IT solutions provider MIP Holdings has launched an e-commerce-enablement toolkit that makes development of web-enabled systems "virtual child`s play."
MIP`s new AstraPay web-enablement system development toolkit is aimed specifically at businesses that need to collect regular contributions, installments, rent or fees from their clients. The tool enables rapid web-enablement of both business-to-business (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer (B2C) applications making it applicable to a wide variety of businesses such as insurers, medical aid schemes, pension funds, fund managers, rental companies, telephone and cellphone companies, sports clubs, and other private or public clubs and organisations.
"The two core business activities in any of these organisations is the collection of payment, and the management of benefit," says Richard Firth CEO of MIP Holdings. "The AstraPay toolkit enables rapid development of online web-based systems to effectively manage this aspect of a business. It is so versatile and flexible it can be applied to any type of business that requires e-commerce-enablement."
"To create a tool that could meet the basic requirements of an e-commerce management system, we stripped away the hype to concentrate on defining the core processes applied in any business whether on-line or not," says Firth. "Our Astra and AstraGen rapid application development (RAD) toolkit already had component-based business objects that could deliver these processes. So it was a simple matter of e-commerce-enabling them.
Firth believes AstraPay will have two distinct markets, clients who are totally web-based and clients who are integrating e-commerce into existing operations. "Because it can easily be integrated into AstraFin, MIP`s financials suite, or any financial suite a user may choose, the supplier relationship can be just as easily managed," says Firth.
MIP Holdings is offering the toolkit on licence to other development houses as well as developing its own client base. The product`s first e-commerce client site is expected to go live later this year.
"With the delivery of easy Internet access tools speeding up e-commercialisation, more and more companies will seek management systems to run their e-commerce business. We`re keen to work with any organisation that wants to develop an on-line presence. We are also looking at using the tool creatively in the ASP business model," concludes Firth.
The system has been developed using MIP`s own rapid application development tools, Astra and AstraGen. It is component-based and future proof, offering easy upgrade and plug-in capability to new technologies.
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