FAQ
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How did Bitnamic come into being?
The origins of Bitnamic GmbH lie in a university research project with the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. In 2015, just five years after the start of the project, Bitnamic was founded with the support of an EXIST grant. Thus, a technology company was established in the Osnabrück region that offers service collaboration solutions “Made in Germany” worldwide.
In the meantime, our team has grown to 24 employees in the areas of software development, augmented reality, sales, marketing, finance and controlling. Thanks to our innovative approach and cooperation with renowned customers and partners, we are reshaping the future of industrial maintenance.
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What makes Bitnamic stand out in particular?
Bitnamic stands for innovation and quality in the field of industrial service. Digital transformation, increasing product complexity, shortage of skilled workers — we specifically address these challenges in service.
Our solutions are continuously developed by highly qualified employees based on latest developments. With bitnamic CONNECT, we offer an exclusive product that is both customizable and device-independent.
The idea is to adapt our solutions to your requirements and fully integrate them into your day-to-day work. Digitize your service processes with us — make your company fit for Industry 4.0.
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What is bitnamic CONNECT and which advantages does the software solution offer?
With bitnamic CONNECT, you have a comprehensive solution at hand to efficiently master challenges such as increasing product complexity, time and cost-intensive maintenance problems as well as a shortage of skilled workers and service competence.
bitnamic CONNECT has three main modules that you can select or combine individually:
Remote Maintenance:
Solve problems on machines and systems together with experts remotely via live video and augmented reality.Documentation Hub:
Make digital knowledge (manuals, documentation, instructions, etc.) available for quick access.Academy:
Provide digital customer and employee training to build sustainable expertise.bitnamic CONNECT is already in use in numerous well-known companies and supports them in mastering daily challenges in maintenance and service.
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In detail: bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance
Problems with machines and systems cannot always be resolved alone. An expert often has to travel to the site, resulting in high travel costs. This can lead to expensive, long production stops due to downtimes or non-compliance with SLAs.
bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance connects technicians on-site with experts worldwide in an interactive video conference, including many useful tools for troubleshooting. Machines can be fixed faster and no expert has to travel to the site.
In addition, there are other helpful features such as
- the interactive 3D Manager for visualizing components and assemblies,
- the 360° Viewer for a full all-round view during product acceptance or inspections,
- the Instant Messenger for fast, secure exchange of messages and media,
- augmented reality and smart glasses for even more efficient work, as both hands remain free.
Specially developed for maintenance, bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance can also be used with low bandwidth, is device-independent (smartphone, tablet, notebook, desktop or smart glasses) and can be customized.
A version in your company’s own corporate design is also possible.
bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance is not an office communication tool, but has been specially developed for service and maintenance. In contrast, video and communication solutions in the end-user sector are usually only designed for private use.
However, face-to-face transmission is not a high priority in a maintenance case — in contrast to a stable connection and encrypted data transmission. The focus of bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance is on solving problems and challenges directly on-site; this saves time and money.
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In detail: bitnamic CONNECT – Documentation Hub
Specific knowledge is often required for the professional maintenance and servicing of machines and systems. Even experienced service technicians occasionally need to refer to additional documentation and information.
The bitnamic CONNECT – Documentation Hub provides organized, centralized and digital access to documentation and information, which can be categorized and searched:
- In the central documentation collection, information of various (media) types on machines and products is available for quick access — anytime, anywhere.
- Known service cases, routine maintenance or standardized servicing processes can be carried out with the help of workflows and step-by-step instructions.
- The 3D Manager visualizes parts, components and assemblies to explain complex issues.
Specially developed for maintenance, the bitnamic CONNECT — Documentation Hub is accessible even with low bandwidth, device-independent (smartphone, tablet, notebook, desktop or even smart glasses) and individually customizable.
A version in your company’s own corporate design is also possible.
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In detail: bitnamic CONNECT – Academy
Training employees, counteracting staff turnover and the shortage of skilled workers - the right training and transfer of specialist knowledge is crucial for this.
With the help of bitnamic CONNECT – Academy, employees and customers are trained quickly, easily and from any location in digital courses, training, further education or onboarding:
- Digital training courses encourage independent learning and at the same time ensure that learning progress is monitored.
- Live training sessions in the form of a moderated video conference enable the personal demonstration of important learning units without costly and time-consuming travel by trainers and participants.
- With the help of the 3D Manager, parts, components or assemblies can be visualized and complex issues can be clearly explained.
bitnamic CONNECT – Academy is device-independent, versatile and customizable.
A version in your company’s own corporate design is also possible.
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What distinguishes bitnamic CONNECT from other remote service software?
Different challenges, one platform — bitnamic CONNECT combines all the modules and functions you need for high-quality service in industry in one solution:
With bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance, you can solve service problems together with experts, technicians, colleagues, etc., while the bitnamic CONNECT – Documentation Hub brings together all information in a central digital hub to quickly master minor problems, maintenance or installations.
With bitnamic CONNECT – Academy, you can effectively counteract the shortage of skilled workers by providing employees or customers with cost-saving digital training.
No program changes between modules, no additional logins — with bitnamic CONNECT you have everything in one place.
