IFS has announced that IFS Applications 7 - the seventh generation of IFS component-based business application suite - allows companies to access and use IFS Applications` content and processes directly from within IBM WebSphere Portal.
This capability complements the personal portals available in IFS Applications and adds capability to build scalable portals via IBM WebSphere, which improve employee productivity and increase customer loyalty.
With this announcement, IFS provides support to include all IFS portlets in an enterprise-wide IBM WebSphere Portal. Running IFS Applications with IBM WebSphere Portals, companies can now set up portals that combine portlets for specific processes in IFS Applications with the more than 600 portlets available in the WebSphere Portal catalogue. At the same time, users can access and use the specially built, pre-configured IFS Personal Portals for specific roles and tasks.
In 1999, IFS Applications was one of the first business application suites to include portal functionality. Today, customers such as BAE SYSTEMS Bofors AB and Statnett, use the predefined, role-based portals in IFS Applications and use more than 250 individual portlet applications to set up role-defined portals for serving employees, customers and suppliers with relevant information and functionality.
"Portals are an important means of achieving efficient collaboration and high user productivity, which is why portals have been a key component of the IFS Applications user interface for many years," said Paul Whalley, MD, IFS South Africa.
"By supporting IBM WebSphere Portal, we can add value to our customers` portal solutions through the broad range of third-party portlets and collaboration and integration tools that are available for the IBM WebSphere Portal."
Gunnar Millde, manager of ISV and Developer Relations Nordic, IBM, comments: "By supporting IBM WebSphere Portal, IFS joins the front line when it comes to allowing people to interact and collaborate in a personalised way. The strong combination of WebSphere Portal and IFS Applications will allow our customers to get the dynamic information they need."
The integration between IFS Applications and IBM WebSphere Portal is based on open standards that are implemented using the Java Portlet API (JSR-168). An extension to the J2EE 1.4 platform, the Java Portlet API has quickly become established as the de facto standard for portal interoperability.
Johansson continues: "Since the Java Portlet API is an open standard that is or will be supported by most vendors, we can extend our support to other portals in the future. For now, WebSphere Portal is where we see customer demand."
IFS is an IBM ISV Advantage Partner. Besides portals, IFS and IBM collaborate on application servers, mobile technology and hardware. IFS Applications is supported on IBM WebSphere Application Server, and the IFS Mobile Client uses J2ME components from IBM Workplace Client Technology, Micro Edition.
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IFS (XSSE: IFS) is one of the world`s leading providers of component-based business software developed using open standards. IFS` industry-focused solutions are optimised for ERP, enterprise asset management, and MRO. IFS Applications offers companies an integrated lifecycle approach to managing customers, products, assets and services, enabling them to employ lean enterprise concepts, control costs, manage projects, increase efficiencies in their supply chain, and measure their performance.
As a leader in component-based software, IFS delivers tangible business benefits for companies in the aerospace and defence, automotive, construction and facility management, hi-tech, industrial manufacturing, process, and utilities and telecom industries. Working in close collaboration with partners, IFS is driving the market to embrace standards and co-existence that offers customers faster payback, reduced risk and freedom of choice. www.ifsworld.com.
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