As manufacturers and automation providers work to bring more value to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), several small startups have ideas about how to get a better handle on all that data. One of those startups getting attention from the big guys is Bit Stew Systems.
As noted last fall, GE and Cisco were both backing Bit Stew and its purpose-built IIoT platform. GE and Bit Stew have worked together to harmonize their capabilities for the oil and gas market, tackling the challenges of data integration with Bit Stew’s MIx Core platform.
Bit Stew seems to be making lots of waves lately—announcing new additions to the global partner program it launched just at the end of last year, as well as the general availability of its MIx Developer Network (MDN), a cloud service for Bit Stew’s customers and partners.
In separate announcements last week, Bit Stew revealed the expansion of its partner program with Gray Matter Systems as a platinum reseller and Black & Veatch Management Consulting as a certified strategic consulting and system integrator partner.
The partnership with Gray Matter helps Bit Stew get its MIx technology into new vertical markets in industrial environments. Gray Matter provides process automation and data management solutions specifically in the manufacturing, water, oil and gas, and power generation industries.
“The Industrial Internet of Things has moved from vision to reality in our core markets,” said James Gillespie, Gray Matter’s CEO. “Our company has a proven track record of helping industrial organizations make smarter decisions by connecting assts to the IIoT and capturing data, and our partnership with Bit Stew will further enhance this capability.”
In manufacturing, a business could combine the MIx Core platform with the MIx Director Suite to gain a more comprehensive picture of a production operation, visually observing the integration and flow of data. For oil and gas, the technology can help companies analyze SCADA data to more efficiently manage operational costs in a market with low oil prices.
“Collaborating with Gray Matter to solve the data integration challenge aligns with the strength of Bit Stew’s core technology and our long-term growth plan,” said Jett Winter, executive vice president of business development at Bit Stew. “Gray Matter Systems’ commitment to equipping customers with long-lasting, scalable solutions to improve operations is one we share and look forward to bringing to new markets together.”
Black & Veatch, meanwhile, is an engineering, consulting, construction and operations company that specializes in infrastructure development in the energy, water, telecommunications, and oil and gas industries. Black & Veatch will use Bit Stew’s MIx technology to turn Big Data into actionable intelligence, helping customers drive new operating efficiencies, optimize asset reliability, and increase uptime. Through the partnership, Bit Stew and Black & Veatch will jointly pursue new sales opportunities in the energy, utility and industrial sectors.
“This new partnership enables Bit Stew and Black & Veatch to drive the rapid adoption of Bit Stew’s MIx product portfolio and accelerate the value of the Industrial Internet of Things for our customers,” said Scott Harden, vice president of strategic alliances for Bit Stew.
“Through this critical partnership with Bit Stew, Black & Veatch will implement advanced analytics by delivering MIx technology solutions and implementation services for our customers,” said John Chevrette, president of Black & Veatch Management Consulting.
All partners have access to the MIx Developer Network that Bit Stew recently made available. There, they can learn best practices and collaborate with other partners who develop new MIx applications. It is a fully functional development environment that provides access to tools, technologies and support to help companies quickly build IIoT applications.
Through an earlier beta release, the MDN has already been in production use by Bit Stew customers and partners such as AusNet Services, Blackstone Technology Group, DB Results, OSI Consulting, Greenbird Integration Technology, and a few of the largest California utilities.
The cloud environment enables developers to rapidly build apps that can be tailored to industry-specific use cases by leveraging the best practices, sample code, and plug-in library available.
“The outdated practice of developing expensive applications over long build cycles is being replaced by agile development practices that allow developers to add new value iteratively as more data sources are ingested and analytics are applied,” said Mike Varney, Bit Stew’s executive director of strategic initiatives and product management. “Bit Stew’s MIx Developer Network brings together all the necessary tools, technologies and support required to develop purpose-built applications for the IIoT in days, not months, moving the industry closer to achieving software-defined operations.”
