 |
"The JWAVE engine works
very well; the ability to create customized charts, graphs and plots
dynamically through a web browser, rather than relying on canned
images, is essential for our clients."
-Barbara Marranzino, BaseCase Director,
Resource Data International, Inc.
QUICK FACTS
Resource Data International, Inc. (a division
of Platts, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies) is a leading provider
of global energy industry information. They have used JWAVE to help
develop a new tool, BaseCase Imager, which is used for visually
inspecting data. The power and flexibility of the product's visualization
engine is important and JWAVE allows RDI to create a consistent
graphical user interface for BaseCase Imager and display graphical
results over the Internet.
THE PROBLEM
As utility giants Edison International and PG&E Corp. struggled
mightily to meet the huge energy demands of California citizens
during the Winter of 2001, power company executives across the country
sought an efficient, reliable means to forecast energy production
and consumption. In their search for answers, many turned to Boulder,
Colorado-based Resource Data International, Inc. (a division of
Platts, a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies). Resource Data International
(RDI) is a leading provider of the most comprehensive global energy
industry information, including news, data and unbiased analysis.
RDI's product line includes publications,
database information systems, conferences, and consulting services,
all designed to help senior managers in energy-related fields make
informed decisions and keep pace with industry trends. In addition,
the company provides expert analysis of retail markets, power generation
and distribution, oil and gas, coal and mining, and environmental
issues.
Long recognized as one of the industry's
top forecasters of coal and electricity prices, RDI's forecasts
are only as good as the underlying data used to generate them. With
the company's BaseCase product, RDI clients have access to the very
same data for use in their own analyses and forecasts.
BaseCase is a database information system
that provides a complete set of data inputs necessary to drive electricity
market models. By concentrating on supply and demand, all of the
diverse pieces needed to drive complex simulation models have been
brought together in BaseCase. RDI clients use BaseCase for electricity
and capacity price forecasting, benchmarking, energy market and
production simulation models, risk assessment, asset valuations,
and more.
Originally designed as a database to feed
inputs for simulation models, BaseCase has grown to include a broad
range of analytical tools that are invaluable both for benchmarking
and for more detailed modeling and analyses.
One such analytical tool is BaseCase Imager,
a powerful new online device that provides a faster, simpler way
to examine quantitative data relationships in the energy industry
-- all via the World Wide Web. As power markets grow increasingly
complex, quick and intuitive access to information can sharpen a
company's competitive edge, and often the best way to rapidly comprehend
the significance of this data  is
through visualization -- the use of graphs, charts and maps. The
heart of BaseCase Imager lies in the detailed data sets that comprise
BaseCase -- the same data that drives the most advanced power market
models in the country. The Imager combines information on the operating
characteristics and costs of individual generating units with hourly
data on power generation, system load, and cost of power to create
vivid, full-color graphics.
THE SOLUTION
As the name implies BaseCase Imager is a tool for visually inspecting
data, therefore, the power and flexibility of the product's visualization
engine is hugely important. After a thorough review of several commercially
available data visualization products, and even giving consideration
to developing a visualization engine from scratch, RDI selected
JWAVE from Visual Numerics.
JWAVE is Web-based software that lets users quickly access and
understand what their data means, from anywhere, at anytime. With
JWAVE, users can rapidly analyze, visualize and share critical information
immediately with everyone in the organization, regardless of the
computing platform. Based on multitiered architecture, JWAVE lets
users easily create applications that embrace open standards and
will grow as their organization grows. Included is a sophisticated
set of analysis and visualization functions that run on the server,
avoiding network bottlenecks and costly downloads of information.
JWAVE allows organizations to standardize and distribute information
on a single platform, the Web.
"JWAVE allows RDI to create a consistent graphical user interface
for BaseCase Imager and display graphical results over the Internet,"
said Barbra Marranzino, BaseCase director at RDI. "Our clients
use a variety of computer platforms and often have limited resources
with which to handle the immense volume of data included in BaseCase
Imager. JWAVE creates an environment where they can select the data
that fits their needs and display that information in a fast, efficient
form."
BaseCase Imager uses industry-standard hourly data sets to illuminate
the dynamic nature of power markets in the United States. It lets
RDI clients find the specific company, plant, or region they want
to study. Once they have found the entity they want, the client
can then graph all of the data related to that entity. When the
plots are displayed, users can specify the type of data they want
to examine, the time period, or even the color scheme. There are
ten different graphs from which to choose, each allowing the user
to change the variables and time periods. Soon users will also be
able to click on the graph itself and get the tabular data behind
the graph.
