VAI Enhances S2K Analytics with Financial Business Intelligence Capabilities

New Comprehensive Dashboards Help Companies Make Educated Financial Decisions

VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.), an award-winning ERP software provider, announced the release of its enhanced S2K Analytics solution, a comprehensive, web-based Business Intelligence (BI) tool designed to drive smarter, faster business decisions. This upgraded tool features ten new financial management dashboards that provide an in-depth view of financial data from all levels of the organization.

Designed to meet the needs of VAI’s customers, regardless of size or industry, S2K Analytics integrates with S2K Enterprise and features automated reporting and dashboard capabilities that give customers big-picture visibility into their revenue and profitability. The new dashboards provide at-a-glance insight into a company’s financial performance, allowing for customization and consolidation of data that can then be used to make educated decisions. With the enhanced S2K Analytics, VAI customers can:

• View balance sheets, and P&L statements
• Analyze profitability of their business
• Monitor procurement and expense management
• Create ad hoc self-serve inquiries
• Build reports and dashboards as well as share information with others
• Integrate S2K Analytics with Excel
• Collaborate on and contribute to new reporting needs
• Access information through a web browser, including mobile devices
• Compare past financial performance

"VAI is excited to offer an even more comprehensive BI tool to our customers,” said Joe Scioscia, vice president of sales, VAI. “We are committed to continually innovating our products in order to provide our customers with best-in-class software that streamlines business processes and creates cost efficiencies. The upgraded S2K Analytics will undoubtedly enhance our customers’ ability to use the information gathered through our ERP software to make even more effective, real-time business decisions.”

 About VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.)

VAI is an award-winning software developer and an IBM Premier Business Partner. Designed for the mid-range market, S2K Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Suite is used by a wide variety of mid-sized companies worldwide, with a number of clients in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, food and related service industries. Advanced applications such as Warehouse Management Systems, EDI, CRM, Business Analytics and e-Business provide companies the power to leverage their information technology investment. VAI is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York, with branch offices in Miami, Orlando, Chicago and Oroville, California. For more information, please contact Diane Dady at 800-824-7776, ext. 236 or visit www.vai.net.

IBS Debuts New Cloud, Mobile, Distribution Intelligence Offerings at Global Customer Summit

Symphony Services Continues Investment in Accelerating Product Road Map

International Business Systems (IBS), a global leading integrated ERP and supply chain provider, announced the addition of cloud and mobile offerings to its flagship IBS Enterprise solution during its Global Customer Summit.

“The acquisition of IBS was a strategic move by Symphony Technologies to harness the power of the company’s technology, blue chip customer base and world-class people,” said Pallab Chatterjee, chairman of the board of IBS. “Now it is time for us to put the power of Symphony’s deep product and technology portfolio, strong financial position and history of success in repositioning software companies to make IBS’ customers successful.”

As a part of the rollout of the company’s strategic product roadmap for customers, IBS debuted IBS Cloud Solutions, which are designed to prove benefits such as lower IT cost, reduced business risk, faster time to value and greater flexibility combined with the advanced functionality of IBS Enterprise in the cloud. The offering is a subscription-based license model that leverages a shared, virtualized infrastructure for on-demand offerings and can also be extended to IBS’ mobility solution.
IBS Cloud Solutions include the latest versions of the IBS Enterprise modules for Distribution Intelligence; Distributions Financials; Supply Management; Logistics, Assembly and Services; Demand Management and Supply Chain Integration.

The launch of IBS Mobile solutions focuses on the trend of the increase in enterprise mobility in corporations and allows customers to use IBS Enterprise on mobile devices. This end-to-end solution will leverage existing technology investments in IBS solutions; accelerate customer ROI through automated, real-time and accurate mobile data collection and provide a flexible, integrated solution.
IBS also extended its focus on even more advanced capabilities for Distribution Intelligence by debuting Advanced Sales and Operations Planning and Rapid Performance Management from Symphony Technologies.

The company also launched IBS AppExchange, which provides customers the opportunity to take immediate advantage of commonly used solutions across multiple release levels as well as its Sales & Operations Planning offering designed to balance demand, production and inventory to deliver rapid insights, collaboration and data-driven results.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Illidge
VP IBS Field Operations & Corporate Marketing
IBS AB
+44 777 195 42 73
Mark.illidge@ibs.net

IBS in brief
Stockholm-based International Business Systems (IBS) is a leading global integrated ERP and supply chain provider. Thousands of customers in over 40 countries rely on IBS for world-class solutions to drive dramatic improvements in their operations. IBS operates Dynaman, an advanced warehouse management solution and Bookmaster, a leader in ERP technology for publishing. For more information, contact www.ibs.net.

