We caught up with Rob Kambach, Product Manager for Wonderware System Platform, to ask some questions about the 2017 release of System Platform.
Q: What are the 3 biggest changes in SP 2017?
A: The way you can develop your Object Standards using Wizards, the way you can develop a new ViewApp and the Runtime visualisation… these are all new technologies. One of the reasons I say can when listing these is because the new stuff is complimentary. Therefore, if you want to use your existing project with InTouch for System Platform, no change is required.
Q: In what ways does this release increase the gap from a traditional SCADA?
A: Its effortless multi-monitor support, navigation without scripting or manually creating buttons, multi -touch, reduction of standards needed (object wizards) and the fact that you can drop in an Application and it does not need any configuration to work in concert with your HMI application.
Q: What are the release plans for the product?
A: The next six months we are focusing on the Applications and the Software Development Kit (SDK) around it, so our Eco System can start to further extend the product in innovative ways. The big-ticket items for the fall release are: Web HMI, Applications and SDK, InTouch Access Anywhere integration and performance improvements from an Application Server point of view.
Q: How is this version more secure than the previous one?
A: The new visualisation platform has a very low attach surface and was developed according to the latest security methodologies, also DCOM is not used in the client.
Q: What security methodologies have you followed in the design of the new interface? Do our competitors still use DCOM?
A: Most of them do in some way. We followed the SDL process from Microsoft for the development of new components and hardening existing ones (details of which can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sdl/default.aspx) .
Q: Why develop a Desktop technology before a web based one?
A: Actually we did both! Wonderware System Platform 2017 has a mapping application that does not only render the mapping technology in HTML 5, but also the ArchestrA graphics; although it does not do everything that ArchestraAGraphics do, it is the start of the HTML based technology and later this year we will have a Web HMI for that purpose.
The desktop technology we released is now initially on top of System Platform and we fully expect to take this same technology and move it to InTouch…The core of all this is the vector based ArchestrA graphics. We pushed the technology towards System Platform first as it has the largest applications that needed the rendering speed and footprint reductions.
