Omnitrol introduces First M2M and RFID platform integrating Google’s JavaScript-V8 Engine

Omnitrol's EASE 4.0 extends the Google Javascript-V8 engine by encapsulating real-time event-processing complexities in M2M and sensor-driven software solutions, enabling Javascript-V8 applications to be deployed in mission-critical environments. EASE 4.0 seamlessly extends Javascript-V8 applications with hot-standby fault tolerance, hot-deployment without downtime, real-time complex event processing, priority queues and in-memory database services -all key requirements in physical-world operations.

Omnitrol Networks Selected by Firstlight Foods and TRiDENT RFID to Integrate RFID Tracking and Traceability in Meat-rocessing Plants

Omnitrol Networks announced today that it has partnered with TRiDENT RFID to supply an RFID-based solution to Firstlight Foods to automatically capture complete pedigree, and track venison and beef processing in real time. TRiDENT RFID is a leader in integrating RFID technology in the fresh produce sector, overcoming well-known barriers associated with using UHF RFID technology to track high water content products like meat and produce. The solution will enable Firstlight Foods to automatically track venison and beef production, and to accurately generate electronic meat pedigree records enabling field-to-fork traceability.

Read more or watch the video here.

Omnitrol Networks' Platform Selected By BT to Provide Retailers with Real-Time Inventory Traceability and Predictive Replenishment Services

The momentum continues around our Retail Shop-Floor Inventory Tracking Solution.

Omnitrol Networks has been selected by BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services, for the deployment of RFID-based retail inventory solutions.

BT, behind Europe’s largest RFID retail deployment, will collaborate with Omnitrol Networks, to deliver proven and innovative merchandise tracking and visibility solutions for retailers around the world.
The solutions will track actual inventory movements and item-level velocity by stock keeping unit (SKU). They will deliver proactive real-time replenishment alerts and visibility for retail store managers. This will enable near-perfect tracking accuracy and forecasted inventory levels, which will help retailers dramatically increase employee productivity.

What makes this announcement significant is that other fully integrated solution providers don’t have the reach and RFID pedigree to support the global deployment of their solutions. Global retailers have specific requirements that require significant development/customization for the other solutions. Because of the proven OMNITROL platform, the new solution only requires configuration changes and minimum customization to meet new requirements. By combining this level of versatility and performance with BT’s global reach and IT expertise, the companies are now poised to deliver a truly global, RFID-based retail solution.

CHEP selects Omnitrol Networks' platform to deliver technology for the development of a track-and-traceability solution

CHEP is a global leader in managed, returnable, and reusable packaging solutions, serving many of the world's largest companies in sectors such as consumer goods, fresh produce, beverage, and automotive. CHEP’s service is environmentally sustainable and increases efficiency for customers while reducing operating risks and product damage.

This represents one of the most important scale deployments of RFID technology. We are really happy to help CHEP in their endeavour to provide visibility to their large network around the world. This is also a great endorsement for our work to deliver a real-time collaborative and operational intelligent supply-chain network. Read the news release here.

Omnitrol Networks Closes Funding Round to Meet Accelerating Demand

Omnitrol Networks announced today that it has closed a round of financing with Javelin Venture Partners and several existing investors. A select group of new strategic individual investors also participated in the round, including Puneet Arora, the former CTO of TIBCO Software.

The financing round brings Omnitrol Networks' total investment since inception to approximately $15 million. The company has also been previously backed by Westlake International Group and individual founders. The capital will be used to expand sales and marketing, and help accelerate key initiatives in response to sustained industry growth.

Read the complete news release.

NTT Multimedia Deploys Automated Mobile Asset Tracking from Omnitrol Networks

A little bit of background about this division:
NTT Multimedia Communications Laboratories, Inc (NTT MCL) was founded as a division of NTT America in 1996, and incorporated in 1998 by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT). NTT is a leading global provider of telecommunications services to pursue the commercialization of advanced technologies that would leverage NTT’s expertise in multimedia communications. Since then, NTT MCL has evolved into being the only overseas advanced research and development arm of NTT Communications.

After evaluating available solutions, NTT MCL selected the OMNITROL Asset Tracking solution utilizing RFID sensor technologies from Impinj and Omni-ID. The appliance-based OMNITROL Asset Tracking solution used Impinj Speedway Revolution RFID readers with circularly polarized antennas deployed at the facility entrance/exits. The RFID readers are managed directly by the OMNITROL appliance running the OMNITROL Asset Visibility Edgelet, which implements sophisticated status, presence, identification, and directionality algorithms to determine what asset is moving where, with a very high degree of reliability.

Complete press release here.