Infor Introduces Next Wave of Enterprise Software with Infor10

Consumer-Grade User Experience, Complete Industry Applications & Cloud Deployment Options Enabled by ION Technology

Infor, a leading provider of business application software with operations serving more than 75,000 customers, unveiled Infor10, which features a consumer-grade user experience, complete industry-specific software applications and Infor10 ION Suite, a lightweight, middleware technology that changes the way enterprise software is managed. 

"Our customers today already enjoy best-in-class applications with deep out-of-the-box functionality across a variety of highly specialized industries and micro-verticals. Infor10 sets a new standard for how work gets done. People at work have come to expect the same user experience they encounter in their everyday lives as users of Twitter, Facebook and Google. Infor10 and the Infor10 ION Suite bring that to the workplace," said Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor. "This unique combination provides our existing customers the opportunity to dramatically upgrade and extend their investments in Infor applications, and it gives new customers the next wave of enterprise software innovation they've been seeking."

ION Is the Foundation of Infor10
The Infor10 ION Suite is at the heart of Infor10. ION connects and integrates Infor and non-Infor applications, storing information in a common format and repository. ION allows information that flows among applications, analytics and social media streams to be accessed by users from their desktops, laptops and mobile devices.   

Unlike conventional middleware, the lightweight ION technology is not layered on top of existing applications, but infused into them. As a result, ION makes integrations quicker, simpler and more reliable. "ION creates the mobile, social and flexible enterprise," said Soma Somasundaram, senior vice president, Global Product Development, Infor. "Because it's lightweight and built using open standards, ION installs much faster than heavy middleware and allows customers to get up and running quickly and efficiently so they can focus on their core business." 

ION enables new and existing Infor and non-Infor applications to work as a holistic solution, helping to create streamlined workflows and end-to-end business processes, while improving system performance speed and upgrades.

"We say ION is unbreakable architecture because extensions don't break during upgrades," said Somasundaram. "Most of our customers don't want to be in the technology business. They would rather have IT be more agile and innovative, which is what ION allows them to do."

Infor10 Consumer-Grade Experience
Infor10 Workspace is the front end of Infor10 and designed to deliver a consumer-grade user experience and change the way work is done for the average enterprise user.

"Enterprise software users want to work the way they live," said Duncan Angove, president, Products and Support, Infor. "They can see what's going on in the consumer world, where social media, collaboration and mobile devices combined with beautiful design, ready-to-use applications and agile technology have substantially improved the speed, value and productivity of the consumer experience. With Infor10, we are delivering a consumer-grade user experience that begins with a beautiful user interface."

Infor10 ION Workspace unifies and presents all relevant information for each user on one screen, including role-based workflows, task and alerts, in-context business intelligence, event management, social media collaboration, consumer-like search capabilities, and business activity streams.

Infor10 Complete Industry Applications
ION also makes it possible to connect the rich functionality of leading ERP and best- in-class solutions from Infor and affiliate Lawson Software for specific industries.

Infor10 suites are targeted for Aerospace and Defense; Automotive; Chemicals; Distribution; Equipment Services, Maintenance & Rental; Fashion; Food and Beverage; General Manufacturing; Healthcare; High Tech; Hospitality; Industrial Equipment and  Machinery; and Public Sector.

"Generic one-size-fits-all software requires time-consuming configuration and doesn't address the specific needs of an industry," said Angove. "We believe that speed is the new basis for global competition, and we are building the functionality our customers need not only to address their industry issues right out of the box, but also to eliminate extensive customizations that lead to costly and risky implementations."

Infor10 Reimagines How Software is Managed
The Infor10 release also provides flexible deployment options, including Infor's CloudSuite Platform, to increase an organization's speed and agility.

Customers can run their entire solution on Infor10 CloudSuite or can keep core enterprise systems on premise, while running other applications or services in the Cloud. The Infor10 CloudSuite Platform features a unified user experience and security, and enables two-tiered, hybrid deployments.

Whether customers access functionality from a software-as-a-service (cloud) model or on-premise deployment, they get the same functionality and look-and-feel. The only difference is in how their users connect to core applications. Customers can even move from one deployment model to another, since the same application code is used for all deployment models.

