Vitech Explained

Vitech
Type:	Privately held company
Industry:	Software, consulting
Founded:	1992
Founder:	David Long
Hq Location:	Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.
Area Served:	Worldwide
Key People:	Enrique Krajmalnik (Chief Executive Officer) Doug Johnston (Chief Financial Officer) Brian Selvy (Chief Innovation Officer)
Products:	CORE (systems engineering software) GENESYS (systems engineering software)
Num Employees:	25
Homepage:	vitechcorp.com

Vitech, formerly known as Vitech Corporation and now known as Zuken Vitech Inc., is a systems engineering company responsible for the development and management of two model-based systems engineering tools, GENESYS and CORE. Vitech products have a range of applications and have been used for program management by the U.S. Department of Energy,^[1] for railway modernization^[2] and waste management in Europe,^[3] and for space station^[4] and ground-based air defense system development^[5] in Australia. In an effort to promote the study of model-based systems engineering, Vitech partners with universities throughout the United States, providing them with its software for instructional and research purposes.^[6]

History

Vitech Corporation was established in 1992 in Vienna, Virginia by David Long, then an undergrad student at Virginia Tech. Long, who at the time was majoring in engineering science and mechanics and studying under Benjamin Blanchard and Wolter Fabrycky, developed a software program to meet the requirements for a senior project. He began the project as a tool for academic use, then refined it to make CORE, a modeling environment for systems engineering problems,^[7] while earning his master's degree in systems engineering at Virginia Tech.^[8] Long initially sought to license the program through an existing company, but eventually opted to manage and market the product himself, establishing Vitech Corporation in the process.

CORE has gone on to become a tool used in the teaching of model-based systems engineering, and is cited in engineering textbooks such as Systems Engineering: Design Principles and Models,^[9] by Dahai Liu, The Engineering Design of Systems Models and Methods (pp. 62–66),^[10] by Dennis M. Buede and William D. Miller, and System Engineering Management (p. 243),^[11] by Benjamin S. Blanchard and John E. Blyler. CORE is offered free to universities such as MIT and the Naval Postgraduate School^[12] as part of the Vitech University Program.^[13]

In 2011, David Long, former president, and Zane Scott, former vice president of Professional Services at Vitech, wrote A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering. The book outlines the systems thinking approach and reviews the basic concepts of model-based systems engineering.^[14]

In August 2019, Vitech was acquired by Zuken, Inc. as a wholly-owned subsidiary.^[15] The acquisition had the approval of the United States Department of Defense and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Effective April 22, 2020, Vitech Corporation formally changed its name to Zuken Vitech Inc.

Products

• CORE - Vitech's original product, CORE, is a systems engineering software tool whose principal feature is a single, integrated model that supports model-based systems engineering.^[16] CORE is used widely in corporations and governmental organizations and referenced in systems engineering textbooks such as A Practical Guide to SysML,^[17] Systems Engineering: Design Principles and Models,^[18] The Engineering Design of Systems Models and Methods,^[19] and System Engineering Management.^[20]
• GENESYS - In 2012, Vitech launched GENESYS, a systems engineering tool built on the .NET Framework with MATLAB connectivity that delivers connected, enterprise-wide systems engineering.^[21] BusinessWire reported on the announcement^[22] and release of GENESYS, highlighting its new features.^[23]
• A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering - Published by Vitech in 2011 and authored by former Vitech President David Long and former Vice President for Professional Services Zane Scott, this primer presents the basic concepts of model-based systems engineering.^[24] The book is offered free from Vitech, and is frequently used in university courses to introduce concepts in model-based systems engineering. In 2012, BusinessWire noted the release of the second edition of the book.^[25] In the fall of 2017, Massachusetts Institute of Technology used the primer as part of its four-course online program, Architecture and Systems Engineering: Models and Methods to Manage Complex Systems.

