We think we live in a digital world, but manufacturing still touches every aspect of our lives today. The cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the tools we use, and even the food we eat today is the product of an integrated global supply chain and complex manufacturing processes.
But the digital world of IT and physical world of manufacturing are inextricably connected: Successful manufacturers leverage powerful IT to monitor and manage their machines, resources, logistics and more to improve quality, reduce costs, and deliver the right goods at the right time.
For more than 15 years, Germany-based iTAC Software AG has helped companies merge the worlds of IT and manufacturing. iTAC (short for Internet Technologies and Consulting) produces highly specialized manufacturing software. Its Manufacturing Execution System (MES) suite is cloud-based, Java EE-powered application that enables IP-based monitoring and management of every aspect of a manufacturing environment – essentially turning factories and supply chains into a real-world workbench in the Internet of Things (IoT). Automotive, electronics, medical, and other discrete manufacturers worldwide use iTAC.MES.Suite to optimize product quality and increase production.
iTAC maintains a diverse team of skilled developers who clearly know how to produce powerful, useful software. So when iTAC decided to integrate Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics capabilities into iTAC.MES.Suite, the company’s developers could have built these embedded analytics capabilities on their own, from scratch.
But instead, they chose Actuate’s BIRT iHub platform to provide embedded analytics in their application. iTAC selected BIRT for its flexibility, speed, and ability to integrate seamlessly into iTAC.MES.Suite. “With Actuate BIRT, we can produce attractive, compelling visualizations in no time from application data,” said Dieter Meuser, iTAC’s CTO. “Just as quickly and easily, the BIRT iHub platform can be integrated in any IT architecture and takes on the branding and security model of the main application.”
A new Actuate case study, available for free download, explores iTAC’s use of BIRT iHub. The case study explains why iTAC chose BIRT iHub for embedded analytics and details the benefits of Actuate’s software, including secure integration, enhanced reporting, and support for the Internet of Things (IoT) – a key element of Germany’s Industry 4.0 initiative for creating smart factories. Download and read the iTAC case study today.