About Infor
Infor is a leading provider of business software and services, helping more than 75,000 customers in 164 countries improve operations and drive growth.  To learn more about Infor10 or Infor, please visit www.infor.com.

VAI Webinar: Learn How S2K for Food Helps Comply with FDA Safety Regulation

September 27, 2011 at 2:00pm ET

The new FDA legislation is geared toward bringing the Distributors and Manufacturers industries quality control standards to the level that currently exists in the pharmaceutical industry. According to the new act, Distributors and Manufacturers will be required to keep control of their inventory recalls and know what products were shipped to which clients. Failure to comply with the new standards will result in severe penalties and a complete recall of all shipments for that period.

To register, visit: http://www.vai.net/events

Visma, a KKR portfolio company, Invests in Acumatica

Investment and distribution agreement to accelerate adoption of Acumatica’s Cloud accounting, ERP, and CRM software worldwide.

Acumatica, a provider of Cloud ERP software, announced the close of a round of investment led by Visma, a portfolio company of an affiliate of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. In addition to the investment, Visma will help to accelerate Acumatica sales and partnership goals, through its own activities as a leading Nordic-based technology company that delivers accounting, tax, and payroll applications to hundreds of thousands of SMEs in the Nordic region and through its network. The investment will be used to help Acumatica expand its sales and marketing efforts, continue development of its leading technology platform, and secure its position as a leader in providing Cloud ERP software.

Unlike traditional software solutions, Acumatica allows clients to work from anywhere without complex client software so businesses can involve everybody while saving money on deployment and ongoing operational costs. Unlike SaaS-only providers, Acumatica allows customers to control the location of their data, the timing of upgrades, and ongoing software expenses.

“Acumatica is the only established Cloud ERP vendor with technology that gives customers the choice to deploy their software on-premise, hosted in a cloud datacenter, or purchased as a turnkey SaaS solution,” said Øystein Moan, CEO at Visma. “Our investment in Acumatica acknowledges their unique positioning within the market and our belief that Cloud technology will play a critical role in the future of ERP software. We will adapt Acumatica for the Nordic markets and distribute Acumatica to our tens of thousands of midsized customers in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and The Netherlands.”

Acumatica’s software delivers a complete set of solutions to cover all mid-sized business needs. This includes advanced financial features that are integrated with inventory, sales orders, purchase orders, customer management, and many other modules. A flourishing community of third party developers utilizes Acumatica’s development platform to construct fully integrated modules for manufacturing, ecommerce, payroll, EDI, point of sales, and other vertical market solutions. Acumatica has hundreds of customers in several industries including key accounts in wholesale distribution, financial services, hospitality, manufacturing, not for profit, and professional services.

“This new round of financing is important because Visma will provide the resources to help establish Acumatica as the global leader in Cloud ERP software and introduce Acumatica to several new high-quality business partners through its network," said Ezequiel Steiner, CEO of Acumatica. "A partner like Visma is a testament to our current business plan, our product roadmap, and the efforts of our channel partners as well as a vote of confidence in our ERP technology. This partnership enhances the credibility of Acumatica in the eyes of our customers."

About Visma 
Visma is the leading Nordic-based technology company that delivers mission-critical software and services, such as accounting, tax, and payroll applications, to over 300,000 SME customers in the Nordic region and the Netherlands.  The group comprises five business areas which are Visma Software, Visma BPO, Visma Commerce Solutions, Visma Retail and Visma Projects & Consulting. For additional information, please visit Visma’s website at www.visma.com.

About Acumatica
Acumatica develops web-based ERP software that delivers the benefits of Cloud and SaaS without sacrificing customization, control, security, or speed.  Acumatica can be deployed on premise, hosted at a datacenter, or run on a Cloud computing platform.  Learn more about Acumatica’s Cloud ERP solution at www.acumatica.com.

Infor Announces InForce - Next Generation Social ERP and Marketing Built on Force.com

InForce Everywhere, InForce Order Management and InForce Marketing to Deliver 360-Degree View of Customer Data Across the Enterprise

Infor, a leading provider of business application software with operations serving more than 75,000 customers, and salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing company, today announced that Infor will deliver three applications, built on Force.com, salesforce.com's social enterprise platform. The three new InForce applications will bring the power of the back office to the front office, and throughout the social enterprise - helping customers collaborate and drive growth. Additionally, salesforce.com made an investment in Infor as part of the agreement.

