Category Archives: Automation

The enterprise is anxious to automate as much of its data ecosystem as possible, starting with the cloud. But is automation the best solution for every challenge, and if not, how can enterprise executives determine what should be automated and what should remain under human control?

According to tech journalist Bill Kleyman, cloud automation is one of the key drivers of business innovation. Many organizations have found, in fact, that while the cloud alone is useful in overcoming the challenges of traditional infrastructure things like lack of scale, poor resource utilization, and the prevalence of data silos problems such as resource management, visibility and cost control persist. Automating management tasks and orchestrating the relationships between resources and workloads can alleviate these issues, plus it accelerates IT management to speeds required of the modern digital economy. So in the end, the enterprise becomes more agile and more responsive to the needs of its users.

A number of platforms have emerged in recent months promising to deliver these results for cloud-facing enterprises. CloudVelox recently updated its One Hybrid Cloud stack that aims to streamline workload mobility across internal and external resources. The system provides a new set of optimization tools, such as application-centric instance tagging, multiple security groups and role-based identity and access management (IMA), plus new system reporting and alert functions to verify successful migrations to the cloud. Additional features, due later this year, are expected to provide autoscaling and elastic load-balancing (ELB) across multiple instances.

Meanwhile, Bostons IndependenceIT has released a new version of its Cloud Workspace Suite designed to streamline the deployment of data, applications, workspaces and even full software-defined data centers (SDDCs) to virtually any device. Upgrades include support for key Windows platforms, such as Windows Server 2016, Azure Resource Management and Office 356, which enables users to create full Windows 10 desktop experiences and migrate them to the Azure cloud without having to pass through multiple authentication steps. As well, it provides for template-based hypervisor management and event-driven application installation and upgrades, allowing administrators to pre-define the parameters of deployment and management functions.

But whether its in the cloud or traditional IT environments, the enterprise needs to take care regarding what to automate and when, says NetEnrich CEO Raju Chekuri. Some organizations are tempted to automate everything, but the fact is that even todays intelligent automation stacks are only cost-effective when performing the rote, routine functions that recur on a steady basis. A more effective approach is to categorize all manual tasks in terms of cost, complexity, and the propensity for human error. Functions that score high on all three metrics are good candidates for automation.

Like any technology, automation is not fool-proof. Fools are simply too ingenious. But when applied in the right way for the right reasons, it becomes a vital tool for the modern enterprise.

As demand for faster, better and more personalized data experience mounts, the less time spent managing infrastructure and the more time spent optimizing performance, the better.

Arthur Colewrites about infrastructure for IT Business Edge. Cole has been covering the high-tech media and computing industries for more than 20 years, having served as editor ofTV Technology, Video Technology News, Internet News and Multimedia Weekly. His contributions have appeared in Communications Today and Enterprise Networking Planet andas web content for numerous high-tech clients like TwinStrata and Carpathia. Follow Art on Twitter @acole602.

Continued here:

IT Automation: Where, When and How? - IT Business Edge (blog)

Related Research A new report from the McKinsey Global Institute A Future That Works: Automation, Employment, and Productivity highlights trends in automation technologies including robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning and their effects on businesses and economies worldwide. Some of the key findings of the report are highlighted below:

Experts in the field of robotics and automation would agree. For example, in an interview with the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute Professor Howard Choset notes that robotics will help U.S. workers compete with low-wage workers abroad and will create and sustain new jobs. According to Professor Choset, Automation and innovation always create jobs. Automation will also end jobs. However, the creation and addition of jobs is so much bigger that as a society we accept it.

He sees robots as just another tool that companies need to employ. Business owners realize they must automate if they are going to become more productive and attract more customers and that, in turn, will lead to the creation of more jobs.

View original post here:

Automation Takes Hold, But Humans Still Needed - Area Development Online

Investopedia

What is the One Job Automation Has Eliminated in the Past 60 Years? Investopedia Automation, the process by which human-driven procedures are transferred over to machines in order to make them easier and more efficient, is both a blessing and a curse to the workforce. On the one hand, automation can make some jobs easier to do, ...

Go here to see the original:

What is the One Job Automation Has Eliminated in the Past 60 Years? - Investopedia

A maker of custom automation equipment and robotic systems in the region is planning a $1.9-million expansion.

Holland-based JR Automation Technologies said yesterday it will expand its operation in Stevensville by adding 25,000 square feet to its existing 45,000-square-foot facility, at 7275 Red Arrow Highway.

Construction will begin in April and conclude in December.

JR Automation plans to add 60 jobs over the next three years at the facility.

The company said the expansion is due to increased customer activity and the need to accommodate increased production.

It serves multiple industries: automotive, aerospace, construction, consumer products, food processing, furniture, green technologies, medical and pharmaceutical.

