PiWeb cloud is a cloud-based solution for inspection data management. It differs from the on-premises PiWeb editions in the following points:
The PiWeb cloud trial is your chance to try out PiWeb cloud for 90 days at absolutely no cost. The trial includes everything you need to handle your inspection data with PiWeb cloud:
The PiWeb cloud trial expires automatically after 90 days. There is no need to cancel it. If you want to continue working with your trial data, you can easily convert your trial into a regular subscription.
Currently, PiWeb cloud uses the PiWeb server 8.0. Any update is done by the PiWeb cloud team without additional costs. We will inform our customers by email before any scheduled updates to PiWeb cloud.
PiWeb cloud is different from PiWeb sbs / PiWeb enterprise in multiple ways:
The access point to PiWeb cloud is the PiWeb cloud portal. Here you can purchase, configure, and manage your PiWeb cloud subscriptions. The portal website requires you to create a ZEISS ID account. ZEISS ID is your one central account to all ZEISS services, from applications to training, service, and documentation.
A PiWeb cloud subscription is a contract with a one-year term. The subscription fee is based on:
The subscription fee is billed annually upfront. Fees for elements that you add to an active subscription are calculated based on the remaining subscription term. Elements removed from a subscription are available until the end of the subscription term. There is also an option to start a free PiWeb cloud trial that allows you to evaluate PiWeb cloud for 90 days at no cost. The PiWeb cloud trial includes a 10GB database and one license for each PiWeb module (PiWeb planner, designer, monitor).
The PiWeb cloud Portal is optimized for a recently published Google Chrome version. Nevertheless, other common browsers (IE, Edge, Firefox, Safari or Opera) can be used as well.
PiWeb cloud has the following system requirements:
PiWeb cloud modules need stable internet access to connect to PiWeb cloud databases.
For the connection of measuring machines, the system requirements are:
PiWeb modules run on current Windows-hardware and need 10 GB of available disc space.
The data upload depends on the software that you use with your measuring machine.
Establishing a connection to a PiWeb cloud database and uploading data from one of the aforementioned applications requires a ZEISS ID user account for PiWeb cloud. In addition, this ZEISS ID user account must be a member of the target subscription and have access to the PiWeb cloud target database.
You can manage access to the database and module licenses within a PiWeb cloud subscription via the PiWeb cloud portal. See the section Subscription Management for more details.
For a shared user account, you need to create a shared email address for your company, e.g., via your IT department. Then, after creating a ZEISS ID account with this email address, you can invite this shared user to the subscription the same way as regular users.
PiWeb cloud does not limit the number of users that can access a PiWeb cloud subscription, databases, or module licenses.
In PiWeb cloud, you can assign one of three roles to subscription users:
PiWeb cloud automatically sets subscription owners and admins as admins for each PiWeb cloud database. In addition, you can assign more detailed user roles and permissions within a single database through PiWeb planner.
At the moment, PiWeb cloud databases are fixed to their initial three sizes: 10 GB, 30 GB, or 100 GB. However, we have planned storage upgrades for a future release.
In the meantime, you can always add additional databases to the subscription and increase your cloud's overall storage capacity.
Note that each cloud database is an independent instance. Therefore, it is not possible to view data across multiple cloud databases in a single PiWeb report.
Yes. Suppose you have an existing PiWeb sbs or enterprise solution. In that case, you can access data from your local database as well as PiWeb cloud databases. To connect with PiWeb cloud, it requires PiWeb 7.4.5.0 or newer.
No. Modules purchased with a PiWeb cloud subscription cannot connect to a PiWeb enterprise or sbs server. PiWeb cloud subscription modules can only connect to a PiWeb cloud database.
Yes, in combination with a PiWeb enterprise server. PiWeb enterprise servers include synchronization jobs that can retrieve data from any PiWeb cloud database automatically.
Automated synchronization of PiWeb cloud with a PiWeb sbs server is not possible.
Yes, you can also upload additional data to PiWeb cloud. The maximum size per file is 250 MB. If you want to upload larger files, please contact us at piwebcloud.metrology.de@zeiss.com.
PiWeb provides two options to transmit and store additional data – either with a supported file format via PiWeb auto importer or directly via the PiWeb API.
Note: Currently, PiWeb cloud does not support the PiWeb API. Please get in touch with piwebcloud.metrology.de@zeiss.com regarding specific data formats if you are a PiWeb customer. Otherwise, if you have not yet purchased a PiWeb subscription or on-premises installation, don't hesitate to contact the corresponding sales representative.
