Sudipta Bhattacharya Appointed President of Wonderware

Sudipta Bhattacharya is taking on a new role within the organization as president of the Wonderware business unit of Invensys. In his new position, Sudipta will report to Ulf Henriksson, CEO of Invensys.

"I am pleased to announce that Sudipta will now be responsible for the Wonderware business," said Henriksson. "With his diverse background in core engineering and software, he brings a unique set of skills to the job and was the right choice to step into the shoes of a very successful leader in Mike Bradley."

Mike Bradley became president of Wonderware in November 2002 and was instrumental in driving the HMI and SCADA businesses, and then taking the company deeper into other manufacturing and infrastructure spaces. Under his leadership, Wonderware has consistently achieved over four years of double-digit growth.

"My time at Wonderware has been some of the most gratifying years of my career to date," commented Bradley. "After collaborating with Sudipta as an SAP business partner, and later helping to bring him in as my successor, I have every confidence that Wonderware is in capable hands."

Sudipta joined Invensys in August 2007 as chief software solutions officer. He came from SAP AG, where he was senior vice president of solutions management for SAP's supply chain, manufacturing and product lifecycle management applications.

"It is rare to have an opportunity as exciting and as large as the one emerging in this space” Sudipta said. “I sincerely thank Mike and look forward to expanding the capabilities of our solutions to reach well beyond the 100,000-plus global plants that we currently serve."

Sudipta holds bachelors and masters degrees in chemical engineering and in business administration, with specialization in marketing, finance and operations.

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Wonderware Released New Equipment Performance Module 2.0 Software Solution for Downtime/Overall Equipment Effectiveness

Wonderware® announced its Equipment Performance Module (EPM) 2.0 software, a significant update to its software solution for customers needing to track, analyze and improve equipment, line or plant downtime and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Wonderware EPM 2.0 is built on the recently acquired Factelligence® technology from the Invensys Cimnet acquisition.

Wonderware first introduced DT Analyst software to deliver equipment performance solutions and Wonderware has continued to expand architectural and functional capabilities, first with the EPM 1.0 in 2006 and now with this new EPM version 2.0. This evolution has been in response to broad customer feedback surrounding the need to get faster returns on investment, while continuously driving toward operational excellence.

Wonderware EPM 2.0 combines Invensys' ArchestrA® industrial service-oriented architecture technology with the latest InTouch® 10.0 Human Machine Interface (HMI) and System Platform 3.0 software. This powerful combination of product offerings enables significantly enhanced capabilities including the ability to correlate equipment performance metrics, such as downtime or OEE, with broader MES functions including formula management, process history, product traceability and genealogy and statistical process control.

In conjunction with Microsoft.NET technology, EPM 2.0 offers vivid graphical visualization of equipment performance. The integration with Wonderware System Platform 3.0 provides the combination of a flexible plant application model along with the richness of the Factelligence production model. In addition, EPM 2.0 offers immediate access to accurate and personalized information to the entire spectrum of manufacturing and business users. EPM 2.0 also provides expanded capabilities for localization and internationalization, bringing equipment performance software solutions to more customers and enabling them to more easily deploy consistent best practices for global manufacturing strategies.

"Within a few short months, Wonderware has been able to integrate Factelligence technology from the recent Cimnet acquisition, proven ArchestrA technology and the newest generation of InTouch 10.0 HMI visualization software to create a superior performance management solution for our customers," said Claus Abildgren, marketing program manager for Wonderware. "With the addition of Factelligence technology capabilities and our combined installed base, Wonderware has taken another important step in becoming the clear market leader for packaged MES software solutions."

Wonderware is offering complete software solution bundles that include EPM 2.0, System Platform 3.0 and InTouch 10.0 HMI. Current Wonderware Factelligence, DT Analyst™ and EPM 1.0 customers will continue to be supported on their current software releases and will be able to expand their solutions with future versions of both Factelligence and the Equipment Performance Module.

EPM 2.0 is an integral part of the scalable and integrated approach by Wonderware to production and performance management that enables incremental system expansion and the consistent rollout of corporate standards and best practices for increased business performance.

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Wonderware Releases New Compact Panels as Part of Scalable, Enterprise-Wide HMI and SCADA Offerings

Wonderware® announced the addition of new compact panels to its industrial computer product line. The new panels are the entry point to the latest integrated and scalable Wonderware HMI and SCADA software solutions that can manage a single machine, production line, complete plant or a customer's entire automation and information enterprise.

Wonderware Compact Panels are an ideal alternative to standalone, proprietary operator interface panels. The panels combine robust hardware with powerful Wonderware human-machine interface (HMI) software to provide a comprehensive solution for supervising and managing industrial and manufacturing operations.

