Category Archives: Automation

Automationtends to make some people nervous. Ever since the invention of the steam engine,common carriage has since been expected to become ever faster, more reliable,and offer larger carrying capacity. Couple this with cheaper and faster accessto information. That, too, makes some people nervous from the original printingpresses (which displaced medieval scribes) to the one-click-away Uber/Lyftdrivers (who are now displacing traditional taxicab companies). In each ofthese cases, markets became more efficient (i.e., using fewer inputs togenerate higher-value outputs). As a result, jobs were lost and those remainingwere re-tasked to utilize the latest technologies. These structural changes arerarely smooth but, at the same time, they are hard to stop.

Automation is now being widely discussed at container ports. It is more accurate to say that a new form of automation is under brisk discussion because the process of automation is never-ending. The shipping container itself exemplified by the pioneering work of Malcom McLean changed the nature of dock work forever by making it less labor-intensive and more efficient. Locked and sealed intermodal containers move from origin to destination by way of various transfer points. Avoiding the unloading and re-loading of the cargo at those points save time, money and lower the risk of theft, damage and terrorist tampering. Today, the tide of automation is leading to driverless container carriers and remote-controlled gantry cranes.

The July2019 study by Toronto-based Prism Economics and Analysis noted job loss as partof the economic impact of partial to full automation of port activities inBritish Columbia. The report was sponsored by the International Longshore andWarehouse Union (ILWU). Naturally, the ILWU is concerned with activity thatmight lead to job loss among its membership. It has taken a strong standagainst increased automation at the Port of Los Angeles, though that effort wasunsuccessful and APM Terminals deployed its first set of automated straddlecarriers last August. However, the ILWU and APM Terminals did reach anagreement on worker retraining. This is the sort of push-back to be expected fromtrade unions in the coming years because the number of unionized jobs will surelydecrease. Unfortunately, labor is the highest variable cost in port operations.

While the Prismreport suggests that productivity may decline and the return on capital investedmay be lower than otherwise, it also notes that the number of fully/partiallyautomated ports in the world is likely to increase beyond the 60 today. If thisis so then the risk vs. return on capital does not seem to be a strongdeterrent to at least some investors and governments. Still, of concern is theupfront capital expenditures necessary to move to more automation. Of course, somein the 1950s made that same argument when they contemplated the upfrontexpenditures on gantry cranes. In due time it became widely understood thatsuch cranes were a necessary price to pay before ports could realize the full benefitof lift-on, lift-off (LO-LO) containerized shipping. A further benefit fromcontainerization was the spurring of intermodal transportation. Using gantry cranesto speed loading/unloading of containers incentivized investment in more trucksand trains to handle the extra demand for inland container transport. In likemanner, we can expect the largest ports to invest in the newest technologiesbecause of their economies of scale.

Remote-controlled gantry cranes mean the operator does not deal with the physical movements and equipment noise and vibrations that come with operating the crane in a sealed compartment. The remote operator, sitting in a more comfortable work space, could be moved from one crane to any other across the terminal by the push of a button to call it up on his monitor. The future could see an operator handling more than one crane simultaneously. The Port of Rotterdam, an early flashpoint in this drive, had a wildcat strike on this very issue in 2013 with further strikes occurring in 2015 and 2016. Thus, it will take some time to implement the latest automation because some degree of union buy-in, or at least their reluctant resolve, will be necessary. There will be fewer jobs; but they will be more comfortable and dependent on computerized technology. At the same time, trade unions at the ports will be under increasing pressure as new labor-saving technologies become available. Caught in the middle will be the state and local governments which oversee the major U.S. ports. If the aphorism all politics is local still holds true we can expect a lot of lobbying and counter lobbying on the future-of-work in the years ahead.

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Commentary: The tides of unionization and container port automation - FreightWaves

Rockwell Automation (ROK) is an industrial automation company. Its revenue is growing at a CAGR of 4.40% in the past ten years, and EBITDA is growing at a CAGR of 10.62% in the same time period. Rockwell is a medium-growth company. Its stock has created a 52-week high of $191.96 and a 52-week low of $141.46. Currently the stock is trading near $165, and around this price the stock is attractively valued. Long-term investors can accumulate the stock around the current price.

