Four international IT vendors with complementary solutions suitable for the manufacturing industry - Baan, Cognos, Cyborg and Kronos - have partnered locally to aggressively promote the tight integration between their respective products.
<i>Alan Barry</i>, GM of the local Kronos operation, says the local campaign is being launched via a series of seminars - the objective of which is to illustrate compilation of an integrated solution using open technologies.
Hosted by the quartet of companies, the seminars will feature recognised specialists in manufacturing - Dr <i>Roy Marcus</i>, president of the South African Engineering Society and <i>Ken Titmuss</i>, VP of the South African Production & Inventory Control Society.
<i>Gary Lawrence</i>, MD of Baan South Africa, says that as the industry has moved away from the `one package supplies all functionality` approach to IT solutions, companies have learnt that greater benefit is derived from choosing `best-in-class` solutions for each aspect of the business. "These tools are typically developed by specialists in each particular field," he says.
"Still greater competitive advantage can be gained from choosing specialised products which offer tight integration for efficient data transfer between them."
Cyborg SA MD, <i>Noel Northcott</i>, is in agreement and cites the seminars as a good example. "In this case you have the financial and production side of the business catered to by Baan software; our human resources and payroll applications; and labour management data passed to our systems by Kronos` time and attendance hardware and software," he explains.
Of course, in today`s competitive climate, no such application grouping would be complete without a business intelligence solution - preferably one with tight integration into the Baan world. Enter Cognos with a tool offering direct transfer of information to its offerings in this regard.
"It provides Baan and Cyborg customers with immediate access to Cognos` business intelligence capabilities, enabling fast enterprise deployment and shorter development cycles," says <i>Ralph Pecker</i>, MD at Cognos` local subsidiary.
Barry has the last word: "Our four companies have taken cognisance of business needs by working to integrate our products and allow the free exchange of data between applications - whether your relational database management system is Oracle, SQL Server or Informix."
He urges anyone wishing to learn more about how Baan, Cognos, Cyborg and Kronos have achieved this to set aside 22 June (Cape Town residents) or 24 June (those residing in Johannesburg) to attend this one-day seminar.
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