Through the partnership, Infor will build and deliver InForce Everywhere, a native Force.com application that brings ERP data into Salesforce; InForce Order Management, a quote, order and proposal management application; and InForce Marketing, which will leverage Infor CRM Epiphany, a leader in recommendation engines, for global marketing automation technology - all on Force.com. Infor will also develop additional applications on Force.com.

Comments on the News

• "Sales professionals in Infor's large manufacturing customer base need fast and easy access to the critical product and order data in our applications, and we will render that rich data in Salesforce," said Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor. "This partnership will help customers focus on building and selling great products instead of configuring databases, middleware, BI tools, or disk drives. Our customers need to automate processes in hours and days, not months and years, and skip the classic 3-by-3 ERP project - 3 years, 300 million, and 3 CIOs. They need results faster."
• "Companies transforming themselves into social enterprises want new ways to run their business," said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, salesforce.com. "Infor joins salesforce.com in recognizing these transformations must span across the entire company."

Available later this calendar year, InForce Everywhere will offer:

• A 360-degree view of invoice, contacts, quotes, shipments, receivables, orders, and RMAs (return merchandise authorizations) across the enterprise.
• A way for Salesforce users to view orders from Infor ERP applications.
• Access to customer information and transactions from the Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud using InForce Everywhere.
• Connection to ION, Infor's standard integration platform.
• Salesforce Chatter, which will make all of this data social to more effectively and quickly engage with customers through features like social profiles, status updates and real-time feeds.
• Infor's 700+ sales people and more than 800 channel partners the ability to resell bundled Salesforce CRM into more than 75,000 customers.

InForce Order Management will:

• Deliver a comprehensive quote, order and proposal management application built on Force.com.
• Integrate with Salesforce CRM to give Sales and Service Cloud users a clear and accurate view of pricing and availability.

InForce Marketing will:

• Offer a comprehensive global marketing automation system built on Force.com.
• Include inbound and outbound campaign management and lead maturation integrated with the Infor CRM Epiphany recommendation engine.

About Infor

Infor is a leading provider of business software and services, with operations helping more than 75,000 customers in 164 countries improve operations and drive growth. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.

About Salesforce.com

With more than 100,000 customers, salesforce.com is the enterprise cloud computing company that is leading the shift to the social enterprise. Social enterprises leverage social, mobile and open cloud technologies to put customers at the heart of their business. Based on salesforce.com's real-time, multitenant architecture, the company's platform and application services include:

• Salesforce Chatter, a secure, private social network for your business
• Salesforce Sales Cloud, for sales force automation and contact management
• Salesforce Service Cloud, for customer service and support solutions
• Salesforce Radian6, for social media monitoring and engagement
• Salesforce Data.com, for the most complete source of accurate business data
• AppExchange, the leading marketplace for enterprise cloud computing applications
• Force.com, for custom application development
• Heroku, for building social and mobile customer apps
• Database.com, the world's first enterprise cloud database

Acumatica Releases Version 2.2 of its Cloud Accounting, ERP, and CRM Software

New features improve capabilities for wholesale distributors, manufacturers, multi-national companies, and service companies.

On August 17, 2011 Acumatica released the latest version of its Cloud ERP software that includes several customer driven enhancements such as automated bank reconciliation, inventory allocation by sales order, expanded replenishment algorithms, flexible payment remittance, and more. Cloud and on-premise customers can choose to install these updates at a time that is convenient to them.

“Acumatica responded quickly to our needs by delivering inventory allocation features that are critical to our distribution business,” said Ehren Dimitry, President at AME Corporation. “Even after my initial purchase, I was able to work closely with product experts who were able to configure the upgrade for my business.”

Acumatica 2.2 includes changes and updates to the financial, distribution, and customer management modules. Many features were implemented based on customer requests while others were built to expand the reach of Acumatica in the wholesale distribution, manufacturing, retail, and service industry verticals. The changes were built using the Acumatica web development platform to ensure compatibility with existing security settings, reporting capabilities, customizations, and third party modules.

“Our advanced platform design allows us to rapidly publish new releases without breaking customizations made by partners and customers,” said Ali Jani, Vice President of Product Management at Acumatica. “This is critical for our mid-sized customers who want to take advantage of Cloud technologies but require software that adapts to their unique business processes.”

Availability:
SaaS customers and license customers with up-to-date maintenance contracts can get the latest release by contacting their value added reseller (VAR) to schedule an upgrade. Details about the release can be downloaded from the Acumatica Cloud ERP website.