PiWeb modules require an internet connection to launch and to work with live data from the server. PiWeb module to server communication is based on individual requests with short-lived HTTP connections. Most of those requests are the result of user interactions. Hence, you can handle short network outages by simply retrying a failed action.
PiWeb cloud supports concurrent use. Concurrent use authorizes the simultaneous usage of PiWeb modules for a set number of users. If an additional user wants to start PiWeb monitor, they will have to wait for a current user to close the application. You can add new licenses to a subscription at any time via the PiWeb cloud portal.
PiWeb cloud does not track and display module license usage.
ZEISS provides maintenance and upgrades as-a-Service for all server components. In addition, all PiWeb cloud customers can always download the newest version of the PiWeb modules from the ZEISS Software Center in the ZEISS portal.
No. All annual fees for a PiWeb cloud subscription include maintenance and support for the PiWeb modules. Therefore, there is no need for an additional software maintenance agreement (SMA) or service level agreement (SLA).
Yes. You can export data from PiWeb cloud as a .qdb file using PiWeb planner. You can then manually transfer the data to another storage such as an on-premises database.
Currently, PiWeb cloud does not support the PiWeb API. However, we plan to fully support third-party access to the PiWeb API in the future.
Yes. We support PiWeb notifications in PiWeb cloud.
Each subscription owner or administrator can invite new users via email. To invite a new user to the subscription, log into the PiWeb portal, select the desired subscription, navigate to the Users section and click "Invite users".
Each person you invite will receive an invitation email. Once they have registered or signed in to PiWeb cloud, they can accept the invitation and become a subscription member.
Yes, as an owner or admin of a PiWeb cloud subscription you can assign different roles and permissions:
PiWeb cloud will automatically assign Owners and Administrators of the subscription as admin of each PiWeb cloud database.
Yes, you can invite new users or remove existing subscription members without any limitations. Additionally, you can configure access to your PiWeb cloud subscription via the Users section in the PiWeb cloud portal.
Since PiWeb cloud subscription is billed annually upfront, there are no monthly payments and no risk for you to exceed payment dates throughout the subscription term. Additionally, we automatically renew each PiWeb cloud subscription after the one-year term if you did not cancel it within a 30-day termination period before the expiration date. We will deny access to the cloud databases and module licenses if you cancel the subscription or miss the annual payment. After the subscription cancellation, we will permanently delete all data 180 days after the term has expired. Please make sure to back up your data with PiWeb planner if you decide to end your PiWeb cloud subscription.
ZEISS hosts databases and servers for PiWeb cloud in a data center in West Europe. All data centers are operated by Microsoft Azure.
See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/global-infrastructure/geographies/#geographies for more details.
PiWeb cloud builds on the services of Microsoft Azure and therefore uses the various data security mechanisms provided by the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Please see the following links for more information on data security with Microsoft Azure:
PiWeb cloud encrypts all data and stores it redundantly. We also save daily backup copies which we store for 30 days. In case of accidental deletion or alteration of your PiWeb cloud data, contact us at piwebcloud.metrology.de@zeiss.com. Together we will figure out the best way to restore your data. Please be aware, that PiWeb cloud will automatically delete all backup copies after the expiration of the 30-day retention period.
You fully control the usage and access to your subscription via the PiWeb cloud portal and the PiWeb planner module. Thus, you decide who gets access to your inspection data and to what extent. In addition, PiWeb cloud uses one dedicated database for each PiWeb cloud database to guarantee data isolation.
PiWeb cloud encrypts all data at rest with TDE (transparent data encryption).
All data traffic to the PiWeb cloud is encrypted via TLS-1.2.
All data between the web browser, PiWeb modules, and PiWeb cloud is transferred via HTTPS on port 443.
Measurement applications store inspection data locally (e.g., on a Calypso PC) until the upload process to the PiWeb cloud has finished. In the event of a network failure during upload, all measurement data remains stored on the local PC. When the measurement application or PiWeb auto importer re-establish the connection to the cloud, they can automatically complete the data transfer.
The customer is responsible for data backup. There is no legal warranty claim.
ZEISS will not use customer data for marketing campaigns. ZEISS will use your contact data solely to provide the PiWeb cloud services, process orders, and provide customer support.
There are multiple options for product support depending on the issue at hand:
Simply send us an email or search for a direct contact near you.
piwebcloud.metrology.de@zeiss.com