Xtensible Solutions Releases CIM EA, a Free Tool for CIM Modeling and Design

Greenwood Village, CO, August 19, 2010 Xtensible Solutions, a leading provider of enterprise information management and an integration services firm for utilities worldwide, today announced the release of CIM EA, a free tool for CIM modeling and design. CIM EA is an add-in developed within the Sparx Systems' flagship modeling platform, Enterprise Architect. CIM EA extends Enterprise Architect to provide a single environment in which users can manage the IEC Common Information Model (CIM), CIM Profiles, and CIM-based artifacts such as RDF and XSD message generation. With CIM EA, users can create and edit CIM Profiles as standard UML models and generate CIM-based artifacts from those models, all within Enterprise Architect.

Because CIM EA is an integrated part of the Enterprise Architect environment, it offers many benefits that are not readily available from similar tools in the market.

  • CIM Profiles are created as traditional UML models.
  • Traceability is included from CIM Profiles directly to the CIM UML.
  • IEC TC57 Working Groups can now manage both the CIM and CIM Profiles in a single environment (i.e. Enterprise Architect).
  • Working Groups can publish CIM Profiles as part of a complete CIM model release.
  • CIM users can extend CIM and CIM Profiles in UML without learning another tool or technology.
  • CIM EA provides a quick and easy environment for other Smart Grid communities to use and extend CIM for their use cases.
  • Users can leverage all of the Enterprise Architect native capabilities for modeling collaboration, model management, and documentation.

Ken Harkin, Business Development Manager for Sparx Systems, noted, "CIM EA simplifies the process of transforming and exporting model data to concrete artifacts, significantly enhancing the CIM user experience. By enabling profile management and artifact generation directly from within Enterprise Architect and streamlining the process, this tool from Xtensible Solutions will make the task of managing the CIM and CIM implementations much easier, for both users and the IEC working groups."

He added, "With the integration that the free CIM EA plug-in delivers, the CIM community will realize value added through seamless access to the rich tapestry of Enterprise Architect native features. Xtensible Solutions' CIM EA establishes a new technology milestone that reflects the potential for exciting industry productivity gains in the pursuit of standards interoperability and harmonization."

Terry Saxton, Co-Chair of CIM Users Group (CIMug) under UCA International Users Group (UCAIug), believes that CIM EA holds special benefits for the CIM user community, which has "long searched for a free tool that leverages the native and standard UML-based environment [Enterprise Architect] in which the CIM is being developed, so that the use of CIM extends beyond the generation of CIM-based standard schemas and into the implementation of interoperability for both internal and external utility enterprise systems." Saxton added, "Because the CIM is a key model for Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Development, the availability of CIM EA will play a vital role for many of the Smart Grid communities to use and extend CIM." For more information about Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Development, please go to collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/.

About Xtensible Solutions

Xtensible Solutions is a leading provider of semantic-based integration and information management solutions to the utility industry worldwide. Xtensible is a driving force behind the development and implementation of open standards, such as the IEC CIM and related information exchange standards that have been identified as key to current and future interoperability initiatives including the Smart Grid. With its MD3i Framework and professional service offerings already in use at numerous utilities and energy companies world-wide, Xtensible is committed to becoming a strategic partner with utilities in their transformation into the intelligent utilities of the future.

About Sparx Systems

Sparx Systems specializes in high-performance and scalable visual modeling tools for the planning, design, and construction of software-intensive systems. With customers in industries ranging from aerospace and automotive engineering to finance, defense, government, entertainment, and telecommunications, Sparx Systems is a leading vendor of innovative solutions based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and its related specifications. A Contributing Member of the Object Management Group (OMG), Sparx Systems is committed to realizing the potential of model-driven development based on open standards.

The company's flagship product, Enterprise Architect, has received numerous accolades since its commercial release in August 2000. Now at version 8, Enterprise Architect is the design tool of choice for over 200,000 registered users world-wide.