Rockwell is a provider of industrial automation and information solutions. It has two operating segments, which are Architecture & Software, and Control Products & Solutions. The company has some excellent products, which are its growth drivers for the future. The products are factory analytics, advanced process control products, and advanced motion control products.

Rockwells FactoryTalk Analytics platform has the potential to become one of its top growing products. This platform offers solutions that include assessment of machine health and identification of machine maintenance needs. The company produces insightful information from raw data at the factory level on plant floors across the globe. It has standardized its operation on its EtherNet/IP system. The EtherNet/IP system connects devices like motor starters and sensors with the computers at the enterprise level. After assessing machine health and its maintenance needs, the analytics platform sends this information to the enterprise from the plant floor.

Rockwells advanced process control products Pavilion8 and PlantPAx are MPC (model predictive control) products that will see high growth in the future. In today's competitive world many companies are shifting their operations from product-centric to customer-centric and demand-driven. The Pavilion8 software platform helps the companies achieve this. The platform has modules to analyze, control, monitor and visualize factory operations in such a way that it is possible to control manufacturing according to demand. PlantPAx MPC software platform is designed to run within standard Logix hardware. This platform helps the companies manage most challenging and complex control problems by responding more quickly to the demands of the customers and to the fast-changing product specifications.

The companys Servo drives, Servo motors and actuators are its advanced motion control solutions. Motion control is a sub-field of automation and an important part of robotics where machines move in a controlled manner. Since motion control is a part of robotics, Rockwells Servo family of products are actually robotics products. And since robotics is a high-growth sector, Servo will see growing revenue in the years to come. According to a report, The robotics market was valued at USD 31.78 billion in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 25% over the forecast period of 2019-2024. In addition to Servo, Rockwells iTRAK intelligent track system is another intelligent motion control solution. The iTRAK system is a modular and scalable motion control system that substitutes rotary-driven chains, belts, and gears of the past. Instead, it is controlled by simple software profiles. The iTRAK system will also see increasing revenue in the coming years.

Industrial automation is a highly competitive business. Rockwell primarily competes with ABB Ltd (ABB), Cognex Corporation (CGNX), Honeywell International (HON), Siemens AG (OTCPK:SIEGY) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (OTCPK:MIELY). Some of the companys competitors, which are large diversified companies, also have business interests outside of industrial automation. A few smaller companies that compete with Rockwell, like Cognex, have business interests only in industrial automation. These companies have a limited portfolio of industrial automation products. Rockwells competitive advantage is its large portfolio of industrial automation products, technology differentiation and domain expertise.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2019 Rockwell delivered mixed results. The company reported fiscal 2019 Q3 revenue of $1,665 million, down 2% YoY from $1,699 million in the year-ago quarter. However, organic sales were up 0.5% YoY. Fiscal 2019 Q3 net income came in at $261.4 million or $2.20 per share, compared to $198.6 million or $1.58 per share in the year-ago period. Adjusted EPS was $2.40, up 11% YoY compared to $2.16 in the year-ago period. The company updated its fiscal 2019 adjusted EPS guidance range to $8.50 to $8.70 from $8.85 to $9.15 earlier.

Operating margin was 23.8% compared to 22.5% a year ago, impacted by lower incentive compensation expense. The company witnessed strong growth in longer-cycle end markets and weak growth in shorter-cycle end markets. Longer-cycle end markets include oil and gas, pulp and paper, mining, and life sciences, which grew in double digits. Shorter-cycle end markets include automotive, semiconductor, and food and beverage, which witnessed declines.

End market cyclicality always impacts industrial automation companies, there is nothing new in it. Further, in a challenging macro environment 2% revenue decline is not a big disappointment. What is encouraging is that, according to a report, the industrial control and factory automation market is expected to reach USD 269.5 billion by 2024 from USD 160.0 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 9.08%. Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT is driving growth in this market. In IIoT, use of smart sensors and actuators drive manufacturing output.

Rockwells peer group includes ABB Ltd, Cognex Corporation and Honeywell International. Rockwells GAAP forward PE ratio is 20.98x, compared to ABBs 29.03x, Cognexs 55.94x and Honeywells 20.15x. Rockwells trailing 12-month price to sales ratio is 2.94x, compared to ABBs 1.38x, Cognexs 10.48x and Honeywells 3.09x. Rockwells trailing 12-month price to cash flow ratio is 17.95x, compared to ABBs 18.15x, Cognexs 30.70x and Honeywells 18.77x.