JR's leadership team worked closely with Cornerstone Alliance, an economic development nonprofit in Benton Harbor, to make the expansion possible.

The company also received support from Michigan Economic Development Corporation, or MEDC, and Kinexus, an economic development nonprofit in Benton Harbor, for the project.

On Tuesday, Lincoln Charter Township trustees approved a tax abatement for the project.

Rob Cleveland, president of Cornerstone Alliance, said hes grateful JR Automation chose to invest and create high-paying, high-skilled jobs in Berrien County.

JR Automation Technologies has annual sales exceeding $300 million.

The company has multiple facilities across Holland as well as a facility in South Carolina.

It employs a workforce of about 950 people.

Go here to read the rest:

Automation supplier plans $1.9M expansion | 2017-03-16 | Grand ... - Grand Rapids Business Journal (subscription)

BY MICHAEL GAROFALO

Published Mar 15, 2017 at 5:26 pm (Updated Mar 15, 2017)

Experts say education and adaptability are key in training tomorrows workforce

Mayor Bill de Blasios computer science education initiative aims to prepare students to work in an increasingly automated economy. Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

A self-driving Audi A7 on display outside the David N. Dinkins Municipal Building in September attracted passers-by, who gazed at the tangle of electrical wires in its trunk. Photo: Micah Danney

'); //-->

The ongoing battle between the New York Citys taxi industry and ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft is often cast as emblematic of the modern business climate, in which entrenched interests are besieged by disruptive new technologies. But that soon may seem thoroughly old fashioned, if, as many experts predict, driverless vehicles push both cab and Uber drivers off the roads and out of their jobs.

Automation often conjures images of robots, whether on an assembly line building cars or on the streets driving them, but the concept encompasses a much broader range of technologies, from software that could perform the work of paralegals, accountants, and Wall Street traders, to Amazons prototype retail store, opened recently in Seattle and operating entirely without cashiers.

The impact of burgeoning automated technologies on the citys economy was the topic of discussion at a symposium held last week by the Center for an Urban Future that featured experts on technology, education, economics and business.

The disappearance of blue-collar manufacturing jobs is commonly associated with automation, but panelists said that in the years to come the impact will be felt increasingly by the middle class. The employment effects of automation are going to be felt far beyond the Rust Belt and in a much broader swath of industries, including several that are mainstays of New York Citys economy, said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future.

As we think about automation, I would encourage us not to wait for this Jetsons-like future when all the jobs are gone, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes said. A robot or computer program might not take your job, but one may take over certain responsibilities a recent McKinsey & Company report found that half of all activities that workers are paid to do could be automated by adapting existing technologies.

In a labor economy in which future growth sectors are so difficult to predict, New York City is banking on the need for an adaptable workforce that can learn to work in fields that may not even exist yet. What these evolutions require are folks who have the skills to learn, to pick up new skills, said Lauren Andersen, executive director of the citys Tech Talent Pipeline program.

An initiative announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2015 calls for every student in the citys public school system to receive computer science education in elementary school, middle school and high school by 2025. The goal is not to produce a lot of software engineers, Andersen said. The goal is to give students from every socioeconomic background the opportunity to get foundational problem solving skills, foundational communication skills, foundational analytical and computational skills that will allow them to adapt in the face of uncertainty.

Nell Abernathy, vice president of research and policy at the Roosevelt Institute, applauded the citys emphasis on pre-kindergarten programs. I would say early childhood education is probably the most important step we could take, she said. Its like the high school movement of our day. If you want flexibility and adaptability and critical thinking, youd better start young.

Pathways in Technology Early College High School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is at the forefront of efforts to overhaul the education system to meet the challenges of the changing economy, according to Stanley S. Litow, an executive at IBM, which worked with the city to create the school. Student at P-TECH study a hybrid curriculum of high school and college material and receive an associate degree upon completion of the six-year program, a model that has been adopted by dozens of other schools across the country. The school places an emphasis on the skills required for careers in information technology, and all students receive mentorship and work in paid professional internships. Think of it as a 21st century version of an apprenticeship model, Litow said.

According to Hughes, automations impact on the economy will necessitate not only a recalibration of education systems, but also a rethinking of a social safety net that was designed to suit an economy that no longer exists. Hughes co-chairs the nonprofit Economic Security Project, which advocates for universal basic income a program that would hand out cash to every citizen. Proponents say that basic income would mitigate the impact of jobs lost to automation and help promote innovation. From our perspective, we believe that the best thing that weve got going for America, and generally people in the world, is human creativity and entrepreneurship, and the best way to unlock that or unleash that is to lower the levels of stress around health and how your kids are going to afford a backpack or school fees, and enable people to invest in themselves and their own futures, Hughes said.

He added, A lot of times we think of basic income as a response to automation, but in my view we need it to fundamentally rebalance the economy and to give everybody a fair shot today.