Omnitrol Networks Takes Best-in-Class Ranking from RFID.net

RFID.net has awarded Omnitrol Networks a best-in-class ranking among intelligent sensor network software and appliance makers.

"Our team of experts found that the Omnitrol Networks solution not only outperformed and out-scaled competitive offerings, but also saved tens of thousands of dollars in hidden costs," wrote Louis Sirico, President of RFID.net.

Here are some of the key differentiators that RFID.net identified:

• device-agnostic support for RFID readers, printers and encoders, Real-Time Location Services (RTLS), PLC controls, digital and analog sensors, and metering and operator feedback devices;
  
• integration with commercial databases, ERP and other back-ends;
  
• a secure distributed smart-agent software framework;
  
• a built-in service creation and sensor emulation environment for rapid delivery of business intelligent applications.

Read more here.

Hobart Machined Products Deploys Omnitrol Real-Time Supplier Collaboration Solution

Hobart Machined Products is a manufacturer of precision parts for the aerospace, medical, automotive, and electronic industries. Over the past 32 years, Hobart has earned a global reputation for consistent high-performance ratings and customer service excellence in complex mechanical and airframe assembly design, engineering, and precision machining.

Aerospace and other manufacturing industries have accelerated outsourcing of manufacturing operations to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. However, moving some of the operations outside of the physical four walls of the factory has created “dark areas” in the manufacturing visibility process. As a supplier to Boeing, one of the world’s largest manufacturers, Hobart was looking for ways to address this problem and become a better supplier. It wanted to provide real-time production visibility to its customers to alleviate any fears of missing mission-critical deadlines.

The Omnitrol solution has simplified the process of entering and tracking customer orders through a web portal that can be securely accessed anytime from anywhere. By choosing an integrated solution from a single vendor, Hobart benefits from a seamlessly integrated view, from customer orders through to their inventory system, to generate an extremely accurate production forecast with customer feedback capability. Based on what is available or expected to arrive in the warehouse, the system gives Hobart's employees a detailed view of what they will be able to kit, assemble, and produce now and in the future.

You can read the news release here.

Omnitrol Networks releases Retail Shop-Floor Inventory Tracking Solution for Apparel

Another great example of collaboration, we are now ready to release this solution to our partners and channels. Large retail companies can offer wide selections of clothing and have advantages in purchasing, distribution, and marketing while smaller stores can compete by offering unique merchandise, targeting a specific demographic, providing superior customer service, or serving a local market. All retail stores across the industry share a similar and very labor-intensive model when it comes to inventory tracking and inventory replenishment. New competition in recent years has come from discounters and from catalog and Internet retailers. Cost reduction is a key goal for apparel retailers.

Until now, solutions were "tailored" solutions. Thanks to our partner, we have been able to bring up an easy-to-install solution that can provide immediate visibility on apparel item movement and address the out-of-stock problem. Out of stock situations cost the industry nearly $90 billion every year.

Custom Apparel Manufacturer Goes Live With Omnitrol Networks Real-Time Manufacturing Visibility Solution

Another customer example of the benefits of using intelligence from the network to drive profitability. I'm really fascinated by the innovation that some of our customers bring to the table when it comes to deploying technology for their own specific requirements.

The learning curve for employees at Bay Creek Manufacturing was minimal and they were able to start using the new system very quickly. Operational managers were immediately able to start viewing the real-time order location and status using web-based interfaces. They were able to quickly identify bottlenecks by noting any manufacturing workstations with longer-than-expected production cycles. By analyzing the order histories, Bay Creek could start mapping out buying patterns which enabled them to plan for the future by anticipating client needs thereby improving the client/supplier relationship.

You can read the entire news release here.

Omnitrol Networks: A Top 5 Manufacturing Intelligence Vendor, say Managing Automation readers

Omnitrol Networks has been named one of the Top 5 vendors in manufacturing intelligence by Manufacturing Automation readers. This is the result of Omnitrol offering a complete pre-integrated solution that provides predictive analytics based on information collected by sensors. The challenge is not only to manage the vast amount of data coming in real time from a multitude of automated sensors but to make sense of what needs to happen immediately versus what needs to be archived for further data mining.

You can learn more about this by reading a very recent white paper I authored.

Omnitrol Networks enters relationship with BT Global Services to Deliver Real-Time Supply-Chain Visibility Solutions

We built our software with telco scale, performance and reliability in mind, it's only natural to see telco operators joining forces with us to deploy network-based solutions. But what's more exciting is to work with a leading technology integrator such as BT who has so much experience in the supply chain IT services area. You can read more here, but here's a short excerpt:

"We were previously developing customized solutions to address customer needs in the RFID market, which was quite costly and time consuming," Keith Sherry of BT Supply Chain Solutions told RFID Update. "Omnitrol gives us an appliance that can accept multiple sensor input and a platform for processing the data, which is enabling us to create solutions where we wouldn't otherwise be able to show a strong ROI."

