The biggest drag on Invensys before the Great Reorganization was the fact that they had a 27 year old DCS. Now there's no question that they tried to keep making new revisions, and producing new features, but it was the same vintage as ProVox, the TDC3000 and other systems that have been obsoleted and replaced by their vendors.

The truth is, that while the I/A system was in many ways at least a generation (25 years, eh?) ahead of its time, it has begun looking a little long in the tooth.

This is a very interesting experience for me, because this is the first time in years, I think, that I've been at a user group meeting without having to help produce a show daily. I can actually go to the sessions I'm interested in, as opposed to the ones I have to cover. The choices are nearly overwhelming!

Found this in the course of my ritual morning check of Twitter. Invensys Operations Management has launched its redesigned website with the goal of rationalizing to outsiders the relationships between its various companies. See the new site here.  The news release is below.

More folks from everywhere are doing it--"it" being taking proactive steps to get the engineers and technicians they're going to need in the next couple of decades. The following popped up in my mailbox yesterday.  If folks less than a century removed from a largely rural, nomadic/agricultural society can get with the program, surely we can solve the problem here. 

KAZAKHSTAN--(Marketwire - June 23, 2008) - With world oil prices booming, it has never been more important for'Sound Off! Editors' Blog'

Here's an interesting press release from Invensys. Note that most of SAP's plant based experience, including Sudipta Bhattacharya, now works for Invensys.

INVENSYS DEMONSTRATES ENHANCED INFUSION CONDITION MANAGER AT AVANTIS USER GROUP CONFERENCE

InFusion Condition Manager version 2.2 collects and analyzes real-time diagnostics from plant production assets, drives the appropriate actions, and now also shares that information with plant databases and HMIs

DENVER, C...

"I'd like to start my presentation by saying (pointing to Peter), 'Yeah, what he said.'"

Leseueur, the product marketing leader for InFusion, gave a roadmap:

InFusion Phase 1-- April 06

InFusion Foundation Edition-- May 07: SCADA, Triconex, TMEC, MES

Infustion Installed BAse Support for next year: Historian migration, 100 series support, DCS migration program.

Batch applications, and other new features coming on later.

The big noise: InFusion Foundation Edition-- developed for use with oth...

Invensys' brilliant vice president of performance management, Dr. Peter Martin, gave his usual exciting keynote. He talked about the effect of activist boards of directors since Enron and the other CEO debacles, and how CEOs have less than a year in general to perform, or they are gone.

How can you prove to your executives that you are the most valued employees in your company? You need to realize your worth. You would be shocked at your worth.

Your worth is phenomenal. You provide more value ...