Michael Garofalo can be reached at reporter@strausnews.com

See the rest here:

Preparing for automation in NYC - New York Press

March 16, 2017 byJohn Lucier - National Automation Manager, Methods Machine Tools, Inc.

One of the bigger trends of robotics in manufacturing is the automation of ancillary post processes that come after primary manufacturing. These processes could be washing/cleaning, deburring, inspection, and part marking/identification. Until more recently the automation focus was primarily related to the main manufacturing process. If there was additional robot time, adding equipment to automate one of these other processes was not a consideration. Since industry is becoming more familiar with robotics/automation, the benefits of automating these processes are being realized.

Part cleaning is a natural expansion to an automated manufacturing cell. Once the machined part exits the machine, it is easy to place a bucket of water or cleaning solution in the cell to have the robot rinse the chips and coolant from the part. Today however, more manufacturers are expanding the cleaning process from passively rinsing, to utilizing the articulation of the robot to position high-pressure nozzles in confined places to actively blow the chips and coolant out. This process can be quicker and more reliable because the robot is actively attacking difficult to reach areas that were previously inaccessible. Automation can also be used for passing the part between several different cleaning solutions or even in nontraditional cleaning processes such as vapor degreasing, where the robot is used to move the nozzle around the part to achieve the cleaning.

Deburring has also become very popular in automation. Traditionally, robotic deburring can take on the form of moving a spinning carbide burr around the edges of a part, or bringing the part to a wire wheel and/or buffing wheel to remove the burrs. Using a robot to apply a deburring media is also being applied; this could be an aggressive process such as bead blasting, to a gentler process; for example, using very fine power such as sodium bicarbonate to remove the burrs on more delicate materials. More nontraditional forms of deburring such as acoustic emission and cryogenic deburring, where the robot provides the motion required to perform the process, are now also being deployed. For example, using a cold air gun or an acoustic emitter to move around the part.

Automating measuring equipment is another growth area in robotics. This can include loading a CMM, vision system, or even special gaging. Having the robot automatically load and unload this equipment can save many hours of labor. It is important to have clean parts for inspection, so it is logical to integrate part cleaning into an inspection cell.

Whether for stamping, pin stamping, or laser marking, part marking is another postprocess operation that is very suitable for automation. One advantage of loading/unloading a laser marking machine with a robot is that the entire robot area can be contained within the laser cabinet to prevent users from being exposed to laser light. This allows loading and unloading without a door, simplifying the process and reducing cycle time.

After these postprocess operations are completed, robots can also be used for the packing of parts. Packing could be facilitated with reusable containers to shuttle or move parts to the next operation, or the parts could be packed in boxes for direct shipment to customers.

Previously, one of the barriers of automating these processes had been cost. Typically, higher value is placed on the labor used for loading an expensive piece of equipment such as a CNC machine, instead of utilizing robots in a deburring process. However, deburring could be classified as a skilled position. Shops have seen the benefits of automation in conventional operations and they are now looking for other ways to apply the technology.

See the original post here:

Automation Meets Postprocessing - Advanced Manufacturing - Advanced Manufacturing

Forbes

Is Automation To Blame For Jobless Recoveries? Forbes Over the last few months it has become trendy to jump on the neo-Luddite bandwagon and bemoan how machines are taking our jobs, and as automation gathers pace, they will take our jobs in never before seen numbers. It's led to a renewed emphasis on ...

Read more:

Is Automation To Blame For Jobless Recoveries? - Forbes

Michael Hicks 5:03 a.m. ET March 12, 2017

Toyota plants combine robots and automation, as seen here on the Sienna assembly line at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant in Princeton, Ind.(Photo: Submitted by TMMI)

There is remarkable angst growing over the role of machines in the production of goods and services. While we are right to be concerned over the labor market effects of automation, most folks worry about the wrong things. That can lead to some stunningly wasteful, if not outright hurtful, public policies. Heres why:

All technological change, from the shovel to the microcomputer, is designed to save labor. At the same time and only in market-based economies new work continues to materialize and business endeavors hire more workers. For all of recorded history, automation and productivity improvement creates demand for workers while making some tasks unneeded.

Productivity growth is the very essence of economic growth, and we should not fear it. Very real worries come not from the automation itself, but from our inability to adapt to it. It is clearly true that the new jobs created by automation are oftentimes not in the same location, or do not require the same skills as those that automation destroys. This leaves large numbers of people with redundant skills living in clusters of other people with the same skills. Thus, today the antipode of any rustbelt city is Palo Alto, Calif.

This fear of job losses and the obvious distress it causes leads us to ill-considered policy interventions. This is especially true because the labor market signals of supply and demand are hard to read from a state capital or Washington office. Lets consider the example of todays businesses clamoring for more, better-trained, young workers. As I write this column, a search for truck drivers in Muncie yields dozens of jobs, with pay exceeding $50,000 a year.