Compared to its peers, Rockwell is attractively valued around the current price. However, the company has a not so strong balance sheet. Its cash on balance sheet is $913.4 million and total debt is $2.24 billion. Net debt is $1326.6 million. The company isnt cash-rich, and it is funding its growth activities partially through debt. However, its net leverage is 0.88x, which means its debt-load isnt alarming. Moreover, the company has generated $1.07 billion of net operating cash flow, and $591.64 million of free cash flow in the past twelve months, which are encouraging.

The companys mission is to establish the connected enterprise with the help of smart manufacturing, leveraging the power of smart sensors and analytics. The company will help its customers convert their enterprise to a connected enterprise where IIoT will play a major role. This will create demand for many of the companys products. In addition, the companys motion control products will see rising demand since they are basically robotics products and robotics is a high growth sector. Compared to these demand drivers, Rockwells debt problem isn't a serious issue.

In the last four years Rockwells revenue growth remained flat. I expect the growth drivers mentioned above will drive its revenue growth at a CAGR of mid-single digit, say 5%, in the next four years. Its trailing 12-month revenue is $6694.1 million. At a CAGR of 5%, its 2023 revenue will be $8545 million or $73.03 per share. At todays price to sales ratio is 2.94x, the stocks 2023 price will be $214.71.

A large percentage of Rockwells sales in the U.S. and Canada are achieved by distributors. In other countries also, a high portion of its sales are achieved by a limited number of distributors. Disruptions to the companys distribution channels could adversely affect revenue growth.

The ability of the company to correctly identify the changes in demand patterns of the customers results in revenue growth. If the company fails to identify changes in customers demand patterns, revenue growth will be adversely affected. In addition, if the company fails to anticipate broader industry trends, demand for its products could decrease.

Many of Rockwells products are products of the future, such as the iTRAK intelligent track system and the connected smart products. Although the companys revenue growth remained flat in the past four years, in the next four years its revenue is expected to grow in mid-single digit driven by demand for such products. Long-term growth-oriented investors can buy the stock around the current price.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Rockwell Automation: A Slow But Steady Growth Story - Seeking Alpha

A world without supply chains would look nothing like the one we know today. But a world without streamlined payments throughout that supply chain is just the world we live in.

Theres an all-too-common disconnect between highly automated, efficient supplier streams and the very manual, paper-heavy accounts-payable (AP) processes used to pay those suppliers. This has led to a broken system, to the point where 61% of companies cite rising supply-chain management costs as their number-one challenge. A further 50% say that one in 10 payments to suppliers goes out late due to manual processes, placing further stress on relationships with key suppliers.

That stress has real business consequences.

A full 97% of organizations are still making check payments to a portion of their suppliers, according to the 2019 AFP Electronic Payments Survey, and those payments are more vulnerable than any other type to fraud and costly mistakes.

The reputational damages of fraud and the cost of slow, antiquated payments can undermine all the work companies have done to modernize their supply chains and delight suppliers.

There are better ways forward, however. In an industry where maintaining a healthy supply chain is crucial to preventing business interruption and related losses, paying suppliers on time and in their preferred format can strengthen those relationships and ensure an unbroken supply chain. Such benefits, plus reduced costs and inefficiencies for organizations making payments, are the reasons why so many AP departments are now focusing on automating invoice-to-pay processes.

A revolution for back-office processes is just as important as the one already underway for manufacturing production, and that starts with AP automation.

With the right financial technology or bank partner in place, the transition to payment automation is much less daunting than automating and streamlining a supply chain. The ideal solution allows the AP department to leverage existing accounting systems and bank relationships, to streamline and digitize everything from invoice receipt through payment across the supply chain. With the right payment mix, suppliers can realize benefits from the convenience and flexibility of virtual card or automated clearing house (ACH) payments. Whats more, the organization can benefit from a new source of cash via rebates earned on these transaction types.

The ability of suppliers to streamline receivables process and get faster access to cash is a byproduct of the right payables process. Organizations that transition to electronic payments can offer greatly enhanced remittance data in their suppliers preferred formats, including Corporate Trade Exchange (CTX), custom accounts receivable (AR) files, and emails. Those conveniences make it much easier for suppliers to apply cash when electronic payment is received, and enables enhanced AR reporting capabilities, adding value to the buyer-supplier relationship in a way thats not possible via checks alone.

