HighByte, a Portland-based industrial software company, has emerged from stealth mode with its first product since being founded in August 2018.

Earlier this week, the company released a global beta program for its first product, HighByte Intelligence Hub. More than a dozen manufacturers, distributors, and system integrators from the United States, Europe, and Asia have been granted early access to the software in exchange for their feedback, according to the company’s news release.

HighByte Intelligence Hub belongs to a new classification of software in the industrial market known as DataOps solutions, and was developed to solve data integration and security problems for industrial businesses, according to the company. The aim of the beta program is to improve performance, features, functionality, and user experience of the product prior to its commercial launch later this year, the company said in its release.

“We recognized a major problem in the market,” said Tony Paine, HighByte’s co-founder and CEO. “Industrial companies are drowning in data, but they are unable to use it. The data is in the wrong place; it is in the wrong format; it has no context; and it lacks consistency. We are looking to solve this problem with HighByte Intelligence Hub.”

Paine, along with co-founders Torey Penrod-Cambra and John Harrington, were all former employees of Kepware Technologies, a Portland-based company that also builds industrial software. Kepware was acquired by PTC Inc. in January 2016.

Startup Maine recently selected HighByte as one of eight startups to represent Maine at the Disrupt conference happening next month in San Francisco.

HighByte’s R&D efforts have been fueled by two non-dilutive grants awarded by the Maine Technology Institute in 2019.

“We are excited to join HighByte on their journey to building a great product and a great company here in Maine,” said Lou Simms, investment officer at MTI. “HighByte was awarded these grants because of the experience and track record of their founding team, large addressable market, and ability to meet business and product milestones.”