Managing Automation - September 2007 - (Page 27)

[ COMPANIES TO WATCH] intelligent device management QUESTRA CORP Monitoring Product Performance Remotely .: uestra Corp., founded in 2003, markets the Questra IDM Application Suite as a new way to help manufacturers remotely manage their products. The technology serves as a “last-mile connection for companies between their internal business processes and how their products are actually working out at customer locations,” says CEO Emil Wang. The concept of an always-on relationship with the customer challenges manufacturers’ traditional “out of sight, out of mind” thinking, says Glen Allmendinger, president of Harbor Research. “This is really foreign, uncharted turf.” Not all companies are gun-shy, however. A growing number of medical device manufacturers are Questra customers. Most have service teams that respond to product failures, Allmendinger says. “Do you really need that many guys driving a truck up to a hospital every day?” Emil Wang “Break-fix is the obvious, easy place to CEO start,” Wang says. The epiphany comes when Questra’s customers think, “ ‘Wait a minute, I have a lot of information [from the product] that has got to be valuable to my end customer — how can I package that up and sell it?’ ” Technology has opened the market door for Questra: The microprocessors embedded in a growing universe of products can monitor their performance and communicate that information to the manufacturer. Q i YEAR FOUNDED: 2003 PRODUCT NAME AND CATEGORY: Questra IDM Application Suite/intelligent device management INDUSTRY SEGMENTS SERVED: Medical devices, production imaging, power systems, life sciences, packaging, control systems KEY PROBLEM SOLVED: Lets manufacturers remotely monitor their equipment in the field so they can fix impending or existing problems or create new revenue streams through novel services DIFFERENTIATION: In addition to M2M hardware and network capabilities, Questra delivers applications that can be used for monitoring, usage tracking, diagnostics, and alerts. The software also integrates with ERP, CRM, service management, and other legacy applications. TOP CUSTOMERS: Cooper Bussmann, GE Healthcare, Samsung FUNDING: Venture capital-backed, including Trident Capital, Menlo Ventures, and SAP Venture Fund Allmendinger likes Questra’s prospects, assuming the company can wait for manufacturers to embrace a new way of thinking about customer relations. Partnerships with back-end systems vendors represent a key strategy. Questra is well-positioned there, having already attracted the attention — and investment — of SAP’s venture arm. — Chris Chiappinelli rfid RFIND SYSTEMS, INC.: Finding Assets, for Less R i Find Systems, Inc., founded in 2005 with the aim of providing low-cost RFID systems, earlier this year launched its flagship product, Expeditor 2D, to address the location tracking needs of manufacturers. “Manufacturers spend millions and millions of dollars every year looking for stuff,” including work in progress, finished products, and equipment used in the production process, says RFind CEO Sharon Barnes. “Many organizations have recognized that one of the number-one cost savings that YEAR FOUNDED: 2005; commercial emergence in 2007 PRODUCT NAME AND CATEGORY: Expeditor 2D/real-time location tracking INDUSTRY SEGMENTS SERVED: Heavy manufacturing KEY PROBLEM SOLVED: In sprawling production environments, manufacturers need to know — in real time — where their production equipment, work in progress, and finished products are. DIFFERENTIATION: RFind is a low-cost alternative for heavy industries. It uses smart tags to triangulate the location of assets, eliminating the need for costly access points, readers, and other RFID gear. TOP CUSTOMERS: Peerless, manufacturer of heavy-haul trailers; unnamed construction equipment manufacturers FUNDING: Private investors they can bring to their organization is knowing where everything is.” RFID-based real-time location systems (RTLS) can help, but the cost has been prohibitive, says Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx, an RFID research firm. In a manufacturing environment, a typical RTLS system involves a combination of access points, readSharon Barnes ers, interrogators, and tags. RFind cuts costs CEO by disposing of all but the tags. The hockeypuck-sized smart tags in its Expeditor 2D system communicate directly with one another to triangulate the location of a given asset. “We can install several times the number of tags without coming anywhere near the cost of a traditional RTLS system,” Barnes says. She claims that the company’s proposals are typically 20% to 50% of those from competitors, such as WhereNet Corp., PanGo, and AeroScout, Inc. RFind’s deployments range from $50,000 to $500,000, and can scale to several hundred thousand tags. The patented Expeditor 2D technology “probably could find a niche in the RTLS market,” Harrop says. On the horizon for the company are smaller tags that lend themselves to lighter manufacturing applications. For now, Barnes says, job one is building interest in a market where high costs and ROI concerns have made skeptics out of many potential customers. — Chris Chiappinelli September 2007 27

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2007

Contents Take 1 Europe’s Automation Chiefs Upbeat on ’08 Business Prospects Vendor Coalition Pushes Human Element of SOA Wireless: Users Still Approaching with Caution One Year Later, IBM Shows Plan for MRO’s Maximo Study: More Work Needed to Lure Next-Gen Talent Executive Q&A Notes Cover Story: 2008 Companies to Watch Special Report: The 2007 Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Leadership Mastery Transformation: Orchestrating the Multi-Tier Supply Network Integration: The Timeless Quest for Accurate Data Industries: Maintenance No Longer on Schedule Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.