Information Technology Solutions to develop add-on for Navision Financials

Newly appointed Navision Solution Centre (NSC) Information Technology Solutions (ITS) is to develop an add-on solution to the Navision Financials package, that is specifically aimed at advertising and media placement organisations.

"As specialists in the maintenance of financial systems for advertising agencies, and in the provision of network infrastructure support to this market, ITS is ideally placed to not only develop a financial system add-on, but also to provide a route to market for the final product," says Navision South Africa managing director Keith Mullan.

"Most advertising agencies currently rely on only one financial system that has been available in SA for the last 20 years," relates ITS director Manuela Saraiva. "We felt the time was right to offer the market an alternative, and were faced with the choice of either upgrading the existing product, or developing something new based on a solution that enjoys local support. Navision presented the perfect answer to the latter option."

The new package will consist of a General Ledger that is specifically geared to the media system, as well as a Production system that manages all aspects of the advertising process, from the opening of a job, through to time spent, external costs incurred, and billing.

"By having access to the Navision source code, we will be able to develop a solution that integrates easily with Navision Financials," says Saraiva. "Additionally, many of the standard development rules are already in place, which means we will not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to functions such as printing and security. This will not only save us time, but also reduce development costs.

"Furthermore, our clients have the assurance that the development will take place under the watchful eye of Navision, thus ensuring that it is done in accordance with their standards," she continues. "Navision South Africa`s own proven track record, plus the fact that they are supported by Navision International, means that technical support for the new product will always be available, irrespective of what the future may hold for ITS."

Saraiva expects the development to take between three and six months, and says it will be done in parallel with the importing of external client data. "In this way, the product will be ready to go to market as soon as the development has been completed."

"The add-on will be marketed separately, but as part of the basic Navision Financials package," says Mullan. "Consequently, users in the advertising field won`t have to purchase unnecessary modules, such as stock inventory which is not applicable to this market, in order to derive the full benefits of the package."