INCLINE VILLAGE, NV – May 5, 2011 – Frontline Systems is shipping new Version 11.0 of its full product line, including Risk Solver Platform V11.0, its flagship tool for better decisions using optimization, simulation, and decision trees in Microsoft Excel, and Solver SDK Platform V11.0, the easiest way for developers to use optimization and simulation in C++, C#, Java and other languages.
“In V11.0, we’ve reconfigured and even renamed several products to make it easier for users to choose and get started with our tools,” said Daniel Fylstra, Frontline’s President and CEO. “At the same time, we’re delivering better performance and functionality at every level of our product line.”
Upward Compatible from Excel Solver
Frontline’s Solvers for Excel are upward compatible from the Solver included in Excel, which Frontline developed for Microsoft, and improved in Excel 2010 for Windows and Excel 2011 for Macintosh. Users can solve problems hundreds to thousands of times larger than the basic Excel Solver, at speeds anywhere from several times to hundreds of times faster, and they can solve completely new types of problems. Frontline’s SDK products are Software Development Kits that bring optimization and simulation power to applications written in C/C#/C++, Visual Basic/VB.NET, Java, and MATLAB. On .NET platforms, the SDK products integrate with Microsoft Solver Foundation, via a plug-in shipped with both tools.
Easier to Choose, Easier to Get Started
Version 11.0 makes it easier for users to choose the product that best suits their needs. Frontline’s product line consists of three “Pro” products for first-time professional users of optimization and simulation, three “Platform” products for users needing maximum power and performance, and eight large-scale Solver Engines for optimization that “plug into” any of the three Platform products.
New and enhanced User Guides and Reference Guides, improved in-product Help, and new videos help users who are new to optimization or simulation, or upgrading from the Excel Solver. A variety of small enhancements across the product line, based on a series of usability studies with V10.5 users, are designed to ease the entire process from downloading and installing to completing a first application.
Premium Solver Pro Features Automatic Guidance and Solver Engine Selection
Premium Solver has been the best-selling first upgrade from the Excel Solver, with its ability to solve problems up to 10 times the size at many times the speed. Version 11.0 adds the ability to automatically identify the type of model (linear, nonlinear, etc.) being solved, give users useful information about the model to help correct errors and reduce solve times, and automatically select the best Solver Engine to solve it. With these new aids to help users get the best answers in the least amount of time, Premium Solver has been renamed Premium Solver Pro.
Risk Solver Pro Features Fastest-Available Simulation and Simulation Optimization
Since its debut in 2007, Risk Solver has been by far the fastest way to perform Monte Carlo simulation for risk analysis in Excel – from 10 to 100 times faster than competitive products. Now with Version 11.0 users can move from just analyzing risk with Monte Carlo simulation to managing risk with Simulation Optimization, solving models 10 to 100 times faster than competitors, thanks to a powerful Evolutionary Solver Engine that is tightly integrated with the simulation engine. With this new capability Risk Solver has been renamed Risk Solver Pro.
Solver SDK Pro Helps Developers Get Started Quickly with Custom Applications
New in Version 11.0, Solver SDK Pro is aimed at developers who are first-time professional users of optimization and simulation in custom applications. It has optimization capabilities equivalent to Premium Solver Pro, and simulation capabilities equivalent to Risk Solver Pro – but offered through a powerful object-oriented API (Application Programing Interface) that is compatible with the VBA API available in Frontline’s Solvers for Excel.
Premium Solver Platform Solves Larger Nonlinear and Non-Smooth Problems
Premium Solver Platform, for more than a decade the most powerful and best-selling Excel Solver upgrade, is enhanced in Version 11.0 with an integrated Large-Scale GRG Solver Engine and an enhanced, hybrid Evolutionary Solver Engine, both capable of solving problems up to 1,000 variables and 1,000 constraints – twice the variables and four times the constraints of previous versions.
Risk Solver Platform Enhances Optimization, Simulation, Decision Analysis
Risk Solver Platform, Frontline’s flagship product for Excel, combines all the features of Risk Solver Pro and Premium Solver Platform, and adds powerful stochastic programming, robust optimization, and decision tree capabilities. It is upgraded in Version 11.0 to include the Large-Scale GRG Solver Engine, enhanced hybrid Evolutionary Solver Engine, easier to use dialogs and charts for uncertain variables and simulation results, and enhanced decision trees with strategy tables.
Frontline Systems is also shipping new Risk Solver Platform V11.0 for Education, a special version licensed only for use in MBA and other university programs. Offered at a student price with problem size and performance restrictions compared to full Risk Solver Platform, it represents a genuine breakthrough in software capabilities available for teaching and learning optimization and simulation methods.
Solver SDK Platform Handles Large-Scale Problems in Excel and in Custom Code
Solver SDK Platform (formerly Solver Platform SDK) brings the power of Frontline’s “Platform” products to developers writing custom applications. It includes the optimization and simulation features of Risk Solver Platform, and it accepts the same plug-in, large-scale Solver Engines as Risk Solver Platform and Premium Solver Platform. It can also load and solve Excel workbooks that contain optimization and simulation models, and deliver results through its API or via XML solution files.
Large-Scale Solver Engines Feature Best-Ever Performance
Frontline’s eight large-scale Solver Engines are enhanced in Version 11.0 to incorporate the most recent versions of the Gurobi Solver, Xpress-MP Solver, KNITRO Solver, and five other world-class Solvers for optimization. Switching among Solver Engines is as easy as changing a dropdown selection in Excel, or executing one line of code in a custom application. Combined with the five Solver Engines included with the base Platform products, these products make it exceptionally easy for users to find the best optimizer for their specific problems.
About Frontline Systems, Inc.
Frontline Systems, Inc. (www.solver.com) is a leading developer of optimization and simulation software, and the leader in spreadsheet-based software for both conventional and stochastic optimization, helping managers best allocate scarce resources today and in the future. Frontline developed the solvers/optimizers in Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and Quattro Pro, distributed to more than 500 million spreadsheet users. Founded in 1987, Frontline is headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada (775-831-0300 or info@solver.com).
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