Leading local software house Bateleur Software and integrator Business Connexion have joined forces in a major programme to help local and regional authorities harness the potential of the Internet.
Herman Venter, Regional Executive: Public Sector Local Government, Business Connexion, says the company`s alliance with Bateleur Software has resulted in a complete turnaround.
"Business Connexion has been successfully servicing about 40% of the ratepayers in SA of the municipal market with Venus, our green screen financial package," he explains. "However, these clients need to Web-enable their environments and address the challenges of e-government; developments which aren`t possible with green screen terminals.
"Bateleur`s ApplinX integration platform has given Venus a significant edge in the market. Since we started partnering with Bateleur, we have won just about every tender we`ve responded to - and our clients have the benefits of a low-risk implementation and a Web-based look-and-feel without having to change their business."
A rapid application development tool developed by Software AG, ApplinX is one of the tools sold by Bateleur Software, as part of a partnership arrangement it has with Software AG in SA. It acts as a link between the organisation`s mainframe- and Unix-based systems and its wireless environment.
Business Connexion and Bateleur have already upgrade 10 sites to eVenus and ApplinX, including Matjhabeng (Welkom), Mangaung (Bloemfontein), Chris Hani District Municipality (Queenstown), Amatola District (East London) and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan.
"In effect, ApplinX enables Venus to be extended into a fully-fledged ERP system," Venter says. "It`s affordable for local government and protects their existing investments while opening up possibilities for future expansion and development. Bateleur plays a critical role in these projects by supplying Web-enablement and integration skills."
Leon Bouwer, Sales Executive of Bateleur Software, says ApplinX is non-invasive, allowing organisations to rapidly create e-business applications and online services for the Web or any other enterprise platforms.
"ApplinX enables the organisation to adopt more efficient business processes and a more streamlined workflow and methodology by effectively integrating legacy assets in any new standard application environment, where one single solution supports the entire lifecycle of integration projects: access, re-engineering, integration and migration," he says.
Using a set of templates, the legacy application can be enhanced to look like a Windows application by adding colour and logos, hyperlinking menu items, adding or removing data from application maps and adding Web functions such as radio buttons and combo boxes. This level of functionality can be achieved in a matter of days.
The next step is to modify the look-and-feel of the application by combining information from multiple application maps into a single Web page. Bouwer says users can even combine data from different parts of the application and incorporate information from other legacy or open systems applications.
"Lastly, ApplinX has the ability to expose application`s functions as Web services. ApplinX has a Microsoft .Net plug-in, so legacy Web services are created without the need for any code. Once a Mainframe Service has been defined, it is turned into a Web service in a matter of minutes," Bouwer points out.
ApplinX enables rapid development of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) solutions by integrating existing systems with new applications residing on emerging computing platforms such as the Web. Maximum flexibility is provided in support of new and existing business rules and workflow, and ApplinX is fully compliant with industry development standards and platforms.
The advantages of ApplinX include extremely swift development (solutions are implemented in days rather than weeks), affordability and its non-invasive nature. The product supports J2EE and is also fully integrated to IBM WebSphere, Microsoft IBF and Microsoft Biztalk.
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