The new Wonderware Compact Panel computers offer superior ease of installation and a competitive entry-level price point by bundling a subset of the latest HMI runtime functionality of InTouch 10.0 software with rugged, industrial touch-screen operator panels running Microsoft® Windows® CE v6.0 software. The panels are offered in a range of screen sizes and are manufactured to comply with various industrial environment ratings including NEMA 4X/IP 66 and Class 1, Div. 2.

In contrast to proprietary operator interface panels, Wonderware Compact Panel computers enable customers to benefit from a common visualization strategy from the smallest devices to a network of servers or hundreds of clients all operating and managed with a common, easy to use Wonderware software toolset.

The new Wonderware Compact Panels are configured and managed via the newly introduced Wonderware Development Studio, which is designed to enable IT and engineering teams to collaborate on software application modeling, development, change management and deployment across the full range of Wonderware software applications. These applications include the latest InTouch 10.0 HMI software, System Platform 3.0 software and ArchestrA® technology-based applications modules from Wonderware. Compact Panels complement existing industrial computer offerings from Wonderware and are designed for original equipment manufacturers, machine builders and customers requiring a local, yet networked panel-type solution.

Wonderware now provides a single, unified software platform for all plant visualization applications with universal data connectivity, rich extensibility and support for a wide breadth of the latest modern hardware including multi-core servers, desktops, touch panels, box PCs, tablets, thin-clients, and now, Microsoft CE-based panel computers.

"Wonderware Compact Panel offerings enable customers to utilize the new InTouch 10.0 software consistently across all devices in a plant at an extraordinary value," said Phil Couling, Wonderware marketing program manager for supervisory HMI. "The Wonderware reputation for high-quality standards and easy-to-use products which customers have relied on for more than 20 years continues with the Wonderware Compact Panel computer product line."

Wonderware can now serve as a single source for customers by providing the world's leading HMI software fully integrated, pre-installed, licensed and compatibility-tested with these best-of-breed panel computers. Its innovative software approach with ArchestrA-based applications enables companies to significantly improve their bottom line by retaining current application engineering investments and delivering new efficiencies with rapid standardization of software solutions across a customer's organization.

"The Wonderware Compact Panel computers include a bundled package of hardware and runtime software, which is ready to use right out of the box," Couling said. "The Wonderware Compact Panel computers will enable engineers to save time by creating applications in only one development environment instead of using multiple proprietary operator interface products. Additionally, the Compact Panel computers are designed to lower training time and improve HMI familiarity and accuracy through the use of one common user-friendly interface."

To address the international market, Wonderware Compact Panel computers also can operate Windows CE v6.0 with Microsoft's localized Multilingual User Interface. HMI applications can be created in English, German, French, Japanese or Simplified Chinese.

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Wonderware Introduces Major New Software and Hardware Offerings to Help Customers Achieve Breakthrough Performance

Wonderware Announces New InTouch® 10.0 HMI, System Platform 3.0 software, Compact Panels, Development Studio and Online "Wonderware Breakthrough Experience"

These new offerings coexist and interoperate with existing systems and software from Wonderware and other vendors. Wonderware also is launching the new Internet-based "Wonderware Breakthrough Experience" to provide operations, engineering and IT personnel with first-hand experience of the capabilities of these new offerings.

"These releases represent some of the most significant breakthroughs that Wonderware has delivered in its 20-year history," said Mike Bradley Sr., Wonderware president. "We have invested more than 100 person-years to ensure that these offerings and our channels can deliver on real-world software performance and productivity that will continue to enable our customers to meet some of their toughest operations, engineering and IT challenges."

InTouch 10.0 software is the next breakthrough generation of the world's most popular HMI software and adds new innovative ArchestrA graphics capability. The intelligent graphics capability, along with direct support for Microsoft .NET technology, enables InTouch 10.0 HMI to provide enterprise-wide visualization for a wide range of real-time applications. With more than 200 new features, InTouch 10.0 HMI delivers the latest intuitive graphical interaction and animation techniques for maximum operator response and comprehension, while minimizing design and engineering efforts.

"The manufacturing community has spoken loud and clear that they expect their automation suppliers to protect their application investments, even if it was a solution deployed in the 1980s on a legacy Windows operating system," said Craig Resnick, research director, ARC Advisory Group. "ARC is a strong advocate of solutions that offer migration from legacy to state-of-the-art functionality while not disrupting a manufacturer's production schedule or requiring a significant amount of time or work. It appears that Wonderware has met this challenge by enabling customers to take an InTouch software application that was developed 20 years ago on Windows® 2.0 and have it continue to operate with the latest version of InTouch 10.0 HMI running on the newest Windows Vista environment, without any significant effort or loss of production time for the manufacturer."

The new Wonderware Development Studio provides a unified environment, which empowers the collaboration of IT and engineering teams to perform software application modeling, development, change management and deployment across the full range of Wonderware software applications -- including InTouch 10.0 HMI, System Platform 3.0 and associated application modules. Using the Wonderware Development Studio, applications can now be deployed across a wide range of enterprise devices running on Windows Mobile®, Windows® XP, Windows Vista™ and Windows Server® 2003 operating environments.

