Yes, I said AvantisPRO 5.0. This is the latest version of the powerful asset management software suite that is a core product of Invensys Operations Management. It isn't quite out yet, but it will get its formal release at the Invensys user group meeting September 21.
Paul Studebaker, my predecessor as Editor of Control, and current Editor in Chief of Plant Services magazine, and I just finished a podcast interview with Kim Custeau, director of product marketing for AvantisPRO from Invensys Operations Management about the new release of the software and its new features.
The podcast will be posted on both PlantServices.com and ControlGlobal.com on Monday as part of our electronic news coverage of the Invensys North America Client Conference in Houston next week. Here's the URL for ControlGlobal.com.
Custeau said that their customers, especially their significant beta testers like Hendrick Motorsports, which is the winningest NASCAR racing team, have been very excited about the new features in the upcoming release, 5.0. “The updated solution enables role-based, online collaboration and features Microsoft Click Once Technology and other enhancements that will help clients manage the complexities of their business, improve their asset reliability and reduce their overall operating costs, Custeau said.”
"Hendrick says that they believe they would not have won as many championships as they have," she went on, "without the edge that they get from being able to control inventory and manage assets both at the engine and racecar assembly plant and at the track in the pits during the race."
“The Avantis.PRO 5.0 solution has the architecture and infrastructure to be our next-generation enterprise operations management tool,” Custeau quoted Scott Lampe, chief financial officer, Hendrick Motorsports, who participated in the Avantis 5.0 early adopter process. “In addition to leveraging the new functionality in this release, our executives, team leaders, purchasing agents and other staff will also take advantage of the ability to customize page views that will help them execute our business strategy. We look forward to quickly upgrading to the Avantis 5.0 solution to be ready for the 2010 race season.”
“Customers have been using words like ‘digestible’ and ‘tailorable’ in defining what they need from a software provider to help them manage increasingly complex business requirements. They say they don’t need more data; they need ways to make better use of it. And they need to keep costs in control. This latest release responds to such concerns by bridging the desktop and Web to visualize, manipulate and share information about the health and performance of their assets,” Custeau said.
