HiQube and NCMS Host Technology Webinar for Plant Managers to Improve Operational Efficiency

TROY, Mich., March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Altair Engineering, Inc., a leading global provider of simulation technology and engineering services, invites plant management personnel within manufacturing operations to participate in a free webinar discussing how HiQube, a new-generation business intelligence and data analytics technology, can simplify and automate root cause analysis and provide deeper insight into plant performances.

The webinar, co-hosted by Altair and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS), is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, at 11 a.m. EST. Manufacturing executives can participate by registering at www.hiqube.com/NCMSwebinar.

For production operations, HiQube enables IT managers, plant managers, finance managers and inventory control management to avoid the time-consuming process of poring over spreadsheets, text files and manual log entries to track down the root causes of equipment downtime, lagging production or quality control issues.

HiQube simplifies root-cause analysis by providing a single, consolidated view of all relevant information across the enterprise, allowing managers to slice, dice and drill information, as well as to view key performance indicators and conduct what-if analyses, to find the source of production bottlenecks rapidly.

NCMS Executive Director, Jon Riley, will make a short introduction to kick-off the webinar and will be followed by Altair's Vice President of Business Intelligence Solutions, Alhad Joshi. With more than 20 years of experience in software development and information management systems, Joshi will share HiQube's unique approach to enabling a seamless decision support system for plant operations. The discussion will address the aggregation, extraction and transformation of siloed plant data into an advanced multi-dimensional data model – without disrupting business operations or requiring infrastructure upgrades – to provide timely and rapid insight through interactive performance dashboards.

HiQube's technology yields spectacular returns on investment, with payback times of less than six months, while reducing response times by tenfold or better, making the monitoring of factory floor operations quick and efficient.

About HiQube

HiQube is a high-performance, optimization-driven business intelligence and data analytics solution for guided decision-making. Developed and supported by Altair Engineering, HiQube leads an advanced generation of BI technology, serving as both an end-to-end BI solution and a complementary software stack extension to perform higher-level data analytics. HiQube empowers stakeholders across the enterprise to connect dynamically to multiple data stores and ad hoc data sets within a single unified environment. Complex business models can be easily created in HiQube's combined multi-dimensional, relational and hierarchical data engine to deliver unparalleled decision-making power. To learn more, please visit www.hiqube.com.

About Altair

Altair Engineering, Inc. empowers client innovation and decision-making through technology that optimizes the analysis, management and visualization of business and engineering information. Privately held, with more than 1,400 employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. With a 25-year track record for high-end software and consulting services for engineering, computing and enterprise analytics, Altair consistently delivers a competitive advantage to customers in a broad range of industries. To learn more, please visit www.altair.com.

SOURCE Altair Engineering, Inc.