What's better than an order you ask? How about a cool half-million for new product development, courtesy of the State of Maine. Here's the press release:
Maine Technology Institute (MTI) Awards Kepware $500,000 for New Product Development
Kepware is one of 6 companies to win an MTI Development Award in the latest round
Portland, ME, March 3, 2010 – Kepware Technologies, the leader in Communications for Automation, announced today it has been selected by the Maine Technology Institute to win a Development Award of $500,000 to spur Kepware’s embedded product development efforts.
Kepware’s communication protocols are used on Workstation, Server and Embedded versions of Microsoft Operating Systems and are recommended or resold by most of the automation marketplace. Kepware’s success in the market comes from having high quality products and the support of industry standards such as OPC, and specifically OPC DA, OPC AE and OPC UA. Kepware is expanding its market by targeting embedded applications; adding Kepware communications to equipment and devices commonly used in automation. This will facilitate growth in new and emerging markets including Machine to Machine (M2M) and the SmartGrid – Home to Grid (H2G), Building to Grid (B2G) and Industry to Grid (I2G) initiatives. Kepware will migrate its products for operation on non-Microsoft platforms such as Linux and VxWorks.
“MTI’s Development Awards are direct investments in companies that are pioneering Maine’s future through their technology innovations,” explained Betsy Biemann, President of MTI. “These awardees are companies doing exceptional work on the front lines of managing the costs and risks of new product research and development that will enable them to grow and remain competitive in the global marketplace. As we support them in their aspirations, we help usher in a better economy for Maine. With every round of Development Awards we make, we see the promise of Maine’s future.”