With nearly two decades of serving industry under its belt—first as a distributor and more recently as a system integrator—Anaheim-Calif.-based Quantum Automation understands well the automation needs of both end-users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Having come of age in the Internet era, it recognized firsthand the potential of cloud computing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to transform remote industrial operations, as well the scarcity of engineering resources capable of bridging that gap at many of the small- and mid-sized firms that it serves.
To help its customers effectively bring together the operations technologies (OT) and increasingly capable information technologies (IT) central to digital transformation, the company has launched the QCloudServer (QCS) IIoT system, a cloud-based visualization and control portal focused especially on remote asset applications.
“Quantum Automation QCS connects with the vital data trapped out in your industrial machines and processes, and delivers it to the web browser or mobile device of your choice,” explains Brian Gallogly, president, Quantum Automation. “This responsive information enables you to quickly and effectively monitor, analyze, and manage your equipment and systems.” Importantly, the QCS IIoT solution is designed to deliver the “enterprise IoT” functionality at a more affordable price point for smaller organizations than competitive systems.
QCS is but the latest of a range of “pre-integrated” solution components from Quantum that are designed to quickly and cost-effectively solve the challenge of remote automation. Other elements include the company’s QEdgeGateway, QRTU and QSolarBattery, whose product names clearly indicate where they fit in an integrated remote automation solution. At a more granular level, QCS and its MQTT interface work seamlessly with local cellular gateways, controllers and industrial PCs from the likes of Advantech, AutomationDirect, HMS Networks, Moxa and Opto 22.
And because Quantum also includes a team of experienced developers and integrators, the QCS offering includes far more than just a software subscription, adds Mike Afshar, QCS software engineer. “The failure rate for IoT projects is more than 70% globally because of the disconnect between engineers and IT developers,” Afshar says. “The majority of the IoT solutions in the market are offered on a software-as-a-service basis by a pure software company. Support is limited to the software itself; hardware and features are limited, or you have to hire a consultant to fit the application in the hardware of your choice.
“But at Quantum, we engineer in-house, we develop in-house, and we add or customize features or functions in-house," Ashfar says." We handhold our client from beginning to the end of the project.” But in many cases, applications require zero coding to customize; then, customers can simply fill out a Tag I/O sheet, and it’s less than eight hours to test, he adds.
Several industry-standard technologies are leveraged by QCS to make remote monitoring and control simple, practical, reliable and cost-effective. The MQTT protocol is an efficient and lightweight publish/subscribe method for communicating remote data. Standard PLCs, HMIs and edge gateways provide a rugged field platform. Networking is accomplished via a LAN, Wi-Fi or cellular connection as needed. Virtual private networks (VPNs) can be used to ensure security.
The QCS itself is securely hosted on Amazon Web Services' (AWS) secure, globally accessible cloud-computing platform. From there, users can readily export data for deeper analysis, using spreadsheet tools or other software of choice. With proper authorization, users can also initiate control actions securely and remotely.
For more information on the Quantum Automation QCloudServer IIoT system, visit www.quantumautomation.com.
