES solution that drives the effective planning, operation and improvement of production operations. Ampla V3.2 provides new features to support Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) and significantly reduce the time to develop operational reports.

"Service Oriented Architecture or SOA is being rapidly adopted as a key to enterprise architectures by leading companies in mining and manufacturing," said Colette Munro, Global Director, Ampla. "SOA allows multiple applications to provide and consume services using standards, which in turn provides our clients with faster integration and more flexible business processes. The move to SOA has also enabled us to deliver new services to our customers more rapidly."

Ampla V3.2 utilizes a new web service layer to support SOA and Ampla's web services have been designed up-front for platform independence and broad interoperability, including culture invariance, time zone independence, WS-I compliance testing and Java interoperability testing.

According to Bob Mick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group, "SOA-based solutions allow companies to assemble application components, such as data models, business rules, user interfaces, and workflows, to meet their specific business requirements. The flexibility of these 'composite applications' allows companies to reconfigure their processes more quickly and effectively in response to changing business conditions or customer requirements."

As part of its focus on standards and connectivity, Ampla V3.2 now also connects more seamlessly to standard reporting tools such as Microsoft Reporting Services, Crystal Reports and others. This allows IT departments and end-users to more easily leverage their existing reporting infrastructures. "Using Ampla's new reporting features, we have been able to build sophisticated operational reports faster than ever before," said Shaun Smith, General Manager, Primatec. "Ampla's data management is unique in it's ability to prepare data for reports."

This release also features the inclusion of an online knowledge base. "With a growing number of system integrators configuring Ampla, there is a need for access to technical articles and support," said Colette Munro. Citect Support Partners and Customers can access the knowledge base at

In addition, new support for Spanish and Portuguese (Brazilian) languages has been delivered to bring Ampla's proven ROI in mining and manufacturing to the rapidly growing South American market.

"2008 will be another challenging year for the mining and manufacturing industries," said John Ross, CEO Citect. "Strong demands for growth will need to be balanced against efficiency. Ampla V3.2 will make it easier for operations management executives to understand and improve plant performance."

About Citect

Citect is a global provider of industrial automation, real-time intelligence, and next generation manufacturing execution systems (MES). Leveraging open technologies, CitectHMI/SCADA and Ampla connect to multiple plant and business systems. Its products are complemented by Professional Services, Global Customer Support and Educational Services. Distributed in more than 80 countries worldwide, Citect solutions are installed in numerous industries: mining, metals, food and beverage, manufacturing, facilities, water/wastewater, oil & gas, power generation/distribution and pharmaceuticals. Citect has offices in Oceania, Africa, the Americas, China, Europe, India, Japan and Southeast Asia.



Contact:

Deb North

Global Communications, Citect

Tel: + 61 2 9496 7518