Wonderware Confidential: Interviews with the Movers and Shakers within the Wonderware Organization

Mike Bradshaw, Director of the Global Wonderware OEM/VAR Business

Mike Bradshaw has worked in automation and control for 17 years. He initially joined the Wonderware family in October 1995 as a Sales Engineer for Wonderware's UK distributor Pantek Ltd. Then he joined Wonderware's OEM group in September 2000 to manage and develop sales of Wonderware products to OEM customers outside of the Americas. In 2003, Bradshaw worked on the ArchestrA Sales team focusing on OEM/VAR customers in EMEA. Today, Mike Bradshaw serves as Wonderware's Global Director of the OEM/VAR Business.

In this interview, Bradshaw discusses Wonderware's OEM/VAR Business and which Wonderware offerings present the most significant benefits for value-added resellers and original equipment manufacturers.

What is your department's mission and background?

Mike Bradshaw: The Global OEM/VAR Business is responsible for maintaining strong relationships with Wonderware's Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Value-Added Resellers (VARs), and for finding new customers within this extremely important market sector. Our global department includes me, based out of the United Kingdom, as well as:

• Peter Karlsson, OEM/VAR Sales Manager for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), based out of Sweden;
• Alynn Burk, OEM/VAR Sales Manager for the Americas, based out of Wonderware's headquarters in Lake Forest, California, USA; and
• Jennyne Sanchez, Program Administrator, also based out of Lake Forest.

Currently, I also look after the Asia-Pacific region.

How would you characterize Wonderware's presence in the global OEM/VAR market?

Mike Bradshaw: The OEM/VAR Business represents a significant portion of Wonderware's overall revenue. Over the last five years, the OEM/VAR Business within Wonderware has grown at a rate greater than the overall company. This shows great signs of this trend continuing. It is my firm belief that our OEM/VAR business opportunities can add significantly to Wonderware's total revenue. It is therefore very important to us.

What benefits does your OEM/VAR Program offer value-added resellers and original equipment manufacturers?

Mike Bradshaw: When someone from our sales team engages a potential OEM/VAR customer, we first assess that customer's needs and how we might help them address their issues. As we have a magnitude of experience in many markets, we also recommend solutions based on Wonderware's capabilities that can lead to incremental revenue opportunities for these OEM/VAR companies.

We aim to take this win-win relationship to a higher level than they would experience with another potential vendor. After discussing technical issues and mutually deciding what's required, we base pricing on a number of factors. Wonderware can offer OEMs and VARs some very unique benefits because we are the only major provider of industrial automation and information solutions that remains independent of a PLC vendor. This independence enables us to provide truly open systems. Wonderware is typically the market leader in all the geographic territories to which the OEM/VAR may supply, thereby creating an unequalled opportunity for market acceptance.

What can VARs and OEMs expect from Wonderware in the next six months?

Mike Bradshaw: Over the next 6-12 months, Wonderware will offer some great new products, as well as some exciting new business opportunities for VARs and OEMs. In fact, we have already begun contacting certain customers (who have signed a non-disclosure agreement) to discuss these exciting developments. Anyone else who is interested in a sneak preview of Wonderware's new offerings should contact their regional OEM/VAR Sales Manager. Once we are in a position to openly disclose these developments, I will provide more specific details — so watch this space!

Which specific Wonderware solutions and services do you particularly recommend for VARs and OEMs?

Mike Bradshaw: Good question. It really depends on the market the OEM/VAR serves. But we are seeing more and more of our customers seeking additional opportunities for revenue generation.

As such, Wonderware's historian, analysis clients and Equipment Performance Module will empower VARs and OEMs to pursue more opportunities pertaining to maintenance services.

The Equipment Performance Module comes with a QuickStart comprised of pre-defined objects for capturing data on downtime events, efficiency and KPIs. It also contains pre-configured InTouch® SmartSymbols for displaying information on equipment performance. This QuickStart will enable VARs and OEMs to develop applications more cost-effectively and faster than ever before.

Secondly, since we launched our OEM/VAR Industrial Application Server runtime, which is suitable for single-node implementation, our OEM and VAR customers have found that the ability to re-use application objects gives them significant savings in the areas of upfront development and system maintenance. The interesting thing is that these companies are not trying to reduce the engineering staff as a result of these savings. They are actually telling us that their engineers are not only more productive, but they are able to create additional functionality that benefits their end-customers, and that can't be a bad thing.

Thanks for your time, Mike.

Mike Bradshaw: No problem; it was my pleasure. Just make sure you invite me back when we can disclose more information about our upcoming developments. Thanks.