Hello XA Customers!

ISE just sent a team of 6 people to Infor’s annual channel partner kick-off in Atlanta.   Listed below are some details of news from the kick-off, and also some personal perspectives.

Infor’s commitment to the channel and to IBM systems is even stronger than ever. The Infor System i Business Unit continues to grow, with a solid team of individuals that were the most successful business unit in Infor in 2010.  This growth and success has earned the System i team some very good exposure inside Infor, and we continue to see increased investment into this group. 

You may have already seen this information, but Infor will be holding an IBM System i User Conference in Phoenix from September 12th – 15th .  As many of you had requested,  this conference will be substantially smaller and more focused than previous Inforums, and will specifically be focused on Infor System i ERP applications – namely XA (MAPICS),  LX (BPCS) and System 21 (JBA).  We see this as a great opportunity to get Infor updates,  roadmaps, strategic directions,  etc. The conference will offer over 175 hours of educational sessions. Early registration discount – Infor just announced a discount, to $500, for registrations until August 11th.  For any customer that has already registered, they will be credited for the early registration discount.  To register click here.

Infor’s System i presence with IBM continues to grow.  Infor remains IBM’s largest Independent Software Vendor (ISV) with the largest AS/400 install base in the world.  The IBM relationship and commitment continues to grow with strategic initiatives being built aroundPower 7, i6.1 and i7.1, and the DB2 database and extensions.

Similar to their IBM relationship,  Infor recently announced a substantially enhanced relationship with Microsoft.  Although this announcement has minimal (if any) impact on the Infor System i based ERP applications, we do feel it will have good impact in other areas. Specifically:

  • Infor will be embracing core Microsoft technology for building the application stack on several new PC-based technologies.  In the past, applications such as SupplyWeb and Advanced Planner and the PM Reporting suite have always run on MS SQL servers. This won’t change,  but the formal relationship will help Infor to embrace and test new Microsoft technology sooner. 
  • Infor in the past has tended to build core infrastructure from scratch.  This caused products to be proprietary, required customers to learn new skill sets, and put Infor at a disadvantage in trying to keep up with the rapid pace of change. Infor will now use Microsoft tools and infrastructure to support their application stack. For instance, the MS Reporting Services will be used as the underlying building blocks for Performance Management, SharePoint will be the infrastructure for MyDay,  etc.  One additional benefit is that Infor has freed up over 200 programmers who were developing infrastructure offerings to build applications and enhancements.
  • Impact on XA customers:  This will have minimal impact on day-to-day activities of core XA applications.  However, for those of you who also have a Microsoft presence, SQL, SharePoint, etc,  will be able to leverage those skills as new applications are introduced.

Infor24 Cloud Computing

Infor has also embraced cloud computing.  You will hear more about Infor24 in the next few months.  Infor already offers cloud-based applications for Expense Management and Enterprise Asset Management .  We fully expect these offerings to be expanded substantially in the next few years.   The “cloud” concept allows companies to subscribe to remotely hosted systems, and run applications from the cloud on the Internet rather than purchasing software and hardware to run it locally.  (FYI… ISE recently moved our e-mail system from Lotus Notes to a cloud based exchange service offered by Microsoft).

Impact on XA Customers:  A cloud option for XA does not exist at this time.  Infor has announced cloud-based solutions for the Syteline ERP system. The technology and delivery method offers numerous options in certain environments, and we expect these offerings will grow to include other ERP functionality as well.  More to come…

ION

You will also start to hear about the Infor ION initiative.  ION is the next level of Infor’s SOA strategy,  and will leverage both Microsoft and Infor technology to enhance SOA functions, and increase the communications functions between Infor (and non-Infor) offerings.  Improvements to the existing SOA strategy include simpler implementation and a much smaller footprint.

EPAK

EPAK is an education/content creation tool that allows you to quickly build recorded training sessions, guided classes, and PDF training guides.  The pricing has changed dramatically allowing you to build your own content with a developer price of around $15,000 per developer and a per user price of $300.  This can be an ideal training tool for those of you moving to XA7 or XA9.  Prebuilt content for XA is also available.

Expanding the XA Footprint

Infor has also announced that several standard XA modules will be offered to other Infor System i platforms.   Specifically:

  • Advanced Planner has been renamed Visual Planner for i, (VPi), and will be the visual planning tool for both LX and System 21 customers as they move forward.
  • The Procurement Management module from XA will also be offered as an enhanced Purchasing suite for both LX and System 21 as well
  • IFM will also be enhanced to become a new enhanced financial package for LX and System 21.
  • Enterprise Integrator, System Link and Net Link continue to be the core building blocks for all iSeries SOA enablement.

This has great implications for us in the XA world.  As Infor expands the use of core XA technology within other System i ERP systems, their commitment to this technology only grows.  Also the numbers of customers using these technologies will grow, and increase the demand for more enhancements and the skillets for both Infor and their customers.

Final Perspectives

Infor and ISE had a great year, wrapped up at the end of May, with ISE winning the Infor Circle of Excellence Award.  The enthusiasm within the System i group has never been stronger, and we see Infor increasing their investments with IBM and the XA product line.

We also feel that Infor has truly reached a point where they can offer value and products well beyond the traditional scope of ERP.  Examples include the SupplyWeb vendor portal solution, CRM, EAM, Performance Management and many more.  ISE can work with you and Infor to introduce you to these offerings.  ISE is also working continuously to expand our local expertise, with the goal to offer implementation and consultative expertise on a local basis.

We thank you for your continued commitment to ISE and Infor XA, and we look forward to another great year working together.