Oracle has announced a partnership with Kepware to build OPC connectivity into their ERP solution. This will be interesting.
As MES professionals, we are always debating “who will win?” Is it the ERP companies, or the automation companies that will win the battle for the MES space? This seems to be a play for Oracle that tells the world, “we are coming down into automation to get the data we want.”
I will be curious what type of data repository, or manufacturing execution system database schema Oracle has, or will, put together to house this information. How will it be reported? How will it be presented? How will this data drive business logic?
I do like the acknowledgement from Oracle that there is valuable data in shop floor systems that needs to be integrated into ERP. Perhaps one they get into some projects, they will see just how fun shop floor integration projects are!
As a side note, Kepware is an awesome company, and they have the best OPC Servers in the market. (IMHO)
Original news on MBT Magazine….
I agree that kepware has the best OPC Server but they don’t have what they are talking about in the following link:
http://www.mbtmag.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6506098&articleid=CA6527355#96918.
brian
Brian,
They don’t have it now, but they are building it along with Oracle. The thing is, if Oracle can come out and say they have connectivity to automation, there are some customers that will try it because:
1.) it comes from their ERP company
2.) it is one less thing they have to buy
3.) it will be good enough
The question of who will win the battle for MES space (ERP vs. automation vendors) has been ongoing for years (just look back at the AMR Research Reports over the past 10 years).
It certainly appears automation vendors have been the more aggressive swallowing up the independent pure-play MES vendors (e.g., Honeywell, ABB, Emerson, Rockwell Automation).
I think clearly where automation is the informational ‘eyes and ears’ to manufacturing personnel (ala DCS) that they have an advantage in the MES space - the operator is already sitting in front of a DCS console.
However, MES systems I’ve worked with tend to be more ‘transactional’ which is what you find in ERP systems.
My personal experience integrating MES with both ERP and automation systems is that the boundaries between ERP and MES are a bit easier to define such that ERP and MES can exist in their own, separate domains quite nicely. I’m not sure the same can be said for MES and automation, especially as manual processes become more and more automated over time. So, on balance I think the bigger opportunity exists with automation.
Jim