Rivonia-based MIP Holdings has signed a contract with Progress Software that will allow the development of sophisticated applications with real business value in record time.
MIP Holdings` group solutions director, Johan Meyer, says Progress`s Mobile Empowerment Centre is a training and education initiative that takes place at the customer site, instead of at the Progress offices.
"This type of training adds immediate value to the customer," says Meyer, "because the trainer finds out what the client`s specific needs are and finds a solution to that problem.
"In other words, the trainer delivers customer code onsite while educating the client at the same time. When you compare classroom training, usually the trainer works on simple scenarios or examples that are not 100% relevant to the client`s direct problems."
Progress Software Corporation creates and delivers technologies that enable customers to build, deploy, manage, and secure powerful e-business solutions.
The Progress Empowerment Centres were introduced in July 2001 to accelerate the adoption and assimilation of Progress`s new OpenEdge technologies, such as Progress Dynamics.
"Our role in providing enabling technologies is expanding," says Rick Parry, MD of Progress Software SA. "We can help our application partners rapidly re-architect their applications so they are prepared for emerging market trends, such as Web services."
Meyer adds that MIP was a part of the original development of Dynamics and has a number of people with unique skill-sets. "As a result," Meyer says, "MIP is able to supply Progress with very high quality consultants and trainers to work at their Empowerment Centres in Rotterdam, Holland, and Midrand, South Africa.
Now, through the Mobile Empowerment Centre concept, MIP is able to take the process a stage further.
"We have undertaken mobile training for Progress in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Slovakia and, through Progress in SA, we are even providing training to a French company in Nigeria.
"A good example would be Johnson Controls International, a large Belgian company that specialises in motor vehicle interiors for customers like Porsche. We have helped the company on site, producing a more accurate development process and a faster learning curve for its programmers. "There are a number of other key benefits to Mobile Empowerment," Meyer adds.
"Customers continue running their own software on site. They do not have to go away on a training course.
"Secondly, Dynamics contains both source code and a programme that enables developers to trace process history as they work - they can see clearly how things have been done up to that point. This makes their job much easier and, consequently, gives them much greater speed to market. Customers are typically delivering live applications in the first month of training.
"Another important point is that MIP`s consultants wear a business, rather than a technical, hat. All of our people have between five and thirteen years experience in other business areas, which enables them to highlight business solutions that have been applied successfully elsewhere. Currently, we have eight senior consultants and two trainers, as well as a large group of support staff within our existing business that can be brought to bear on the consulting process, if necessary."
Although other firms are applying the principle of the Mobile Empowerment concept elsewhere in the software industry, Meyer says Mobile Empowerment is a first within the Progress sphere of business, both in Europe and in SA.
"Certainly other companies will try to copy it," he says, "but MIP needs to ensure that we provide the very best quality training. That is always the key differentiator and we are confident that we can achieve that, to remain the market leader."
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