Products and Services Allow Integration of Device-to-IT Connectivity
Helping Clients Enable SOA and Other Industry Standards

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, IBM and ILS Technology LLC today announced they are delivering a service oriented architecture (SOA) solution that is specifically designed for the automotive manufacturing industry.

The three companies have developed a reference architecture that can help customers meet industry standards more quickly for device-to-IT connectivity. Each company brings key technology that significantly strengthens this alliance. IBM’s integration services, SOA Foundation extended for manufacturing and project management will be an integral part of this alliance. IBM creates software, service offerings, as well as custom implementations for the automation and industrial market segments.

Mitsubishi Electric develops best-in-class factory automation systems with direct enterprise computing connectivity via the MX MES Interface IT and other factory devices used in the automation and industrial market segment. ILS Technology’s deviceWISE embedded software is integrated into the Mitsubishi Electric e-Factory Portfolio and links IBM’s and plant floor technologies together for those segments. These frameworks are used to connect the device tier to the enterprise-IT tier.

Under the terms of the agreement, each company will jointly market their respective products and services to industrial customers.

The agreement is the culmination of the companies’ collaboration on reference architecture during the past year. ILS Technology’s deviceWISE platform was recently recognized by IBM’s SOA Specialty after successfully completing IBM’s rigorous SOA technical and business requirements. Mitsubishi Electric and ILS Technology worked together to integrate deviceWISE into Mitsubishi Electric’s e-Factory portfolio for factory automation.

All three companies have agreed to cooperate on marketing and sales of products or services that will permit their customers to more efficiently integrate device-to-IT connectivity, which will enable the exchange of live information between the factory floor and the enterprise. The three companies are involved in discussions with major global automation and industrial customers that can benefit from their complementary technologies.

“This collaboration responds to identified customers’ needs and helps enable IBM’s Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) standard in legacy and current technology,” said David Petrucci, global executive, Industrial Sector Solution Sales, IBM Software Group. “Through this partnership, we are building architecture that supports SOA, and by combining our expertise, we leverage all of our resources to provide the marketplace with solid solutions.”

“ILS Technology brings its proven experience in factory-to-enterprise connectivity to this alliance,” said Fred Yentz, chief operating officer, ILS Technology. “Through our collaboration with IBM and Mitsubishi Electric, we’re able to provide the technology solutions which bring a new set of standards to the marketplace. These integrated offerings will help organizations improve their business and manufacturing efficiencies and lower costs.”

“The combination of these technologies provides our customers with advanced solutions that simplify integration and reduce Total Ownership Costs (TCO),” said Satoshi Takeda, Nagoya Works Controller Section Marketing manager, Mitsubishi Electric. “This agreement also further leverages Mitsubishi Electric’s presence and e-Factory offerings in the global market.”

About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com.

About Mitsubishi Electric
With over 80 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products to both corporate clients and general consumers all over the world, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. The company recorded consolidated group sales of 3,855 billion yen (US$ 32.7billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. For more information about Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, please visit http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/.

About ILS Technology
ILS Technology, LLC, provides software technology and services that change the way companies share information – within their own operations and their end-to-end supply chain. The company’s solutions, including software as a service, enable secure and collaborative connections between intelligent devices in production environments, across enterprises and between businesses. Offering broad applicability in a wide array of industries, ILS Technology’s offerings have been field-proven in markets where the protection of intellectual property is crucial and the ability to share information from any point around the world in real time is paramount. Solutions developed by ILS Technology adhere to demanding industry standards and are adaptable to virtually any technology platform regardless of vendor. For more information, visit http://www.ilstechnology.com.

ILS Technology is wholly owned subsidiary of Park-Ohio Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq:PKOH), a leading provider of supply chain logistics services and a manufacturer of highly engineered products for industrial original equipment manufacturers (http://www.pkoh.com).

Courtesy of Mitsubishi