PARIS, September 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In industries such as the automotive, healthcare, railway and even the energy sectors, the machines are more and more connected and are gradually offering greater access to their data. Massive amounts of data are being harvested by numerous sensors installed in cars, trains, planes, medical devices, etc. The number of connected machines is estimated at several dozen billions in 2020. This new, industrial big data market raises the fundamental question as to how big data can be transformed into new business.

The Altran group has developed VueForge[TM], an industrial end-to-end offer for machine-driven big data whereby data is harvested, then transported and transformed into information, which, in turn, is converted into services paving the way to new business.

Industrial sectors are being faced with a twofold connectivity challenge, namely how to harvest data at the lowest cost using the best adapted architecture and then analyse this data so as to create value for industries and generate new services for end users.

Industries having to face new challenges

At the technological level, the challenge is how to connect two worlds as different as embedded systems and information systems. Mandatory regulations governing industries must be respected in full. Security and reliability are also key factors for machines such as automobiles, aircraft and medical devices.

In terms of usage, industries are faced with the challenge of what to do with the harvested data. While there are many new-service and application possibilities open to end-users, those addressed by industry are unique: constructors and operators can reconnect to their machines and open up their markets to a large ecosystem.

In addition, several major obstacles exist in terms of ecosystem complexity and the implementation of viable business models. Longstanding constructors with a more conventional profile are now faced with competition from new, more agile players with shorter time-to-market cycles.

Altran Innovation: enabling industrialists to become major players of their big data

One year after the global launch of Intelligent Systems / Altran, the Altran group presents VueForge™, an offer designed to create value from the data harvested from machines. VueForge™ addresses the challenges facing industrial sectors so that its clients can exploit connectivity and the data harvested from machines as efficiently as possible and focus on value-creation strategies.

VueForge™ is a platform which enables embedded systems data to be harvested then transported to, and stored in the cloud, then analysed in a totally secure manner and ultimately converted into information via data analytics. VueForge™ is much more than a simple technological solution but is designed to create new services thanks to ideation methodologies and rapid prototyping techniques. In order to generate revenue from these new services,VueForge™ also includes the exploration of new business models and the implementation of ecosystems (partnerships, make-or-buy strategies, etc.).

The Open and Connected Car prototype presented by Altran in 2013 explores new services within the vehicle. By extending the scope of connectivity to the cloud and increasing the level of big data through VueForge™, the experts of Intelligent Systems / Altran have been able to simulate a fleet of half a million vehicles. It has become possible to optimise preventive maintenance by measuring brake and tyre usage levels of hundreds of thousands of vehicles, use applications to inform drivers in real time and propose offers and obtain advice from garages, and content suppliers, etc.

Keith Williams, Group Vice-President Intelligent Systems, explained: “VueForgeTM is a unique Internet of Machines offer in that it combines technology, usage and new business models which are key to success in the complex domain of connectivity. VueForge™ is underpinned by the expertise of Altran, as well as the technological accelerators developed in-house and a partner ecosystem."

Pascal Brier, Executive Vice-President of the Altran group stated, “Altran’s in-depth knowledge of the industrial world and cutting-edge expertise in the field of information systems makes the Group the only integrator capable of providing industrial players with the support they need to tackle the inevitable shift towards the Internet of Machines. While everyone knows they have to go down this road, they are unsure as to how to go about it in terms of the technological standard to be adopted or the type of business plan to be developed. Our end-to-end solution package enables our clients to focus on the key aspects of their business, such as defining strategies and future generations of services and products.”

SOURCE Altran