It doesnt take a long time for electronic payments to show ROI for organizations, either, as the costs associated with implementing digital payments are often offset by earned rebates, savings from automating key processes, and efficiencies gained by having key staff spend less time on manual tasks.

Perhaps the biggest benefit for both payer and supplier is the fact that better payment security comes with AP automation. Electronic, auditable invoice receipt and approval workflows help prevent or provide visibility to fraudulent invoices. Electronic payments carry the advantage of being much more difficult to alter, re-direct, or otherwise be exposed to fraud. In the case of virtual card payments that utilize a one-use number for an exact amount, the chances of a payment being intercepted dwindle even further.

A sophisticated payments partner should have built-in monitoring that can identify threats, stop unauthorized movements of funds, and maintain sensitive supplier bank information in a secure manner, so the organization doesnt have to. Given the very real and very heavy costs associated with fraud and given that most businesses report at least experiencing a fraud attempt in the last two years these are no small advantages.

Considering all the benefits of AP automation, why is adoption not more widespread? As is the case with most significant changes, it has a lot to do with perceived costs, misconceptions around the difficulty of implementation, and inertia around current processes.

In fact, the top concerns from AP staff typically revolve around the cost and time associated with implementation. Here, too, AP automation solutions have become sophisticated enough that lengthy, IT-intensive rollouts are becoming a thing of the past. They have cut down the time between committing to a solution and realizing its benefits.

With the technology and business intelligence available today, the business payments that fuel supply chains can be as digitally transformed as other pieces of supply-chain operations. The pressure to lower costs, protect the business from fraud, and streamline everything done on a daily basis points to one clear solution: a digital transformation of the AP processes.

Bill Wardwell is vice president of strategy and product with Bottomline Technologies.

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Putting an End to Supply-Chain Payment Kinks With Automation - SupplyChainBrain

Bad news comes to Australias welfare recipients in different ways.

Sometimes, the message comes in the post. More often than not, though, word arrives through a special email portal, or by text to a smartphone. The sender always says the same thing: Your payments have been suspended.

It happened to Keelan two months ago. He got a notification on his MyGov account, the online portal he uses to receive emails from Centrelink, Australias social security agency.

The 26-year-old has been surviving on Australias jobseekers payment, Newstart allowance, ever since his medical conditions anxiety, depression and OCD started affecting his studies.

His payments A$600 a fortnight were automatically stopped because he missed a phone appointment. It mattered little that he was not in a great state at the time.

I wasnt sure what day it was because my OCD was quite bad, Keelan tells the Guardian. I got a phone call that I didnt register. It turned out to be Centrelink and they cut off my payments. And I didnt hear from them again after that.

Keelan, who did not want his surname published, says he spent hours on the phone over several days trying to get his welfare payments back. Most of the money was delayed for about a week. He was broke and couldnt afford his medication.

When he doesnt take his meds, it sort of throws off my day-to-day function to the point where I cant complete a sentence, he says. My condition just gets worse and I go into a downward spiral where I need to go into care sometimes.

These suspensions are becoming increasingly common and will be considered by the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, who is examining the impact of digital technology on social safety nets around the world.

Australias welfare system is often touted by its politicians as the most efficient and the envy of the world.

Bureaucrats and politicians alike have embraced technology and automation with open arms. As part of a sweeping digitisation push slated to finish in 2022, benefits claims are now conducted online. Since 2013, welfare recipients have been pushed away from Centrelink shop fronts and on to the MyGov online portal.

The centre-right coalition government is already facing legal action over its Robodebt scheme, which critics say uses a flawed algorithm to accuse benefits recipients of owing a welfare debt. But there have been other, less-remarked-upon changes, too.

Last year, the government overhauled the way it sanctions welfare recipients accused of gaming the system. In a briefing to the privately run job service agencies that administer the new policies, an official summed up the changes: Processes will be automated as much as possible to simplify administration.

Welfare advocates say the consequences have been disastrous. In the space of a year, the new policy has increased the number of welfare payment suspensions to 2.7m.

In 12 months, welfare payments were stopped an extra 1m times.

Theres a shifting of decision-making that is increasing the amount of automatic suspensions, says the policy analyst Simone Casey.