By utilizing JWAVE as the data visualization engine, BaseCase Imager
provides users with flexible plotting routines and standard tools
for representing industry data (coincident stacks, load duration
curves, etc.), in addition to time-series charts and scatter plots
for several industry-standard data sets.
"Our philosophy of 'success through partnership' is based
on the belief that no matter how innovative our technology is, we're
successful only if our customers realize measurable productivity
and functionality gains by using our products," said Margaret
Journey, the JWAVE product manager at Visual Numerics. "In
that regard, we think our partnership with RDI has been very successful
because their use of JWAVE solidifies BaseCase Imager's visualization
capabilities and increases its flexibility for end-users."
Marranzino also cited JWAVE's database connectivity features as
being very important. "Because of the size of the data sets
in BaseCase Imager, and the need to deliver this information via
the Internet, speed is a critical concern. By enabling direct database
connectivity with the graphical interface, JWAVE has allowed BaseCase
Imager to create a real-time display environment for users around
the world with a great deal of flexibility."
RETURN ON
INVESTMENT
When discussing RDI's specific reasons for selecting JWAVE, Marranzino
said performance was the primary criteria. The creation of BaseCase
Imager required a tool that would be fast and reliable. The decision
to use JWAVE was made easier by the fact that RDI has successfully
used its sister product, PV-WAVE, in the past and has invested considerable
resources in code development. In addition, RDI needed a tool that
was web-based and scalable, offered high-end visualization and animation,
world-class statistics, and numerical algorithms that could attach
to many data sources.
Marranzino added that because of the size
of the BaseCase database and variety of users for BaseCase Imager,
a very flexible visualization package was needed. "The JWAVE
engine works very well in this regard," she said. "The
ability to create customized charts, graphs and plots dynamically
through a web browser, rather than relying on canned images, is
essential for our clients."
Of course, product support is a key concern
when a decision is made to embed a third-party product into ones
own product. In that regard, Marranzino said Visual Numerics passed
with flying colors. "Their product support staff has been very
good at accommodating our needs. We have called, frequently in desperation,
trying to solve last-minute glitches and they have consistently
been a highly responsive partner."
WORLD CLASS PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
AND SUPPORT
Visual Numerics has provided technical software
solutions for numerical analysis and visualization for over 30 years.
The company's software products help users understand complex data
from a variety of sources and build business-critical applications.
Visual Numerics offers two product lines: the IMSL® Numerical
Libraries for powerful mathematical and statistical analysis and
the PV-WAVE® visual data analysis development environment. Visual
Numerics also offers customized consulting services for applications
that involve mathematical, statistical, or visual data analysis
to meet today’s business analytical needs.
The IMSL Numerical Libraries which include
the IMSL C Library, IMSL Fortran Library and JMSL™ Library
for Java™ applications are the industry standard for numerical
analysis. They deliver developers with the breadth and depth of
core algorithms allowing for the rapid development of any application.
Whether developing applications in C, Fortran, or Java, or on UNIX,
Windows or Linux, the robust IMSL Libraries provide the reliable
foundation and the building blocks developers need.
The PV-WAVE family of products which includes
PV-WAVE, TS-WAVE, and JWAVE delivers engineers with the development
tools to efficiently and accurately meet their data analysis needs.
PV-WAVE solutions allow users to rapidly import, manipulate, analyze
and visualize data. The PV-WAVE family also includes robust time
series analysis software as well as the ability to share analysis
results across the enterprise with a Java-based solution. And, unlike
other products, PV-WAVE Advantage includes a sophisticated set of
analysis routines based on the industry-standard IMSL Libraries.
In addition, Visual Numerics Consulting
Services combine technical expertise, decades of hands-on experience
and a combination of powerful products to create the highest quality
solutions possible for your visual data analysis needs.
Visual Numerics unique combination of products
and services rapidly enhance ROI by delivering the highest efficiency,
greatest accuracy and maximum performance.
|
|
|
|
Industry
Environment
Application
Energy/Power
Product
JWAVE
Resource Data International (RDI), now a division of Platts (a unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies), is the creator of BaseCase Imager. BaseCase contains
specific information that helps users perform effective electricity
and capacity price forecasting, benchmarking, energy market and
production simulation models, risk assessment, and asset valuations.
Key Benefits
| > |
Web-based software |
|
| > |
Consistent graphical user interface |
|
| > |
Display graphical results over the internet |
|
| > |
Flexible plotting routines and standard tools |
|
| > |
Strong database connectivity features |
|
| > |
Helpful product support staff |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