In addition, there is our “Create Once, Use Everywhere” approach: created content can be used multiple times, for example, a lesson from bitnamic CONNECT – Academy serves as a guide for a service technician who can easily access it via the bitnamic CONNECT – Documentation Hub.
Unlike many other solutions, bitnamic CONNECT does not need to be installed (no program or app download is required) and runs on all technical devices, regardless of the operating system.
It is also possible to set up interfaces to other programs or systems such as Salesforce, ServiceNow or MS Dynamics. bitnamic CONNECT is not an isolated solution, but can be integrated into your company’s internal IT.
We would be happy to present bitnamic CONNECT to you live and without obligation.
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Is bitnamic CONNECT also available in my own corporate design?
On request, you get the desktop/browser version of bitnamic CONNECT in your company’s own corporate design or CI-adapted iOS or Android apps.
Place your own app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for your customers and employees to download.
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How can I purchase bitnamic CONNECT?
Our solution is available in the form of three packages: Starter, Advanced and Enterprise. We offer a non-committal test phase to help you find the right model for your company.
Our sales team will be happy to advise you personally on all options.
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Where is my data stored and which encryption algorithms are used?
Your data (screenshots, video recordings, sent files, etc.) are stored in a cloud. This means that no additional storage capacity is required on your end devices and the data can be accessed online at any time. Bitnamic also guarantees GDPR compliance for the highest possible level of data protection.
In addition, all transmissions are SSL-encrypted. This provides the same level of security as for online banking.
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Can software solutions by Bitnamic be connected to other systems, such as Salesforce?
bitnamic CONNECT adapts to your company — not the other way around. Thus, our solution can also be started from other systems.
With the help of predefined interfaces, links to applications, ticket systems and/or customer portals that you already use in your day-to-day work are no problem. For example, you can integrate bitnamic CONNECT into Salesforce, ServiceNow or MS Dynamics.
We gladly discuss your individual requirements with you and adapt our solution specifically to your wishes and systems.
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Who is already using Bitnamic solutions?
bitnamic CONNECT is used by big, medium-sized and small companies in a wide range of industries.
From mechanical engineering, plant construction, production, aviation, aerospace, agricultural technology, renewable energies, automotive and construction machinery to logistics, healthcare and research — our solutions are used successfully across all industries.
We would be happy to discuss the various possible applications in your company with you.
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Do I have to buy certain devices to be able to use bitnamic CONNECT?
bitnamic CONNECT is not limited to any specific hardware and can therefore be easily used on the devices you already own. Whether smartphone (iOS, Android), tablet, notebook or PC — you choose the device that best suits your service processes.
Do you need both hands when working, for example in high-risk areas? Simply use our software solution via smart glasses to work hands-free. If you wish, we would be happy to introduce you to reference hardware, which you can also purchase from us.
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What is augmented reality and what opportunities does it offer in industry?
Augmented reality (AR) is becoming increasingly important in the industrial sector. Reality is enhanced with virtual elements. In contrast to virtual reality (VR), however, the environment remains visible.
Augmented reality can be used with a wide variety of hardware, such as smartphones: the camera image is shown on the display and overlaid with virtual information. bitnamic CONNECT – Remote Maintenance offers a special AR mode for this purpose.
Smart glasses take things a step further by providing displays in the user’s field of vision. This means that AR content is always visible and hands are free for other work.
Augmented reality headsets offer the most extensive possibilities. Thanks to the built-in sensors, they can capture the environment spatially and position virtual elements in the entire field of vision. Objects can thus be overlaid precisely and ensure a fusion of reality and virtual content. Spatial interaction between real and virtual elements is also possible.
The Microsoft HoloLens is a good example of an augmented reality headset: internal sensors detect the room and holographic objects can be placed within the room. If the wearer changes position, the virtual objects remain in their original physical location.
You can find more information about augmented reality in industry in our bitnamic CONNECT smart glasses guide.
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Which smart glasses are supported?
Currently, the RealWear Navigator 520, RealWear Navigator 500, Vuzix M400 and Microsoft HoloLens 2 smart glasses are supported.
Each of these smart glasses has its own particular advantages in practical use. You can find a comparison of the top 3 smart glasses for industry in our magazine.
You can find more information on augmented reality and smart glasses in our smart glasses guide. We can also advise you on which model is best suited to the daily challenges in your company.
In general, our solution is hardware-independent and can be linked to the smart glasses you require.
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What is the difference between smart glasses and mixed reality devices such as the Microsoft HoloLens?
While smart glasses use 2D displays to show supporting information in the user’s peripheral field of vision, the HoloLens mixed reality device from Microsoft can display spatially appropriate virtual overlays on real objects. It does not use a separate display, but visual elements that are located in front of both eyes in the field of vision. This means that the entire room can be used to place information.
This increases clarity and efficiency immensely. Together with the scanning of the room by the integrated sensors, it is possible for spatial overlays to appear positioned stably even when the user is moving. Just like smart glasses, the HoloLens also enables hands-free working.
You can find more information about the Microsoft HoloLens 2 in our magazine and the bitnamic CONNECT smart glasses guide.