Under the most recent changes, the government has prioritised welfare suspensions over sanctions, in which a person has their payments docked for doing the wrong thing. These penalties, which used to be applied manually by a staff member, have dropped significantly. Instead, a recipients money is cut off automatically until they satisfy their job agency consultant that they are committed to looking for work.

Casey, who used to engage with the government regularly in her work as a policy analyst adviser to not-for-profit job agencies, says that over time consultants have been handed less decision-making power over how to penalise or not the welfare recipients they are employed to help.

Consultants have less discretion when a welfare recipient does not turn up to an appointment or misses another compulsory activity. They enter a code into a system that automatically triggers a payment suspension.

The same goes when the welfare recipient fails to report their income or confirm they met their job search requirements via digital channels.

Money is stopped first, and questions are asked later. The idea is that this will encourage people to follow the rules.

In some cases its left single parents without money for food for their children over a weekend because they havent logged in and reported their attendance, says Adrianne Walters, a senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre.

And so the computer says, No payments. And then that person is left without anywhere to turn until their employment service provider opens up again on the Monday.

The National Social Security Rights Network represents community legal centres who take calls daily from welfare recipients that feel wronged by the system.

Were definitely seeing more people call up because of automation, says Jai Manoharachandran, a policy officer at the network.

When youre living paycheck to paycheck, every little bit counts. And the idea that you might have to try and stretch your income for a few days before you get back-paid, its incredibly stressful for clients. They often dont understand why their payments have been suspended.

Rebecca Johnson, 39, lives in Perth, in Western Australia, with her 21-year-old son. He has autism and also receives government benefits. She says she honestly cant remember how many times her payments have been suspended.

Since the new policies were introduced, about 50,000 suspension notifications now go out to welfare recipients across the country each week.

When they contact their job agency, the consultant decides whether or not they had a fair reason for missing their appointment. If not, they are given demerit point, which can lead to harsher penalties.

But analysis of government statistics by the Guardian shows about 75% of the time, benefits recipients who had their payments suspended under the new system were not at fault. The data shows payments were suspended 2.7m times in 12 months, but only 654,ooo demerits were handed out.

The Guardian has tracked the new system since it was rolled out, finding that the homeless and single parents are disproportionately impacted. In six months, 55,000 homeless people received a suspension; yet there are only about 60,000 homeless people receiving welfare at any given time.

Meanwhile, across a controversial welfare-to-work program for single parents with children under five, 85% had their payments suspended automatically but were later cleared of wrongdoing. The overwhelming majority were single mothers.

On one occasion, Johnson says she had her welfare cut after she was given four phone appointments with her job agency over 10 days.

I was at work and they just kept changing them with no contact, she says.

There was no contact as to what was really going on. Just I kept getting these text messages saying that youve got appointment on this day, you got an appointment on this day.

The last text in the chain, shown to the Guardian, says: Your payment has been suspended for not attending your provider appointment. To restore payment you need to attend a provider appointment.

The government says payments are turned back on once people re-engage with the system. But observers say it doesnt always work like this in practice.

Manoharachandran tells the story of one client who was already broke when her welfare payments were suspended.

She didnt have money for the train to go to her job service provider, he says. She had no money for food or other essentials. So basically, she needed to get the suspension lifted as soon as possible. She ended up riding the train without a ticket and picking up a $200 fine.

And then when she got to the provider, they initially told her they couldnt see her that day and shed have to come back the next day to re-engage and get that suspension lifted. She didnt even have the money to get home. Shed already incurred a $200 fine getting there.

For Johnson, the suspensions mean stress and hoop-jumping at best. Other times, its much worse. You virtually have no money left, she says of living on Australias unemployment benefit, which is among the lowest in the OECD.

The last time her payments were suspended, she had no money for the weekend. And it wasnt even her fault: a system glitch with the digital app meant she could not report her income to Centrelink.

You try and do the right things, you still get punished, she says. Thats the way I see it.

The most vocal critic of this system has been Rachel Siewert, a senator with the Australian Greens.

The system is geared to be very aggressive towards job seekers, and people looking for work, she says. This is what we predicted would happen given the way the system is set up.

Over time, people receiving benefits in Australia have been given more responsibilities. Increasingly, this involves using technology an online portal or smartphone app to regularly report information back to the government.