The Wonderware Development Studio supports the industry's broadest range of plant floor and business system connectivity products and technologies. It is compatible with more than 325 I/O servers and DA servers, and provides support for OPC, XML, SQL, SAP Netweaver and Microsoft .NET. As a result, users benefit from having one highly productive tool for building, integrating and maintaining virtually all of their manufacturing and industrial operations software applications.

Wonderware System Platform 3.0 delivers major runtime performance updates to the Wonderware Application Server, including the ability to take full advantage of the latest multi-core microprocessor technology. Wonderware System Platform 3.0 also provides a rich set of software services for creating, deploying and managing distributed real-time applications, with faster time to value and with lower life-cycle costs. System Platform 3.0 works seamlessly with InTouch 10.0 software by offering complete integration of ArchestrA application objects with ArchestrA graphics running inside InTouch HMI visualization. Wonderware is offering discounts for customers that upgrade their existing InTouch software licenses to InTouch 10.0 software and additionally purchase the Wonderware System Platform 3.0 and customer support.

The new Wonderware Compact Panel offerings provide unprecedented ease of installation and a new entry price point by bundling a subset of InTouch 10.0 HMI runtime functionality, along with rugged, industrial touch screen operator panels operating Windows CE 6.0. A range of screen sizes and industrial environments can be supported with these devices including NEMA 4X/IP 66 and Class 1, Div. 2. Customers can now have a common visualization strategy from the smallest devices to a network of servers and hundreds of clients -- all utilizing InTouch 10.0 software and the common Wonderware Development Studio.

"In collaborative manufacturing, it's critical to get the right information to the right employees so they get the data and insight needed to do their jobs better on a daily basis," said Chris Colyer, worldwide director, manufacturing operations strategy at Microsoft. "These new offerings from Wonderware leverage the latest technologies from Microsoft to deliver innovative new ways of tying people and information together."

To take the Wonderware Breakthrough Experience, visit www.experience.wonderware.com.

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Wonderware Releases DA Servers Providing High-Performance Connectivity Options to Omron PLCs

Wonderware announced the release of four new DA Servers for connectivity to Omron programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These advanced device connectivity servers are designed and tested to support the Omron FINS Serial, FINS Ethernet, HostLink Serial and E5 Series protocols for communicating to a variety of Omron PLCs and temperature controllers.

In addition, the new servers are compatible with the Wonderware DA Server Runtime Components 2.0 SP1, which significantly increases connectivity performance.

Wonderware DA Servers leverage industry standards-based ArchestrA technology, Wonderware SuiteLink™ protocol, OPC technology and DDE to provide multiple connection options for Wonderware software to work effectively with third-party products and OPC-compliant devices and applications. These servers also support simultaneous connectivity to multiple client nodes and are designed to enable users to easily expand existing supervisory HMI, SCADA and production and performance management applications.

Wonderware DA Servers incorporate advanced functionality through a user interface, facilitating local or remote, on-the-fly/hot-configuration changes. Users can add new devices and nodes to the network without taking the DA Server offline. With these capabilities and support for runtime changes and robust server diagnostics, the DA Servers simplify system maintenance and administration. Migration to these enhanced DA Servers is designed to be a simple and seamless process.

"For those currently using Wonderware I/O Servers for Omron I/O, the Omron DA Servers provide a path to the latest, state-of-the-art DA Server technology from Wonderware," said Kevin Rowley, device integration product manager for Wonderware. "These new DA Servers are the most recent addition to the Wonderware family of DA Server products, which are designed to provide customers tighter integration capabilities with device and control networks, reducing the amount of configuration necessary for device communications. Wonderware is committed to providing its customers with connectivity software solutions that offer optimum performance and simplicity by significantly reducing the need for additional PLC hardware and vendor-supplied middleware."

DA Servers for connectivity to Omron PLCs comply with the OPC 2.05 protocol, enabling interoperability with any OPC client application. Additionally, OPC clients can browse the DA Server's configured tag database and easily obtain device tags for use in client applications. This timesaving feature provides a convenient method for retrieving and building a tag database within the client application.

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Customer Support Shipment Volume II 2007 Released Mid-October

We are pleased to inform you that the Customer Support Shipment Volume II 2007 began shipping mid-October 2007, as scheduled. This is a substantial release as the shipment contains the new InTouch® 10.0 HMI — made available for free to all Customer Support Subscribers.

The shipment also contains a DVD with the latest recorded online seminars (28 sessions in all) from Wonderware Training with topics ranging from Industrial Application Server – Tips and Tricks to InTouch HMI Alarming Basics.

You will be pleased to know that the latest Customer Support Shipment was distributed in a new convenient binder and will hold over 100 CDs. Wonderware Customer Support is providing this binder to assist you in creating a convenient, single repository for all past and future Wonderware product releases and technical reference materials.

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