Naturally, Indianas regional workforce officials are eager to help fill those jobs and subsidize training for truck drivers. Indeed, truck driver ranks third out of 50 "Hot Jobs"for Indiana. I personally know many employers desperate for more truck drivers, but the apparent excess demand for workers might well be a signal of something else. Impending automation.

On the labor demand side, there is nothing like a labor shortfall to incentivize automation. As anyone who pays any attention knows, tests of driverless vehicles are underway on public roads. I predict that by 2030, commercial trucks will no longer be built for drivers. Oh, sure, theyll still have steering wheels and a place to sit, but that will be incidental to the automation. While the Teamsters will fight tooth and nail to keep a driver in the seat, it will ultimately fail.

On the labor supply side, workers know this all too well. Many workers will find other things to do in anticipation of technologies that will shake up many common jobs. Workers typically understand that the future of employment requires skills that are not substitutes for machines. The government is a lot worse at figuring this out, and this drives some potentially costly mistakes in public policy.

Workers of the future will increasingly need skills that are complemented by automation and technology. These sorts of skills come directly from math, science and liberal arts. Without enduring aptitude in these areas, most of todays young workers will be displaced by automation long before they hit middle age. Policies that lose sight of the imminent role of automation on workers is destined to fail, at a heavy and enduring cost.

Hicks is director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.

Read or Share this story: http://indy.st/2ncft41

The rest is here:

Hicks: Automation need not be the enemy - Indianapolis Star

Shipping containers sit stacked among gantry cranes in this aerial photograph taken above the BNCT Co. container terminal at Busan New Port in Busan, South Korea, on Thursday, July 30, 2015. South Korea is scheduled to release trade figures on Aug. 1. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesSeongJoon Cho Bloomberg via Getty Images

The debate about the impacts of automation on jobs and the economy shows no signs of cooling down, with Bill Gates endorsement of taxing robots most recently stirring up strong reactions . Will workers rendered obsolete by the coming wave of robotic automation be able to find new jobs in an evolving economy, as they always have in the past? Or are we facing a fundamental shift in the structure of our economy that demands active government intervention to help obsolesced workers?

Those who think workers will be just fine can point to historical examples like Henry Fords assembly line, which simultaneously raised wages and made cars affordable to average Joes and Janes for the first time. Another, less widely understood historical instance of automation was the transformation of shipping by containerization. Shipping containers took cargo out of the hands (literally) of small armies of longshoremen, replacing manual labor with giant cranes.

Ships could be loaded and unloaded much faster with the container method, and that efficiency put global trade on steroids starting in the 1960s. It helped developing economies like China boom, and made certain port cities very rich. It also rendered others obsolete, and displaced massive numbers of workers.

Get Data Sheet , Fortune s technology newsletter.

That story is told in-depth in Containers , an 8-part audio documentary (a.k.a. podcast) by Fusions Alexis Madrigal. Madrigal focuses on the port of Oakland, which was an early adopter of containerization thanks to its role in supplying the Vietnam War. Starting in the 1960s, Oaklands business interests were overjoyed by the prospect of their efficient, containerized port stealing business from nearby San Francisco, where much port labor was still manual (now theres a historical irony for you). And that's exactly what happenedby 1969, Oakland had the second-ranked container port by tonnage in the world, and it became a huge source of new economic activity in the city.

At the same time, though, containerization had devastating effects both for urban port cities, and for the longshoremen who had moved cargo by hand. Dense cities, where factories clustered next to ports, were for various reasons stuck with the old manual-labor model, and the mostly suburban new container ports rapidly stole traffic from them. According to experts interviewed by Madrigal, close to 90% of dockworkers in some urban ports lost their jobs within 15 years of the arrival of containerized cargo. That included places like London, San Francisco, and New York.

Of course, that list seems to affirm one of the major arguments for the benefits of automationthose cities have all, in the half-century since they lost so much of their port traffic, managed to transform themselves into completely different, and richer, places. On the other hand, the well-paying port labor that supported those cities working-class communities hasnt returned, contributing to increasing income stratification.

As Madrigal sums it up, the example shows that most of the jobs that people think have gone to Mexico or Asia or elsewhere, have just been made obsolete by automation . . . No executive order or tariff can turn the clock back and recreate the old economic system.

Continue reading here:

To Understand Automation's Impacts, Consider the History of Ports - Fortune

Forbes

The 2 Best P2P Lending Automation Tools For Investors -- Detailed ... Forbes Peer-to-peer lending (P2P lending) is a new method of debt financing that enables individuals to borrow and lend money without the use of a financial institution. and more »

Continue reading here:

The 2 Best P2P Lending Automation Tools For Investors -- Detailed ... - Forbes