How can innovative manufacturers improve their operational performance? With coherent, modern software to run the operation. First Resonance‘s ION Factory Operating System is designed for manufacturers in space tech, new energy, and other breakthrough products ready to craft fresh manufacturing processes. They have added agentic AI, an updated user experience (UX), and a partner marketplace to showcase ION partners.
ION Intelligence
First Resonance’s ION has long had AI functionality baked into it. With the introduction of ION Intelligence, they have added semi-autonomous workflow agents, which use the power of modern large language models (LLMs to leverage datasets from business operations. These new agents each specialize in specific tasks and domains. Beyond automating data search and retrieval, they keep production and its information flowing without manual handoffs. The initial agent focus is on improving the workflows for how customers have been using ION already.
ION Intelligence can also provide action recommendations. We saw these agents on screen. They showed the various alternative recommendation options and the system’s confidence levels for each recommendation. This can significantly speed up the time to decision and confident action in the plant. As with other LLM-based AI, First Resonance reports that ION Intelligence is improving rapidly, even before launch and wider customer use.
First Resonance integrates data into ION Intelligence using the new but increasingly widely accepted Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard. We see more and more companies using MCP for integration beyond their own set of agents. The benefit is that MCP standardizes communication with APIs and other data sources, becoming a common, consistent language for every AI tool, desktop app, and data source to connect intelligently.
Upgraded UX
User Experience (UX) is crucial to any manufacturing plant floor software. It must serve the operators, technicians, engineers, and supervisors without distracting them from the primary focus of making products. The new UI uses best practices such as choosing dark or light modes, voice capture, OCR, etc.
While the user interface (UI) is part of the upgrade for a clean look and the AI agents on screen, there’s more. The new ION experience also speeds load times for processes that need large quantities of data. Based on how customers have used ION over the past five years, First Resonance made UX changes to address some priority needs in real-world situations.
ION Marketplace
First Resonance has long had partners in PLM, PDM, Finance, Procurement, and more. It has pre-built integrations to 16 systems, and even more through their partnerships with integration platforms like Violet Labs. Their customers use integrations with many ERP systems and other common software platforms. They also have integration and services partners to support customers with developing integrations. The ION Marketplace initially helps ION customers find and connect with these companies. It may evolve for deeper interactions and become a place for customer- or partner-developed extensions in the future.
Market Focus
First Resonance’s target market is quality-critical manufacturers. To date, many have been forward-thinking companies emerging into production for breakthrough products. It is designed for companies that are willing to depart from traditional working methods. Because First Resonance ION includes MES and other capabilities, it might also overlap with existing ERP, SCM, and analytics systems. We suspect traditional A&D, energy, medical device, and robotics makers could learn from the First Resonance approach and streamline data flows beyond traditional operating siloes.
Looking to the Future
We are excited to hear how well First Resonance supports its customers in growing their businesses with sound factory information and guidance. The combination of new items in this release is ambitious, and we agree it’s an excellent fit for what manufacturers need today. Innovation-centered manufacturing companies can benefit from ION’s new AI, UX, and easy ecosystem access.
Thank you, Ron Close, for the advance materials and briefing for Julie Fraser and Rick Franzosa. The launch webinar was also very informative; thank you to Karan Talati, Allan Cutler, and Manav Sanghvi for explaining the news. We look forward to tracking First Resonance’s progress in the market.