Inforbix announces Revolutionary cloud product Data solution for manufacturing companies

Revolutionary cloud product delivers affordable data applications that address the most common product data management problems in manufacturing companies: finding, re-using, and sharing product data.

Inforbix LLC., a software development company serving the manufacturing industry worldwide, today announced Inforbix Product Data Apps. The revolutionary cloud-centric service helps engineers, project managers and other team members quickly and easily find, re-use, and share product data from disparate sources and file types.

Oleg Shilovitsky, co-founder and chief executive officer of Inforbix said, “Money and time are wasted because most product data management professionals cannot locate the specific information needed without a manual search. Our system makes it easy for an engineer to pinpoint designs, specifications, and even quality control data with a mouse click. After extensive validation, we learned that as much as 40 percent of productive engineering time is wasted in data management activities. Inforbix reduces much of that wasted time.” The Inforbix system locates and pulls together product engineering data from multiple sources, systems and file types.

Added Shilovitsky, “We open these information silos and put the high-value information in a form that eliminates time and most of the frustration associated with fast-cycle product design. As manufacturing companies try to move products from design to production more quickly, a next-generation PDM system is needed. We believe we have delivered a solution that meets the needs of large or small manufacturers.”

Issues that arise from time lost searching for the right product data in a timely basis can result in substantial waste, errors, rework, cost increases, and delays. The Inforbix addresses this problem by reducing barriers to product data access and increasing the speed with which product data can be located and used.

According to Stephen E Arnold, an expert in online information systems, “The Inforbix system extracts value from product data without the time-wasting hunt for data. Traditional product data management systems do not match the needs of today’s fast-cycle engineering processes. The Inforbix approach is revolutionary.”

TIME TO RETHINK PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT

Due to financial and competitive pressures, manufacturing companies need a cost-effective way to decrease the amount of time they spend managing data. Two factors make this need particularly important at this time.

First, manufacturing is shifting from an annual update cycle to a “fashion” cycle with new products entering the channel every quarter or more frequently. Making design changes means that manual searching through electronic files or redoing a drawing which was previously done introduce friction in the engineering process. Agility demands immediate access to drawings, technical data, and quality control information about supplier components.

Second, as the amount of product data grows, next-generation content access and processing tools are needed. A Google-style laundry list of results is not useful because time is required to “hunt” for what’s needed. Said Oleg Shilovitsky, “The time needed to run multiple queries and open, scan, and close documents means that many engineers skip available systems and maintain their own files. The Inforbix solution reduces the need for manual work-arounds and, therefore, decreases the likelihood of redoing work or introducing an error into a design.”

According to Mr. Arnold, “Inforbix has developed an entirely fresh approach to product data management that other vendors have not pursued. The Inforbix approach does not require manual data management. Inforbix’s approach has been shaped by extensive market research and product validation from hundreds of meetings with manufacturing companies of all sizes.”

According to Vic Sanchez, COO at Inforbix, the Inforbix solution responds to five customer requirements.

First, manufacturers want value, not additional complexity. The Inforbix solution is cloud-based and is quickly ready to use.

Second, the Inforbix solution meshes with existing work processes. Engineers do not have to change their design work-flows. Existing work methods become easier and more efficient.

Third, the Inforbix solution includes connectors to handle standard engineering and office files. Companies want affordable access to their product data from a single screen regardless of the user’s or the data’s location in the manufacturing operation.

Fourth, information can be located, reused, and shared quickly and effectively.

Fifth, no training or ongoing maintenance is required.

PRODUCT DATA APPLICATIONS

Inforbix offers for immediate deployment two Inforbix apps: Inforbix Search and Inforbix Tables.

Inforbix Search is an app to retrieve related product data relevant to simple search term inputs. The app combines a familiar Google style search experience with semantic technology to aggregate, connect, and present product data in meaningful ways.

Inforbix Tables is an app that configures and presents product data in customized virtual tables roughly analogous to spreadsheets. The app’s tabular presentation and spreadsheet look and feel, makes it possible to slice and dice data into meaningful presentations or reports with a mouse click.

With Inforbix Search and Inforbix Tables, users derive several benefits. These are:

* Quickly completing many routine tasks and product review analysis

* Automated re-use of production, stored, and archived product data

* Real time access to information for data sharing and collaboration

* Linking product data from across the company in a virtual repository regardless of the
user’s or the data’s location.

PRODUCT DATA SEMANTICS

The Inforbix solution uses next-generation semantic technology to make sense of data which can be difficult to interpret. The system automatically reconciles information sources and applications. The system does not duplicate the functions already available in industry standard computer aided design or data management systems in use. The Inforbix system brings order to the volume and complexity of product data by indexing and providing Product Data Semantics capability across all sources of product data, including CAD files, Excel worksheets, and Adobe PDF files, and many others.

The firm’s unique semantic technology facilitates the finding and sharing of product data using proprietary methods. The system automatically inferring or taking advantage of existing relationships between fragmented product data sources throughout a manufacturing company.

A decisive element of Inforbix innovation involves the application of the latest search technologies to provide users with greater flexibility and granularity in the manufacturing domain. Unlike generic enterprise search solutions, Inforbix implements product data semantics within a
manufacturing context.

The approach makes it possible for Inforbix to automatically infer relationships between disparate sources of product data. The method provides users with the data they need and ability to discover useful data they are not aware of.

Because Inforbix understands product data in the context of CAD files, BOMs, assemblies, and other manufacturing specific data sources, search results are presented in meaningful ways for maximum value.

“General-purpose search vendors are revamping their products and services for niche markets. Inforbix is a specialist firm with a next generation search system that solves a problem in a key business sector: manufacturing. Inforbix offers a solution that addresses a real world problem. Access to manufacturing information reduces costs and improves the overall product process. Costly and time-consuming duplication of effort can be eliminated. In my experience, flawed information management means that engineers may design a common part multiple times because the previous design and drawing were easily accessible. The phrase ‘just do another one’ is a profit killer and I have heard it many times in my career,” said Stephen E. Arnold, ArnoldIT.com

CLOUD SERVICE

Inforbix delivers a cloud solution. It complements and coexists with, and adds value to, existing processes and technologies. As a result, Inforbix is significantly easier to adopt and faster to implement than any other available solutions.

PRICING

“We have successfully brought to market a solution that captures and combines the very latest Web technologies with a robust understanding of what manufacturing companies need and require from their product data. The result is the first truly affordable solution that will give everyone in manufacturing companies easy and fast access to their product data and help people make better use of their time and make better decisions,” said Vic Sanchez.

Inforbix has several affordable price plans. The entry-level plan is free. A manufacturing company, regardless of size or budget can now extract maximum value from their product data and recapture wasted time and lost productivity.