Software Toolbox Technical Blog

Bridging the Gap Between the Shop Floor and SAP — Without Custom Code

3 min read

By Kyle Persyn on Jun 12, 2025 2:00:00 PM

Integrating with SAP: A Simple Guide Using OPC Router

In many industrial environments, getting real-time data from machines into SAP can feel like a complex, code-heavy challenge. Whether triggering production orders, tracking materials, or sending print requests, smooth data flow is essential. This is where OPC Router makes a difference — providing a no-code solution to seamlessly connect your OPC UA-enabled systems directly to SAP.

To help you get started, we have put together a quick video demo that walks you through the setup, step-by-step.

Continue Reading

Pharma User Boosts Reporting, Gains 250+ Hours with LGH File Inspector

5 min read

By Jay David on Jun 5, 2025 2:00:00 PM

A major pharmaceutical company struggled with manual, error-prone data extraction for monthly compliance reporting within their utilities department. The team was reliant on fragile Excel macros pulling historical LGH file data from AVEVA InTouch HMI (formerly Wonderware InTouch) systems, which frequently broke due to Microsoft Office updates, causing costly delays and requiring repeated engineering intervention. 

To streamline their regulatory reporting process and ensure data accuracy and security, the pharmaceutical utilities group sought a robust, user-friendly solution to extract water and wastewater data efficiently without IT bottlenecks or operational downtime.

Topics: Case Studies LGH
Continue Reading

Historical Data Reporting Made Easy with Dream Report and TOP Server

3 min read

By Zachary Parham on May 29, 2025 2:00:00 PM

If you’ve ever had to dig into historical data, you know that being able to easily access and understand it is key for gaining insights and decision making. Without the right tools, retrieving and reporting on historical data can quickly turn into a nightmare – leaving you dreaming of a better option. In today’s age of digital transformation, Dream Report gives you easy access to accurate data, allowing you to maintain a competitive edge, make informed decisions, and leave your nightmares in the past. 

In this blog post and accompanying video, you’ll learn how to use TOP Server’s Local Historian Plug-In with Dream Report to quickly capture and visualize historical data—revealing hidden trends in just 8 minutes.

Continue Reading

Success Story: How a UK Retailer Improved Logistics with Real-Time Data

4 min read

By Jessica Dillon on May 22, 2025 2:00:00 PM

A leading UK retailer, serving millions of customers through an extensive store network, set out to modernize aging infrastructure in its high-throughput distribution centers. Burdened by legacy equipment and unsupported software systems, the organization needed a reliable way to bridge communication gaps without replacing critical machinery. 

By working with a UK-based system integrator who leveraged OmniServer and OPC Data Logger software applications from Software Toolbox, the retailer achieved real-time visibility, accurate data collection, and the ability to respond quickly to underperformance. The result: improved fulfillment quality, reduced freight waste, and smarter use of transport resources.

Continue Reading

Video Tutorial: Get Started with the OPC Server Remote Config Client

3 min read

By Abrey Austin on May 15, 2025 2:00:00 PM

As the Industry 4.0 movement transforms industrial automation, engineers and system administrators are tasked with managing more devices, across more locations, and under tighter security policies. For those working with TOP Server or KEPServerEX, the need for secure and scalable configuration tools has never been more critical. 

The OPC Server Remote Configuration Client enables direct configuration of remote TOP Server or KEPServerEX instances from your local machine, eliminating the need for remote desktop sessions, cloud access, or additional agents. Running entirely within your network, it ensures secure user access through the server’s built-in User Manager and offers an optional SQL audit trail for tracking configuration changes such as user identity and value changes. 

In this blog, you’ll see how the OPC Server Remote Configuration Client streamlines server management and enhances efficiency in high-security environments, helping accelerate digital transformation throughout your operations. 

Continue Reading

Video Tutorial: How to configure Cogent DataHub as an MQTT Broker

3 min read

By Connor Mason on May 8, 2025 2:00:00 PM

In the Industry 4.0 movement we are in today, companies going through the digital transformation process have to turn data into information and get it in the structures people want, how they want it and when they want it, to facilitate decisions that achieve the desired business results. Unifying data means accessing data where it lives, no matter the protocol required. MQTT is used extensively as a communication transport in many applications, and in this blog we'll show you an implementation.

Continue Reading

Securing Oil and Gas Data Exchange with Software Toolbox Solutions

6 min read

By Jay David on May 1, 2025 2:00:00 PM

In the oil and gas industry, data drives everything—from production optimization to regulatory compliance and remote asset management. But in an environment with geographically dispersed assets, legacy equipment, and too often limited network bandwidth, secure data exchange is far from simple. 

To stay competitive and compliant, oil and gas operators must bridge the gap between edge devices to control and enterprise systems—safely, reliably, and in real time.

Continue Reading

Earth Day to Every Day: Driving Sustainability with JSON RESTful Data

6 min read

By Sarah Eckhoff on Apr 24, 2025 2:00:00 PM

Happy belated Earth Day! We hope you took the time on Tuesday to enjoy the great outdoors or made a plan to get outside this weekend. Perhaps you did neither and instead decided to put your reusable water bottle to use instead of grabbing another plastic bottle of water to drink from for the day. Whatever you did, we hope it made you happy because that’s part of what celebrating Earth Day is all about.

In this final post of our 2025 Environmental Sustainability blog series, we’re diving into how industries can make smarter, greener decisions using actionable RESTful web services. I know that may sound like a stretch to connect these things, but keep reading: I’m going to discuss the technology, the data sources that you can consume to impact your sustainability results, and how you can bring them together without writing any code.

Continue Reading

About this Blog

We're engineers like you, so this blog focuses on "How to" appnotes, videos, tech team tips, product update announcements, user case studies, and other technical updates.  Subscribe to updates below. Your feedback and questions on posts are always welcomed.

Subscribe to our Blog

Recent Posts

Posts by Topic

See all