Invensys Process Systems, Foxboro, Mass., was upgrading its support infrastructure and went searching for a platform supplier, according to Jenny Coleman, Invensys program manager for Remote Services. This Invensys service pulls information directly from the control system of its customers for analysis by Invensys engineers. The Service Automation Platform from NextNine, an Israeli company with U.S. headquarters in New York, gave Invensys the stable, reliable platform necessary for the task. Among the important features supplied by NextNine are ease of use, support of multiple protocols, including Telnet, Secure Shell (SSH), Web and desktop, and secure communications. At the core of NextNine’s software platform is its patented Virtual Support Engineer. A small-footprint Java software that can be downloaded when needed or installed permanently at the customer site, the Virtual Support Engineer functions as an automated on-site support engineer for all support communications, automating data collection, remote diagnostics, resolution and maintenance. Says Coleman in the press release, "When reviewing vendors offering support automation solutions, the decision of which vendor to choose was made very easy by NextNine's flexibility to adapt to Invensys' broad product base, along with its ease of use." She added in an interview with Automation World that this is a classic machine-to-machine (M2M) or Smart Services play.NextNine www.nextnine.comInvensys Process Systems www.ips.invensys.com
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