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Infor and IBM to deliver next generation SOA-enabled ERP systems
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12/09/2007
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ERP software developer Infor has launched its next generation ERP, with SOA (service orientated architecture) architecture, and solutions for mid size manufacturers with IBM at its Las Vegas Inforum user conference.
Infor ERP SL 8.0 (formerly SyteLine) uses the company’s Open SOA, enabling interoperability with, for example, Infor EAM for asset management and Infor SRM SupplyWeb for supplier collaboration, for end-to-end management.
In particular, new tools include a role-based user interface, expanded multi-site capabilities for global manufacturers, and a configurator that helps streamline the production of custom orders. Infor describes it as “a robust, out-of-the-box ERP solution for complex manufacturing environments”.
“Infor ERP SL 8.0 is a major milestone in the evolution of the SyteLine product,” says Mike Frichol, vice president of global industry and product marketing for Infor. “Since Infor took ownership of the SyteLine product with the Mapics acquisition, Infor has made major investments in this product.”
As for the SOA aspect, Infor also announced the roadmap for its Infor Open SOA framework – which includes development projects for dynamic role-based home pages and SOA-based components that the company says will evolve Infor solutions and collaboration into the future.
“Complexity is the bane of enterprise software, because it leads to high costs and a loss of focus on the core business,” says Bruce Gordon, CTO at Infor. “With Infor Open SOA, we are providing both power and simplicity. We are committed to delivering innovations that can coexist and add value in the most diverse IT environments.”
Those innovations absolutely include standards-based interoperability, he says. Infor is enriching solutions through phased feature packs and incremental upgrades to customers on a maintenance plan – focusing first on enabling solutions to use standardised business object documents (BODs) for linking process flows across solutions in a publish/subscribe, event-driven and decentralised framework.
Its framework also harnesses native support for the Open Applications Group Interoperability Standard (OAGiS) for document exchange via the Infor Enterprise Service Bus (ESB).
As for those role-based home pages, the first generation is already available in Infor ERP LN. The next generation, it says, will be available mid next year, and be dynamic and configurable Ajax-based web pages that present data from multiple systems, both Infor and non-Infor. Users will get Web 2.0 functionality, with personalisation and enterprise-mashup capabilities for visualising data.
Finally, Infor and IBM: the two have agreed to deliver end-to-end business solutions that address the needs of mid-size discrete manufacturers worldwide. The IBM offerings, which include the Infor ERP LN software and IBM Global Business Services, will help users streamline operations and automate business processes, they say.
IBM will deliver Infor ERP LN solutions initially in North America, with plans to expand the programme later – focusing on general discrete, electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing, as well as transportation equipment. It will also work on easing upgrades for existing Infor ERP Baan clients.
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Author
Brian Tinham
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