Omnitrol Networks bolsters RFID edge application software, releases industry’s smallest middleware appliance solution

We are in GA! The new release of EASE comes with a new development environment (SDK) that allows our partners to quickly develop new SDL-based Edgelets with an intuitive user interface. The new release also comes with an upgraded emulator to complete the picture.


Time to development is an important part of our value proposition but ease of deployment is also very critical; this is why this new software release comes with a new small foot print appliance. The new OMNITROL Nano is both a plug-and-play solution, and practically plug-and-forget. A manufacturing company can have a complete OMNITROL-based track and trace solution up and running in less than 60 minutes, and need only maintain it when they add more sensors.

Read more here.

Endwave Receives Award for Manufacturing Innovation

I can't tell you how I felt watching one of our customers getting not one but two awards for what they have achieved as a result of using our software.















Congratulations to the Endwave team!

Omnitrol Networks Named a "Cool Vendor" in Manufacturing by Leading Industry Analyst Firm

In their recent report, Dan Miklovic and Andrew Hughes designated Omnitrol Networks as a “Cool Vendor” for Manufacturing. The Omnitrol Networks’ Work-In-Process tracking application software provides connectivity, real-time operational visibility and workflow management on the shop floor for business leaders and manufacturing plant managers.

According to the report, “Manufacturers with operations that include processes that are not fully automated should consider a combination of hardware and software solutions to provide end-to-end process integration.” Moreover, “Manufacturers have traditionally been receptive to using small vendors that bring innovation and leading-edge functionality, particularly at the plant level.”

Gartner defines a cool vendor as a company that offers technologies or solutions that are: Innovative, enable users to do things they couldn't do before; Impactful, have, or will have, business impact.

Omnitrol Networks selected by Endwave for automated RFID-based manufacturing tracking solution

Another great success story for our customers and Omnitrol Networks. Endwave’s Defense and Security business unit is a supplier to both the defense electronics and homeland security industries. As such, their products are under intense scrutiny since they are components of mission-critical systems that are essential to safety and success. Furthermore, key defense contractors and the Department of Defense are starting to request real-time visibility on order status to improve the performance of their own lean manufacturing process. The project focused on automating work-in-process visibility on the assembly line to report progress and needs to customers, management, and suppliers, while also reducing waste and delays in the manufacturing process. Read more about it here.

The MSA Lab at UTSA selects the OMNITROL appliance for research, education, and training

I always believed in winning the developers' hearts and minds by starting with universities. There are no dogmas, no NIH syndrome there. New technology is not seen as a risk but as an opportunity to do things better. The team at the University of Texas San Antonio is working on some really interesting projects involving supply chain visibility, manufacturing and the aerospace industry. Read more here.

Managing Automation selects Omnitrol Networks as one of top 10 companies to watch in 2008

The momentum continues with more recognition from the industry. More on the announcement here. Although the manufacturing industry is hurting from outsourcing to China, we are finding more and more customers looking for cutting-edge innovation to create unique value. This industry epitomizes the arms race going on.

Frost & Sullivan Acclaims Omnitrol Networks

Based on its recent analysis of the North American RFID middleware and software market, Frost & Sullivan has presented Omnitrol Networks with the 2007 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation. This is a significant recognition from a leading influencer in the industry.

It feels good to see our value proposition resonate with customers (i.e. Boeing) and industry subject matter experts as we are building the Ubiquitous Network infrastructure. Here are a few quotes from their press release:

• "The OMNITROL was designed as a Telco-grade network appliance with as many applications and standard protocol options as possible, giving it unique versatility compared to other products in the market," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Brendon Ouimette.


• "The Omnitrol EASE software platform is built to be able to create and manage business process applications and to be able to develop and implement new ones from a Web-based interface," stated Ouimette.


• "When new applications for RFID technology become available, the OMNITROL is capable of being quickly upgraded to meet these new business demands by virtue of its devices adaptation and services deployment software application layers and its panoply of I/O hardware interfaces."

Boeing Phantom Works uses Omnitrol Networks' Open Application Network Appliance

As Boeing has transitioned to being a leader in systems integration, it has created an extensive network of internal and partner manufacturing operations. The cognitive factory includes a complex global supply chain, numerous Boeing sites, and interaction with multiple customers’ logistic locations. A network-enabled manufacturing approach will minimize infrastructure needs, ensure rapid deployment of productivity enhancements, and provide for unlimited incremental expansion through the newly-created lean supplier network. Read the complete news release here.