A new ERP bundle from the three industry leaders in mid-market ERP solutions promises to dramatically reduce the cost of ERP system ownership. Softline Pastel, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have combined forces and bundled a software/hardware solution.
In addition to promising a hassle-free installation with very little set-up, this best-of-breed offering will dramatically reduce the cost of system ownership, which ranges from R375 to below R255 per month, depending on the number of users.
“This shatters the myth that good ERP needs to be expensive,” says Softline Pastel divisional director Mohammed Mosam. “Pastel Evolution is South Africa's best-selling mid-market ERP system, and brings all aspects of your business together, giving you an integrated, holistic view of your business. Pastel Evolution's comprehensive range of features, functionality, and a number of add-on modules, provide a scalable, flexible and robust management tool for mid-sized and large businesses,” he said.
Pastel Evolution makes use of the Microsoft SQL Server database, and normally Evolution users would have to license the database separately. By bundling the ERP system, database and HP hardware, the three companies managed to reduce the cost of the overall system dramatically. With this bundle they intend showing companies that by replacing their existing ERP systems with the bundled solution, they can afford more resources than otherwise and deliver a higher level of service to the company.
“Pastel Evolution was designed in South Africa for small to mid-sizes companies. Our mid-market is much smaller than that of the US and consequently we can be far more cost-effective than comparative systems from multinationals,” said Mosam. Often, our total cost of ownership is just a third of a traditional ERP system. But the cost doesn't just come down to local versus imported. We designed it to be cost-effective. With Evolution, we strive to make the client as self-sufficient as possible, for instance, with its BI reporting, the client can make changes to existing reports to obtain 'what if' scenarios in a format they are familiar with, like Microsoft Excel. Also, the implementation time is very quick and easy. The customer can quickly tweak his system either for a precise fit or later on, to reflect changes in the business model. It is here that huge savings can be had,” he said.
According to Andrew McNiven, industry standard server product manger at Hewlett-Packard, the three-way bundle is an ideal way for his company to understand how application sales in this particular space influence hardware sales. “It is the first time we're directly involved with Softline Pastel like this,” he said.
“Our Proliant range of servers is ideally suited to this wide-ranging scenario. Pastel Evolution is a scalable ERP solution suitable for small to large companies. The Proliant server range is also scalable. We can supply them ranging from single CPU through 8 CPU configurations, in tower or blade server formats. Also, with Intel or AMD processors - in all flavours with all levels of redundancy, said McNiven.
“At the heart of Pastel Evolution is Microsoft's Sequel Server database,” said Microsoft's multinational account manager, Jule Slevin. “With the release of the new ultra-low cost Microsoft Foundation Server database, the overall cost of Pastel Evolution ERP has dropped dramatically, especially at the entry level. In addition, it provides an excellent lead-in to the more sophisticated Windows Server range for larger customers, or as smaller Pastel Evolution customers grow their businesses,” she said.
For product information:
Mohammed Mosam on (011) 304 3540 or mohammed.mosam@pastel.co.za
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