ACCPAC business partner, AccTech Systems (ATS), has implemented its eWorkflow solution at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) to run alongside the organisation`s ACCPAC products.
According to Morn'e Swanepoel, Director Services at AccTech Systems, the implementation became necessary when ISS, which runs services throughout Africa from mixed platforms, including Microsoft and Apple Macintosh, experienced interoperability issues.
ISS Financial Manager, Wilna Pretorius, adds that the institute needed a product that would streamline its day-to-day business activities and create a platform-independent environment.
"The ISS is an Africa-wide human security think-tank based in SA. It is a registered non-profit trust, seeking to conceptualise, inform and enhance the security debate in Africa through independent applied research and analysis, formulating and impacting on relevant policies, raising awareness of decision-makers and the public, monitoring trends and policy implementation, capacity building and implementation assistance " she says.
"With this wide coverage, vital information, sourced literally from Cape to Cairo, has to be available to us at all times. This wasn`t happening with our previous system.
"With eWorkflow`s thin client, our users are now able to interact with the system from anywhere in the world. Productivity has been greatly enhanced due to a diminished paper trail. We are also better able to manage the systems due to the fact that the right information is available anywhere and at any time."
ATS`s Swanepoel says that while workflow is not a new technology, successful implementations of this type of solution are very rare. "ISS is one of the first in a long line of thriving eWorkflow implementations handled by ATS to date and we`re looking forward to seeing this technology being fully embraced once its benefits are fully realised."
eWorkflow was designed to enhance the procurement and internal issuing functionality within the ACCPAC suite of products. "With the propriety developed workflow engine, eWorkflow also allows the routing of documents as per predefined document workflows and business rules," Swanepoel says.
eWorkflow offers key benefits to ACCPAC users, among these is the ability to offer a full audit trail, including comments, and electronic notification and escalation by e-mail.
"This proved particularly beneficial to the ISS in that eWorkflow allows users to track documents and automatically escalate urgent documents to administrators if not attended to within the allotted time frame," Swanepoel says.
Pretorius adds that the eWorkflow system has changed the way business is handled at the ISS. "The most important thing at the end of the day is that our information is secure and available," she says. "The workflow product has bridged the gap between the varied and diverse platforms and offers fast access to critical information."
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