Industrial automation and connectivity specialist Novotek UK and Ireland has partnered with industrial software provider PTC to provide its ThingWorx platform to UK businesses. The PTC partnership will extend Novotek's Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology offering and will help businesses in the UK's manufacturing, food and beverage, utilities and energy sector improve their system effectiveness, efficiency and connectivity.

ThingWorx is an IIoT platform that allows plant and utilities managers to unify the stream data from industrial equipment and systems in a single location. This allows businesses to not only monitor and optimise activity, but also to easily develop IIoT applications suited to the needs of their plant, without requiring programming experience.

Novotek's partnership with PTC will allow the company to provide the most recent iteration of the ThingWorx software, ThingWorx 8. This version incorporates elements of augmented reality (AR) from PTC's Vuforia software, allowing plant managers to build AR applications that are specific to their plant's set up and systems.

"Whether you fully buy into the concept of the IIoT or not, there's little question that improved connectivity and insight is key to improving productivity and performance," explained George Walker, managing director of Novotek UK and Ireland. "The key to achieving these benefits from industrial connectivity is to have a robust platform in place that allows engineers to develop solutions that work for their specific operations.

"ThingWorx 8 simplifies the process of developing IoT applications to help plant managers get the most from their systems. Likewise, its AR functionality offers significant benefits to field service staff and maintenance engineers because it transforms the process of maintaining equipment.

"AR allows engineers to see a digital model of specific components in a machine, informed by real time data through ThingWorx. This allows maintenance engineers to see the current status of a component and determine whether maintenance is required, all without disrupting production. For more complex machinery, this also allows engineers to quickly and easily identify the easiest way to access components."

ThingWorx will complement Novotek's already extensive IIoT offerings, adding a scalable platform that provides UK businesses with edge computing functionality and enhanced asset uptime.

For more information on the range of PTC industrial automation software available from Novotek UK and Ireland, contact the team on +44 (0)1413 321 551 or e-mail info_uk@novotek.com.