Discover Wonderware Intelligence, the Industrial Big Data solution that helps you make real-time decisions (part 1)

Wonderware Intelligence is the solution developed by Wonderware that allows the standardization and homogenization of data extraction, loading, transformation, contextualization, and analysis processes. The approach of this solution is based on the Business Intelligence (BI) concept.

Currently, there is a large number of individual and isolated applications (custom developments, commercial applications, mixed solutions) that run on different servers, have different data sources, and use different information formats, distributed geographically and with different owners.

In these environments, an integration layer that allows a reliable exchange of information between all these heterogeneous applications and the sharing of functions and processes between them in a completely interoperable manner is desirable.

Based on a shared database integration style, Business Intelligence can be defined as the set of tools, applications, technologies, solutions, and processes that allow different users to access valuable information for decision-making from different data sources.

Based on this definition, Wonderware’s adaptation arises, which coins the concept of Industrial Big Data and which in turn is defined as the set of tools, applications, technologies, solutions, and processes that allow different users to access valuable information for decision-making from data associated with industrial environments and/or infrastructures that are managed with SCADA, BMS, DCS, HMI…type systems and other transactional data. It can be observed that one of the differentiating factors of the iBig Data approach is that traditionally BI solution providers only consolidate data from transactional databases, ignoring the information generated by information systems associated with industrial environments or infrastructures.

Wonderware Intelligence is the solution developed by Wonderware based on the concept of Business Intelligence (BI) that allows the standardization and homogenization of data extraction, loading, transformation, contextualization, and analysis processes.

iBig Data solutions are developed based on ETL processes (Extract, Transform and Load):

• The extraction process consists of communicating with different data sources and the ability to read the information contained in these sources. These sources can be transactional databases such as SQL and Oracle, databases associated with industrial environments (Historian, PI, etc.), OPC servers, or flat files (.txt or .csv).
• The transformation process consists of contextualizing the raw information collected from the different data sources.
• Finally, the loading process consists of storing all this information, already contextualized, in a centralized repository that is normally called a Datawarehouse. Other databases are usually linked to this repository. A database in which the configuration data and metadata are collected and other databases that are small replicas of the central Datawarehouse, which are called Datamart.

It can be agreed that, associated with these ETL processes, there is an information exploitation process. That is, once the data is contextualized, stored, and available in the Datawarehouse, there are tools that allow this information to be exploited. This exploitation allows data mining (Data Mining), visualization of the main management indicators (KPI), and definition of predefined reports.

It is necessary to specify that more than 80% of the effort required to develop an iBig Data solution is concentrated on carrying out the ETL processes and not so much on the configuration or parameterization of the tools linked to the exploitation of the information.

Based on the concepts mentioned above, Wonderware Intelligence allows both ETL processes and information exploitation to be addressed with standard, easily parameterized solutions, allowing a staggered approach.

So, how does Wonderware Intelligence make it easier for you to develop ETL processes? What are the main functionalities of this Business Intelligence solution?

The answers in an upcoming publication on this blog, we look forward to seeing you back.