Today, we announced that aspenONE® Engineering V10 software is available for cloud deployment, lowering total cost of ownership and enabling engineers to access the latest software anytime, anywhere. There are a number of reasons businesses are moving to the cloud – lower cost of ownership, faster software deployments with less IT effort, increased access to innovation… most people are familiar with the benefits of cloud computing.  

A recent experience gave me a greater personal appreciation for the cloud. Last month, my laptop crashed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to restart. While waiting for the information services team to repair or replace the machine, I thought about all my work in progress: I realized there were probably files I’d need months down the road that I couldn’t think of in the moment.

Fortunately for me, all of my work was saved to the cloud. As soon as I got a loaner laptop from IS, I was able to access all my files. No waiting, no lost work – everything I needed was right there. It was a relief to know that my files were safe and I didn’t have to recreate any of my work. While it would have been frustrating and time-consuming for me to rebuild my files, there’s an even greater productivity loss when a process engineer’s machine fails, destroying complex models reflecting hundreds of hours of work. Still more time is lost waiting for the IS department to provide a computer with all the right versions of engineering software installed. 


Improving Collaboration

My laptop failure also drove home how much the team here at AspenTech relies on the cloud for collaboration. ARC Advisory Group reports that increasing collaboration is another compelling reason for cloud adoption. Deploying aspenONE Engineering in the cloud enables multiple engineers to work on the same model or project simultaneously. Ultimately, enabling better teamwork increases efficiency, which is critical for process engineers troubleshooting to avoid unplanned shutdowns. Having several engineers work on a single model at the same time offers the potential for tremendous time savings. 


Enabling Access Anytime, Anywhere

Just a few weeks after my laptop repair, I traveled to India for several weeks. While most of the time I was on vacation, knowing that I could access my work if something came up offered a certain peace of mind. I could even work during my flights thanks to on-board wi-fi. Knowing that our customers now have access to aspenONE Engineering software whenever and wherever they need it – traveling back and forth between plants, in conference rooms, on construction sites – I’m eager to hear how much more productive and efficient they can be. 

We’re grateful to the 17 companies worldwide who partnered with us in testing and developing our cloud option. Feedback from customers in the largest global process industries, including Dow, Yara, Burns & McDonnell and ConocoPhillips helped us ensure the application delivers the flexibility and functionality our customers need.