Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, recently shocked the IT industry when he indicated that, "As Wall Street and corporate America know it the (ERP) market is dead". He was referring to the fact that the traditional multi-national corporate target market for most ERP vendors has rapidly reached saturation.
NOT so the `mid size` market where ERP vendors are now repositioning themselves to compete and into which most South African (SA) manufacturing and distribution companies fit. Datasoft-Logical, a member of the JSE listed Datatec group, has taken on 10 new clients for its Compact ERP software package in only the last year, including Lion Match Company, Kohler Flexible, Seagram Africa, Orthomedics and Federal Marine. They join over 90 existing Compact users like Nampak, BIC, Carson Products, Protea Chemicals, Oceana Fishing and Kohler.
What makes this company unique in the local ERP market is that it is the only full ERP solution provider. Where normally one would need a software vendor to develop and supply the software package, another company to supply, configure and support the hardware on which software runs and a company for the implementation consulting, Datasoft-Logical combines these three essential components with its award-winning ERP solution, Compact.
Says Roger Strain, Datasoft-Logical`s Sales and Marketing Director, "Our clients really appreciate having a direct line of contact with the company that designs the software, right here in South Africa. We are confident that we are able to offer a better solution for our clients because we develop our own software and can respond to industry-specific local requirements. No other supplier in our market offers as complete a service resulting in more control for our clients over their business processes."
Having proved itself over the past 15 years against stiff competition from international ERP vendors, Datasoft-Logical is excited about its current developments. Says Strain, "Right now we`re working on our next technology wave. Most ERP vendors face a significant challenge as they migrate their huge applications to new Web-based technologies. Our `Compact Objects` project utilises the latest emerging technologies like Java, Com+ and XML, to fully capitalise on the Web and e-business. And the real beauty of this project is that, unlike many of our competitors, Datasoft-Logical doesn`t have to re-develop all of the functionality that we have spent the last 15 years accumulating. As with the technology leaps we`ve taken in the recent past, we`ve developed the mechanism to convert our legacy code largely automatically to this new platform."
There`s a growing trend towards software rental, and Application Service Providers (ASP) that host software over the Internet have been springing up in the US and Europe. Here in South Africa, Datasoft-Logical has launched what it calls its `Compact Community`. Because they already support their clients` server hardware and infrastructure as part of their total solution approach, and with their Datatec parent company`s focus on the Internet and networking, Datasoft-Logical is in the ideal position to offer its own ASP service.
Datasoft-Logical managing director, Davide Hanan, explains, "In the Compact Community our clients simply pay a monthly rental, which includes space on a hosted server, all of the software and a management fee. We also keep our clients running on the latest technology and software versions. Currently we have 5 such rental clients. But what really differentiates our offering is that you`re still dealing with one company, Datasoft-Logical. And this allows us to offer a whole range of outsourcing services like disaster recovery services, e-commerce, facilities management, application outsourcing, and even auditing automation facilities."
Key reasons for SA companies utilising ASP`s and outsourcing services are, the worsening skills shortage; need to focus all personnel resources on the business of the business; concern that changing technology will lock them into obsolete systems and a desire to conserve capital outlays on IT.
"Our e-commerce offering for our Compact Community is unique in ERP" says Hanan. "Yes, we offer end-to-end business to business e-commerce, but we do more. We also provide a central messaging gateway that allows our users to communicate with their partners by providing a single communications interface, managed by Datasoft-Logical, that centralises access to multiple VAN`s and third party services. This gives our clients full e-commerce at the minimum cost and least effort."
Voted as one of `The Best IT Companies in South Africa` in research by The Corporate Research Foundation and included in the Top 300 Companies in South Africa list by Business Web, Datasoft-Logical has built an enviable reputation for product and service excellence among its user base of over 90 clients with some 5000 users. Datasoft-Logical has positioned Compact to provide the leading ERP solution in SA. It has embarked on an aggressive marketing program (THE ERP SOFTWARE FOR CONTROL FREAKS!) and aims for an increase in market share of 50% this year.
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