Crate.io Inc. believes it has found a way to deliver more insights to customers using its database at the edge.

The creator of CrateDB today announced the launch of CrateOM, a new service that’s designed to work alongside its flagship database and transform so-called process data into actionable insights that can be put to use immediately. Crate.io says CrateOM enables digital transformation through real-time insights and in-app communications that can improve decision-making and collaboration.

The company is best known for its popular CrateDB Structured Query Language database that runs as a cluster of containers that host hundreds of its individual components. Uniquely among SQL databases, this containerized architecture enables CrateDB to redistribute data as it changes the size of the clusters it sits upon, making it ideal for capturing and analyzing data generated by machines and devices.

Built atop the Microsoft Azure IoT Hub service and running on CrateDB, the CrateOM service is designed to transform device and machine data into insights wherever they are running, be it on the factory floor or in a warehouse or some other location. Companies running factory machines, for example, can improve process efficiency by reducing downtime, increasing the efficiency of employees running those machines.

Crate.io said it created CrateOM in partnership with the Austria-based international plastics manufacturing giant ALPLA-Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co KG. ALPLA has been running CrateOM in more than 20 U.S. and German manufacturing plants as part of its Smart Production Program.

It uses the service to collect continuous production from hundreds of factory machines and transform that into insights, then puts them to use with specific actions on the shop floor. In addition, CrateOM also captures large volumes of raw data that can be sent back to the cloud and used to inform longer-term projects.

ALPLA says CrateOM has enabled it to simplify processes on its factory floors, reduce time to resolve issues, avoid waste and reduce risk.

“We introduced CrateOM because the system holds great potential for us around process monitoring and process flow digitalization,” said ALPLA Chief Executive Philipp Lehner. “The system has a high level of scalability, and also allows us to work with the learnings the process discovers overtime to improve the system.”

Crate.io CEO Eva Schönleitner said ALPLA has been an ideal development partner for CrateOM. “With the launch of CrateOM, we want to extend our value offering from data collection to enabling operational data analysis in real time across several plants,” she said. “We also partnered with Microsoft to ensure CrateOM runs on Microsoft Azure as the primary cloud provider.”

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