The government has also established a trial for welfare recipients engaging with job agencies. In time, it hopes a large proportion of them will not go into an office for help and will instead deal with their consultant using an online platform.

Siewert is not convinced it will work. Im not having a go at technology but that it can make it harder, she says. Youve also got certain groups of people that dont have the same digital skills.

Im not saying older all older people dont understand technology, but many of them dont. Theyre finding themselves unemployed, later in their career, they may have been involved in an industry that didnt have to become particularly technically literate, and they are also being alienated through the approach.

The same goes for Johnsons son, whose autism means he struggles to navigate the increasingly digital system. He sometimes forgets to report his income to Centrelink. That does not trigger a phone call asking him what happened, just a payment suspension.

I have to remind him so we dont get paid for a day or two later until you report, Johnson says.

The government is convinced the new system is working. Despite the huge increase in welfare payment suspensions, it says most people end up having their payments restored before they are delayed.

Moreover, the new system has one clear benefit in its eyes. It is expected to save a few hundred million dollars.

Critics say the true cost is felt by people engaging with the system. Walters, of the Human Rights Law Centre, points to a study by researchers from the University of York that found welfare penalties were ineffective.

Thats that starting point, youve got a program that is causing the stress to Australian families, she says. And when you automate that programme, we automate the decision-making, you essentially turbo-charge those impacts.

Johnsons phone and email are full of messages telling her about her suspensions. She argues she should at least have a phone conversation with someone before her income is stopped.

But shes used to getting those notifications now. What does she think when she gets the news?

Oh, I dont know I probably just, Again? Theres always something, she says.

Its never-ending. What have I done this time? Or just another drama to deal with. I dont have time for this crap. Thats what I feel like.

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The automated system leaving welfare recipients cut off with nowhere to turn - The Guardian

BOSTON, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DBmaestro, the leading database DevOps solution provider, announced today to expanded its database automation platform to enable CI/CD and release automation for MySQL, MariaDB and Amazon RDS with DBmaestro DevOps Platform v2019.4.

While the DevOps market is a mature one it's long been known that Databases have not been a part of the DevOps revolution and must close the gaps in order to integrate them into the automated CICD process.

DBmaestro provides a modular overarching platform for CI/CD adoption, meeting the evolving needs of DevOps leaders across industries by speeding up release delivery, improving productivity, minimizing errors and increasing security for supported databases.

DBmaestro's zero-friction solution provides the ability for DevOps leaders to easily adopt the platform and integrate it so as to enhance the existing DevOps tool chain to achieve complete release automation. The diverse platform includes a Security & Governance module which protects the integrity of the database and prevents data loss, which is critical for any highly regulated organization.

"The latest release of DBmaestro is another step in our vision DevOps of every database on every platform," said Yariv Tabac, DBmaestro's CEO. "As we saw a strong need to support MySQL, MariaDB and Amazon RDS from the SME market alongside modulating our functionality for the ability to better adjust our offering to every customer. The DevOps market is ready for Day 2 enhancing the code base solution to the database for an encompassing DevOps solution."

Added Tabac, "We have seen that more customers, global financial organizations as well as SMEs, are adopting MySQL and MariaDB databases due to their being a premier choice for web-based applications. Their open source nature, MySQL's frequent updates from Oracle and the low cost of TOC have made MySQL and MariaDB strong players in the database market, which is why we've chosen to add support for these databases as well as our current support for MS-SQL, DB2, Oracle and PostgreSQL databases."

About DBmaestro

DBmaestro brings DevOps best practices to the database, delivering a new level of efficiency, speed, security and process integration for databases. DBmaestro's platform enables organizations to run database deployments securely and methodically, increase development team productivity and significantly decrease time-to-market. The solution enables organizations to implement CI/CD practices for database activities, with repeatable pipeline release automation and automatic drift prevention mechanisms. For more information, visit http://www.dbmaestro.com.

DBmaestro Press ContactBen GrossMarketing Manager | DBmaestrobeng@dbmaestro.com+972-50-845-2086

SOURCE DBmaestro

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DBmaestro Brings Database Release Automation to MySQL, MariaDB and RDS - PRNewswire

To start, the company is launching a new Device Access program that will allow "qualified" partners to ask for access to your Nest devices. The idea here is that this integration will give you yet another way to control all the smart home devices you own. For instance, if you have a non-Nest smart home security system that supports the platform, the API will allow you to view and control your Nest cameras through that device's app. According to Nest, third-parties that want to join the program will have to pass an annual security assessment. The Device Access API is available today, with new device integrations "coming soon." Nest had already offered third-party integrations in the past through its Works with Nest program. However, the Device Access program is the new API those companies will need to use to get their devices recertified.

