ARMONK, NY — IBM announced the release of WebSphere Premises Server version 6.1, a software product that enables business process transformation by responding to the insights provided by sensor data. The product will enable companies to gather, analyze, and act upon data from passive and active RFID tags and other sensors to improve their ability to react to real-world events that impact their operations and business results.
"The WebSphere Premises Server is IBM's software foundation for extracting the business value from sensor data," said Martin Wildberger, vice president, sensor solutions, IBM. "This release takes advantage of IBM's industry leading business process management software to allow customers to improve business processes and drive competitive advantage through the use of sensor data."
Innovative companies including Amerisource Bergen, DHL, Honda Italia, and Metro use IBM sensor technologies to access previously unavailable business information. They have taken sensor solutions far beyond the "does it work?" stage to the critical phase — "what does this mean for my business?" The solutions used by these companies demonstrate that sensor technologies can improve key business processes in many different areas including work in process tracking, the retail customer experience and supply chain visibility.
Today there are many new opportunities to draw useful business information from an infrastructure of networked sensors, including passive RFID for object identification, active RFID for location information, and other types of sensors for condition information such as temperature, vibration, humidity, or other important status or environmental factors. This kind of information can illuminate previously "dark" areas of business execution, such as the location of a pallet of items after it has been delivered to a customer location.
IBM's WebSphere Premises Server makes it simpler than ever to establish a complete sensor solution. The product serves as a single-platform that enables process innovation based on insights from multiple sensor technologies. It offers several new features that significantly expand businesses' ability to act upon sensor events. Real-time location tracking services are provided to expand data capture and delivery capabilities to support active RFID technologies, allowing continuous tracking of real-time events in areas such as refineries, plants, and office buildings. The software also features an event-processing engine that allows companies to establish business rules that act upon sensor events, resulting in actionable information.
The product works with IBM's WebSphere Business Process Management software — including the new WebSphere Business Events — to integrate all types of enterprise systems and establish new business processes without rewriting applications. Sensor event data can also be managed through IBM's WebSphere RFID Information Center, which allows businesses to securely share sensor data with trading partners using EPCIS or DPMS compliant solutions.
Using a sensor solution based on the WebSphere Premises Server, a company can identify an item, its location and its condition using the best sensor technology for the task, whether that is a passive RFID tag, an active tag, some other type of sensor, or a combination of these.
For example, a forklift equipped with an active RFID tag can be tracked as it travels through a distribution facility. If the forklift picks up a pallet of strawberries identified by a passive tag, the software will alert the driver and operations manager if someone attempts to leave those goods in an area that condition sensors show to be above a certain temperature. In this way the business can reduce spoilage and help ensure that consumers can buy the freshest possible fruit.
