Can you describe Coreflux's core mission and how it aims to address current challenges in the industry?
Coreflux: Coreflux, as a platform, is designed to empower industries by providing modular Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) solutions that combine both edge and cloud connectivity, interoperability between operational technologies (OT) and information technologies (IT), cybersecurity and orchestration tools. These are the cornerstones of a robust data pipeline and of solution architectures for any business, regardless of industry or use case. Presented both as a user-friendly interface or as a MQTT command-line interface, it aims to support faster and easier integration of solutions, efficient automation of systems, and the real-time optimization of industrial operations. Powered by an online MQTT broker hosted on a robust cloud infrastructure, it offers an open architecture where the customer can add or remove integrations according to their needs, giving them full control over data ownership. In contrast to closed architectures, where REST interfaces rely on polling and require a demanding solution, Coreflux provides a more flexible and efficient approach to integration and data management.
This helps prospective clients in being able to connect to their equipments regardless of manufacturer or protocols and create an open uniform data pipeline using MQTT, which can be automated as required. The acquired data can then be transformed toward specific business value, according to the digitalization needs of each case. And to crown those key-points, it provides the ability to easily orchestrate deployments and functioning of components across networks, a sharp pain point for integrators and businesses alike.
What are the key advantages that Coreflux brings to its clients and partners in terms of technology and innovation?
Coreflux: In terms of technology, Coreflux starts by supporting the transformation of proprietary data formats into open data formats, that allow users to create and operate third-party or their own tools on the data they created and control. That data can then be moved along the pipeline, further transformed, and/or loaded into storage. To this adds the fact that the process is bilateral, as Coreflux assets are also able to “translate” data back into their original protocols and are thus able to communicate with devices to automate them according to data and process established in its pipeline.
This means clients can apply business logic to automate their systems and processes, thus generating personalized value. Better yet, with a focus on modular open technology, clients are not locked into the initial solutions they implement, being able to build upon their systems continuously.
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Can you provide examples of successful implementations or case studies where Coreflux delivered impressive results?
Coreflux: Through its versatile building blocks, Coreflux has been able to create significant time-saving impact across industries, powering the design and integration of digital solutions. This is usually reflected in metrics like operational efficiency, cost-saving, technological integration, and competitive advantage.
Notable examples include:
- Integrating the shop floor of a tire production line at a major manufacturer, a process that previously took several workdays, was reduced to just a few hours by leveraging real-time data to streamline and coordinate the workflow.
- Interconnection of the storefront priority order system of an optical industry with their factory production line. This enabled the creation and implementation of a business process by which they were able to take paid priority orders physically in stores or online, automatically prioritize machine and logistics production at the plant accordingly, and deliver to the client in no more than one business day. By simply collecting data on who needed the product first, ensuring payment for priority, and meeting delivery expectations, they created a new business model without altering the product itself.
The value created, therefore, ranges from the technical to the business side, hinging on the data maturity and solution architectures each client chooses to employ.
How does the partnership with CrateDB enhance Coreflux's capabilities and offerings?
Coreflux: This partnership will allow both companies to present new and existing customers with a versatile end-to-end solution: from gathering data directly from sensors and machines, to creating both simple and complex pipeline networks, transforming the data for personalized purposes, storing it in a highly versatile database platform like CrateDB, and observing the outcome of that process in dashboards (from visualization to alarm & event communication). CrateDB excels as a multi-model database, efficiently managing various data types within a single database and even within the same table, handling structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data.
Versatility in data is a key-value in industrial pipelines, where this valuable asset can assume multiple forms and the same formats can be employed toward different functions.
What future developments or strategic initiatives can we expect from Coreflux, especially in collaboration with CrateDB?
Coreflux: Expectations are high! In the future, users from both our ecosystems looking to push the boundaries of their specific IIoT solutions can look forward to a much more empowered solution. Specifically, being able to work both with real-time industrial data and stored historian data, thus creating systems that are better personalized with proprietary accumulated knowledge. A Coreflux scripting language is also in development and Beta phase, to allow the full scripting of data transformation and event-based automation of systems.
These elements are particularly relevant in use cases that employ Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence solutions, a type of solutions that are currently experiencing a high demand and innovative development.
Together, we're not just building solutions; we're crafting the future of intelligent industrial automation.