Meanwhile, the company's new and expanded Home Routines will allow your Nest devices to trigger your other smart home products. For instance, say you have a Nest Protect in your home. If it detects smoke in your home, one of the new Home Routines will allow it to communicate with your smart lights, causing them to function as a warning sign by flashing red. A less extreme example is that a single routine will allow you to automatically turn down your Nest thermostat and turn off your smart lights at the same time whenever you leave your home. The company says you'll be able to build your own routines, as well as enroll in pre-made ones created by the company.

Starting in the second half of next year, you'll also be able to use routines made by third-parties. Nest adds that you'll be able to add smart home products to a routine on a device-by-device basis. The company plans to launch Home Routines early next year. In introducing both new features, Nest was quick to note that it will do its best to "safeguard your Google data to our standards."

If you consider yourself a smart home enthusiast, Nest is also working on a Device Access program for individuals. The program will allow you to control your own Nest devices and create private integrations and automation routines that work with them.

Nest says today's enhancements come part of the revised privacy policy the company announced back in May. With each new feature, Nest notes that it tried to find a balance between creating a more open ecosystem with one that respects individual privacy. Thankfully, it won't be long before we'll be able to judge if the company was successful.

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Google is adding new Nest routines to further automate your home - Engadget

Mogha was selected out of more than 300 nominees for her efforts to bring more diversity to the technology industry and prepare the workforce for the future of automation. As a global leader for education products at AAU, Mogha oversees the company's curriculum and certification division, which has trained more than 350,000 developers, business analysts, partners and students in RPA and within the next five years, anticipates certifying more than one million individuals for the future of work.

A keynote speaker, published author of a #1 Amazon best-seller "Fast-Track Your Leadership Career," and women in tech evangelist, Mogha empowers women globally to create successful leadership careers, sharing her perspective on leadership, innovation, skills development and enablement strategy. She also founded eWOW, empowered Women of the World, an intellectual platform to help women advance their technical and leadership skills.

"It's such an honor to be recognized by the Women in IT Awards Silicon Valley, an organization championing one of the most pressing issues facing the technology industry today gender diversity. By upskilling and reskilling women for the jobs of the future, we can take a step towards bringing more women into the technology industry," said Rashim Mogha. "I am so inspired to see women technology leaders come together to celebrate each other's successes and empower the next-generation of changemakers."

Organized byInformation Age, the Women in IT Awards is a flagship and high-profile platform to shine a light on women in tech leaders. For women in technology in the U.S., representation still languishes at 25 percent, which has steadily declined from 35 percent over the last 15 years. However, Silicon Valley faces a unique set of challenges, with only 11 percent of executives being female.

Furthermore, the odds of being in a leadership position is almost three times greater for men than for women. The Women in IT Awards series aims to tackle this issue and redress the gender imbalance by showcasing the achievements of women in the sector and identifying new role models.

For more information on the Women in IT series and to see a full list of winners, please visit here.

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Automation Anywhere is a leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), the platform on which more organizations build world-class Intelligent Digital Workforces. Automation Anywhere's enterprise-grade platform uses software bots that work side by side with people to do much of the repetitive work in many industries. It combines sophisticated RPA, cognitive and embedded analytic technologies. More than 3,100 customer entities and 1,800 enterprise brands use this AI-enabled solution to manage and scale business processes faster, with near-zero error rates, while dramatically reducing operational costs. Automation Anywhere provides automation technology to leading financial services, insurance, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, telecom and logistics companies globally. For additional information, visit http://www.automationanywhere.com.

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Automation Anywhere's Rashim Mogha Named 'Woman of the Year' at 2019 Women in IT Awards - PRNewswire

Automation is coming to the financial services industry, according to Edelman CEO Richard Edelman.

Financial services is going to go through a wave of automation, Edelman said atYahoo Finances All Market Summit Thursday in New York City. Twenty-five percent of financial services jobs will be eliminated.

