P4A MD Paul Hurst challenges the market with an advanced SCADA package that is new to the UK market and offers superior functionality at an average 50% less than the competition…
Products 4 Automation (P4A) is set to revolutionise the UK SCADA market with software from leading Italian market provider Progea; offering both improved functionality and greatly reduced cost. The Movicon 11 SCADA package costs on average 50% less than equivalent systems from competitive suppliers, whilst offering comparable or superior levels of functionality, scaleability and connectivity.
“Historically, SCADA systems have been more expensive in the UK than anywhere else, and with restricted licences, rising development costs and yearly system integrator fees, have not – as a package – provided a proprietary vehicle for reducing costs,” said Paul Hurst, MD of P4A. “This situation is about to change with Movicon 11. We are able to offer users of mainstream SCADA systems all the functionality, scaleability, connectivity – and more – of their existing systems, but at a price on average 50% less. What’s more we are offering unlimited free development licences for users and system integrators and asking the market the question; are you paying too much for oyur SCADA?”
Movicon™ 11 is the first and the only SCADA/HMI platform completely based on XML and Web Services technologies, from Windows Vista™ to Windows CE™. The supreme openness and flexibility of the Movicon™ architecture makes it the perfect SCADA/HMI supervision solution, applicable to any sector in the world of automation.
Movicon™ 11 is all about scalability, openness, connectivity and security, its exclusive “XML-Inside” technology offering an all-in-one development environment for managing HMI, SCADA and statistical production data analysis and reporting applications. In addition, a comprehensive supply of powerful, open, flexible, easy to maintain and very simple-to-use tools are provided to help the user save time in system development. What this functionality means for the system developer and user alike is that Movicon™ 11 is the only SCADA they will need for use across the board, from micro applications using HMI terminals, to medium and large applications for manufacturing plants.
Complementing its integrated platform, Movicon offers unparalleled levels of openness, with XML, ODBC, OPC, VBA, SOAP, Web Services, TCP-IP and SQL technologies integrated into the platform to guarantee easy data access and transparency. Moreover, as these are standard technologies, users can rest assured that their investments are well safeguarded for the future.
The advantage of an open platform enables users to quickly assimilate and use Movicon. The software is completely based on XML, so projects are simple XML files, which can also be opened and edited with other Editors. Furthermore, the Movicon platform is always open to integration and customisation within the world of Windows™ applications: projects can be grouped in hierarchical structures and distributed or shared. Crucially, even though based on XML, projects can be encrypted with 128- bit coding algorithms, ensuring that Movicon™ 11 guarantees the maximum in data security.
Importantly, for users in food and pharmaceutical industries, the FDA CFR21 Part 11 normative is completely integrated into the Movicon platform, making it extremely simple to create FDA-ready applications. Underpinning the integrity of these applications, Movicon’s User Password manager guarantees access security by level and/or area, and its Visual Source Safe integration guarantees that all work is kept safe.
Extremely easy to integrate, Movicon excels with its powerful connectivity and networking options. The software integrates a new generation of communication drivers, which include functions such as the automatic Tag importer, remote connectivity via modem, multi-station concept for point-to-point protocols, the bridging concept for teleservices in PLCs and immediate cable testing. These drivers guarantee full configurability and the facility to communicate on event with custom VBA logic as well. In addition, its free – and inclusive – driver library, Movicon™ 11 also provides total connectivity via OPC DA, with both the OPC DA and OPC XML DA technologies, and both as Client and Server.
As regards networking, Movicon 11 offers comprehensive traditional functionality, and also enhanced efficiency and performance with emergent and multi-platform technologies such as SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and SOA (Service Oriented Application). The power of Movicon ™ networking means that a project can be Server and Client indifferent; this allows client projects to be distributed and run locally on the client, while also residing on the central server. In addition, Movicon™ networking can be applied to any business network integration according to network administrator requirements. In addition to TCP-IP, UDP and HTTP protocols are also supported, and the networking feature automatically manages remote connections via RAS.
Movicon™ 11 also excels in connectivity at the Web level, its innovative architecture, based on JAVA (which integrates well with the XML, SVG, Web Services technologies), allows server access using internet browsers in any platform (Windows™, Linux, Palm, PocketPC and Javaphones telephones (thanks to J2ME). Servers can be both Windows™ Vista/XP and Windows™ CE.
About Progea.
Progea started in 1990 in response to the strong demands for software and services in the automation field. Experience gained through the years by collaborating with leading companies has helped formed the foundations on which the Movicon SCADA platform is based. Progea’s SCADA product Movicon is now in its 11th generation, having completely re-developed the software platform, to keep pace with the latest database and software protocols, unlike many other well known branded SCADA products that rely on older database formats such as DOS.
About P4A
Products4Automation (P4A) is a specialist supplier of new and innovative software and hardware solutions to the UK market. Product ranges available from P4A include the latest touch-screen HMI’s and flat panel PCs, SCADA software and plug-ins, a wide range of SCADA enabled hardware, Alarm plug-in software for large automation systems, and a full range of Production Intelligence software solutions.
