CloudiFacturing aims to optimise production processes and producibility using Cloud/HPC-based modeling and simulation, leveraging online factory data and advanced data analytics, thus contributing to the competitiveness and resource efficiency of manufacturing SMEs. For end users, software deployed in CloudiFacturing are accessible using the Digital Marketplace web application (emGORA). More than only a user interface to the CloudiFacturing platform, emGORA aims to be a commercialisation hub and a space for community-building around cloud-based engineering software for the manufacturing industry. The CloudiFacturing solution focuses on software packages, applications, and workflows, which are executed on cloud and/or HPC resources and which are referred under the generic name to as executable artefacts. CloudiFacturing integrates several different types of such artefacts and their corresponding executing engines (platforms) will make them harmoniously accessible. Further types might be integrated into the CloudiFacturing solution in the future. Since the described artefact types originated from several different software vendors or integrators, they are not necessarily interoperable on their own. The CloudiFacturing platform with its five core components homogenises the access to these artefacts and their platforms, creating a seamless "platform of platforms".

CFG solution

emGORA is the default entry point to the CloudiFacturing solution. This means that emGORA directly interacts with the CloudiFacturing platform components (i.e. meta platform) and it therefore enables the execution of artefacts available within the execution engines. emGORA is inspired by the concept of “agora”, aiming to gather assemblies and markets within the same space; in our case, the community and the marketplace of ICT-enabled solutions for manufacturing SMEs. All the services offered via emGORA are based on a pay-per-use or subscription business model with a unified billing process, in order to streamline and improve the accessibility to the orchestrated technology without jeopardizing the liquidity of the manufacturing SMEs. emGORA aims to be open, empowering different stakeholders to become members of the community to offer their ICT solutions or consultancy services through an additional distribution channel, or to access advanced cloud-based services (e.g. simulation, analytics, optimisation, etc.) and expert knowledge to boost the company's competitiveness. The openness of emGORA will allow any end user in the context of the product development or production processes, any technology provider (ISVs, VARs, computing resources providers), and any consultancy company to join the community and to exploit the large network of purpose-affined members; thus, building and generating sophisticated added value.

emGORA concept

emGORA supports multiple services in view of enabling consumers and providers to get together and benefit from building business relationships with one another. Considering the diversity of services and the multiple consumers and providers, emGORA strives for clean and simple concepts that allow every kind of visitor to find its way through it. To this end, emGORA services are clustered into different domains: “Home”, “Community”, “Marketplace”, “About”, “My emGORA”. The domains support very concrete types of operations, assisting the visitors in finding the proper services in a consistent manner. The relationship between domains and types of operations is regarded as follows:

  • Guiding and supporting
    Visitors access emGORA and its services through the “Home” domain, where direct links to other domains and to featured content is displayed. The visitors are supported in the “About” domain with information on emGORA, its partners, and the support functionality.
  • Interacting and sharing
    The “Community” domain brings together the consumers and providers of emGORA; this is achieved by providing functionalities that empower them to interact with one another and share information among them.
  • Promoting and showcasing
    emGORA also aims to make ICT-enabled solutions for manufacturing SMEs accessible, affordable, and usable; the “Marketplace” domain clusters all the services that are offered in the context of cloud-based software, online courses, and consultancies.
  • Editing and executing
    Consumers and providers have the opportunity to create content for sharing and spaces for interacting; providers are enabled to publish cloud-based software, online courses, and consultancy services; and consumers are empowered to execute the services offered by the providers. The functionality for editing content, spaces, and services, and the functionality for executing the services are all clustered within “My emGORA” domain.