Edelman said automations threat to jobs applies to both white collar and blue collar jobs. This is not simply truck drivers, he said. Its happening in retail stores and back offices.

According to a recent Edelman survey, 4 out of 5 respondents globally think theyll be economically worse off in 10 years from now.

[People are] afraid theyll lose their job to machines, he added.

Edelman, a global communications and public relations company, was founded in 1952, by Daniel Edelman, and maintains 60 offices across the globe.

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Scott Gamm is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @ScottGamm.

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Edelman CEO: 25% of financial services jobs will be eliminated by automation - Yahoo Finance

Trucker Tools LCC, which provides shipment visibility, carrier capacity management and predictive freight-matching solutions for the transportation industry, recently announced that Kingsgate Logistics Services has completed integration and gone live with Trucker Tools Book it Now, a new feature of the companys cloud-based software platform that fully automates the process of booking truckload shipments with carriers.Book it Now connects with the brokers TMS as a plug and play integration and does not require significant process change to leverage the platforms automation benefits, which reduce the variable cost of covering a load to zero.

Truckers are demanding more automation and apps with features that save them time and let them engage with many brokers in a standardized, common process, said TomCuree, Vice President of Strategic development at Kingsgate. Book it Now greatly simplifies and accelerates the process for how a trucker accepts a load literally taking it down to one click of a button. All the information is there, accurate and in real-time, for the trucker to make a decision. Once accepted, the shipment is booked, a rate confirmation is automatically generated, and all other shipment details are transmitted to the drivers smart phone. Then he clicks on the pickup location and off he goes.

Book it Now is a fully automated process. Using this feature, a driver or dispatcher reviews a list of participating brokers available loads that match available capacity and are in that fleets or drivers preferred lanes. Each entry has a Book it Now button. Once the driver/dispatcher clicks on Book it Now, the load is booked and recorded in the brokers TMS, a rate confirmation is issued to the driver/dispatcher and the load is scheduled for pickup. A brokers intervention is needed only if the driver and broker want additional conversation.

About Kingsgate Logistics Services, LLC

Kingsgate Logistics Services, LLC is a family -owned, third-party logistics company founded in October 1986 on three fairly basic principles: hard-work, exemplary service and the highest levels of integrity. Kingsgate provides total supply-chain solutions to a broad range of customers throughout North America.

About Trucker Tools LLC -- Trucker Tools, LLC, based in Reston, Va., is the leading provider of trip planning, shipment visibility and freight matching solutions for the transportation industry. Its ground-breaking Smart Capacity platform uses accurate, real-time data and powerful algorithms to optimally match freight by predicting when and where capacity will become available, days in advance. The companys popular driver smartphone app, launched in 2013, has been downloaded by over 725,000 owner-operators and small-fleet truckers to access load information, planning and booking services conveniently while on the road. Smart Capacity automated shipment tracking is a robust feature in the app that connects drivers with carriers and freight brokers, providing real-time location updates, eliminating manual check calls and increasing carrier load-tracking compliance.

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Kingsgate Logistics Goes Live with Trucker Tools Automated Load Booking - SupplyChainBrain

TrendMiner, a provider of self-service industrial analytics, and Eschbach, a digital plant process management (PPM) supplier, have developed a partnership to integrate their TrendMiner and Shiftconnector products, connecting advanced analytics with shift reporting functionality to improve operations.

The analytics capabilities of TrendMiner enable customers to predict process deviations while Shiftconnector sends these deviations to the control room for shift personnel to contextualize and add additional information as to why these deviations occurred. This data is then returned to TrendMiner to be used by engineers as a starting point to identify improvements to operations.

Combining the data in this way makes it available to shift personnel and engineers on demand, creating a continuous flow of information and better visibility throughout the production process. By arming employees with the tools to be able to address the challenges of plant and process automation, Shiftconnector helps users address specific production and operational challenges in a coordinated manner.

With this integration, stakeholders in the control room and shift teams will benefit due to better analytics-driven decisions making, and process and asset experts will also benefit due to the broader contextual information and the ability to improve operational performance.

The integration [of these software tools] will accelerate analytics-driven decision making in the control room and cross-department collaboration for the next wave in operational excellence, said Thomas Dhollander, CTO of TrendMiner."

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Partnership Connects Analytics and Shift Reporting - Automation World