Services

Vitech Corporation offers a range of systems engineering consulting services to private sector firms as well as governmental organizations such as DOD, DOE, and NASA.^[26]

Further reading

• Dennis M. Buede and William D. Miller, The Engineering Design of Systems Models and Methods, third edition (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2016), 62-66.
• Benjamin S. Blanchard and John E. Blyler, System Engineering Management, fifth edition (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2016), 243.
• Sanford Friedenthal, Alan Moore, and Rick Steiner, A Practical Guide to SysML (Waltham: Morgan Kaufmann Publishing, an imprint of Elsevier, 2012), 11.
• Dahai Liu, Systems Engineering Design Principles and Models (CRC Press, 2016), 59, 104-108, 127-133, 138-139.

Notes and References

1. Using CORE Model-Based Systems Engineering Software to Support Program Management in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of the Biomass Program. Simpkins. P.. 10.1.1.182.6225.
2. Developing system models to help Great Britain's railways embrace innovative technologies with confidence . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 227. 6. 677–684. Bouch . Christopher . Roberts . Clive . english . 10.1177/0954409713500485 . 2013. 55169257 .
3. Web site: A novel-based methodology for the application of middle-out, model-based systems engineering techniques, for city waste management systems development. Bouch . Christopher . Kenny . Richard . Hunt . Dexter . Wallace . Tommy . Rogers. Christopher . Lee . Susan. bham.ac.uk. English. February 13, 2018.
4. Web site: Feds consider value of national space agency. Washington. David. InDaily. english. September 25, 2017. 2017-04-19.
5. Web site: Finding the right tool in Australia . systems-wise.com. February 14, 2018.
6. Web site: University Participants. Vitech.com. September 25, 2017.
7. Web site: Company Overview of Vitech Corporation. bloomburg.com. September 25, 2017.
8. Web site: Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering - Virginia Tech. ise.vt.edu. September 25, 2017.
9. Book: Dahai, Liu. 2016 . Systems Engineering Design Principles and Models. CRC Press . 59,104–108,127–133,138–139 . 9781466506831.
10. Book: Buede . Dennis . Miller . William . 2016 . The Engineering Design of Systems Models and Methods, third edition . Hoboken . John Wiley & Sons . 62–66 . 9781119028062.
11. Book: Blanchard . Benjamin . Blyler . John . 2016 . System Engineering Management, fifth edition . Hoboken . John Wiley & Sons . 243 . 9781119047827.
12. Web site: Examination of modeling languages to allow quantitative analysis for model-based systems engineering. Nutting. Joseph. calhoun.nps.edu. September 25, 2017.
13. Web site: University Program Participants. Vitech.com. September 25, 2017.
14. Web site: A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering. Long. David. gmu.edu. February 5, 2018.
15. Web site: Zuken Completes Vitech Corporation Acquisition. zuken.com. September 18, 2019.
16. Web site: Vitech CORE. Systems Engineering Tools. 30 June 2016 . February 5, 2018.
17. Book: Friedenthal . Sanford . Moore . Alan . Steiner . Rick . 2012 . A Practical Guide to SysML. limited . Morgan Kaufmann Publishing . 11 . 9780123786074.
18. Book: Dahai, Liu. 2016 . Systems Engineering Design Principles and Models. CRC Press . 59,104–108,127–133,138–139 . 9781466506831.
19. Book: Buede . Dennis . Miller . William . 2016 . The Engineering Design of Systems Models and Methods, third edition . Hoboken . John Wiley & Sons . 62–66 . 9781119028062.
20. Book: Blanchard . Benjamin . Blyler . John . 2016 . System Engineering Management, fifth edition . Hoboken . John Wiley & Sons . 243 . 9781119047827.
21. Web site: Vitech Launches GENESYS 4.0, Bringing Integration in Systems Engineering to Unprecedented Levels. Business Wire. September 25, 2017. 2016-01-26.
22. Web site: Vitech Corp. Announces GENESYS MBSE Solution . Business Wire. english. January 31, 2018. 2012-02-21 .
23. Web site: Vitech Launches GENESYS 4.0, Bringing Integration in Systems Engineering to Unprecedented Levels . Business Wire . January 31, 2018. 2016-01-26 .
24. Web site: A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering. Long. David. gmu.edu. February 5, 2018.
25. Vitech Corporation Releases 'A Primer for Model-Based Systems Engineering' . businesswire.com. 22 May 2012 . english. January 31, 2018.
26. Web site: Vitech homepage. Vitech.com. September 25, 2017.