Infor’s “next wave” ERP software adds social computing

Its marketing talks of "a consumer-grade user experience, complete industry-specific software applications and ION – lightweight, standards-based middleware that changes the way enterprise software is managed". "Our customers today already enjoy best-in-class applications with deep out-of-the-box functionality across a variety of highly specialised industries and micro-verticals," comments Charles Phillips, ex Oracle but CEO of Infor since the New Year. "Infor10 sets a new standard for how work gets done. People at work have come to expect the same user experience they encounter in their everyday lives as users of Twitter, Facebook and Google. Infor10 and the Infor10 ION Suite bring that to the workplace," he states. And those are the key aspects Infor would like its customers to hear – along with slogans that ram home the points, such as 'specialised by industry; engineered for speed', 'complete the application' and 'build once, build better'. Trite? Well, maybe not, because there are some genuine advances here that nod to the way twenty- and thirty- somethings run their online lives. The question is, who will want them? Duncan Angove, Infor president of product support, suggests that Infor10's combination of new features provides existing manufacturing customers with an opportunity to dramatically upgrade and extend their investments in Infor applications. That is slightly difficult to swallow, given that upgrading to Twitter-, Facebook- and Google-like functionality – essentially information around presence, real-time events and very flexible business intelligence all with a consumer style user interface – is unlikely to be high on most organisations' priority lists. However, when he goes on to state that Infor10 gives new customers the next wave of enterprise software innovation, it's hard to argue against that point. In brief detail, the ION middleware is the foundation/glue for what Infor10 offers. It is uniquely responsible for connecting and integrating Infor and (importantly) also non-Infor applications, enalbing information sharing in a common format via a new repository dubbed the Business Vault. ION allows information that flows among applications, analytics and Infor10's social media streams to be accessed by users from desktops, laptops and mobiles – in fact any device. Interestingly, though, unlike conventional middleware, ION is not layered on top of existing applications – it's more like an interface. It's also what Angove calls "three, three, three" – meaning "it takes three minutes to install, three to configure and three to provision". Falls of chair in disbelief? This is not about many months' of integration effort, largely because it's not trying to be all things to all people, doesn't need thousands of configurable services and isn't highly programmatic. Instead, ION uses the Apache open source enterprise service bus, and the XML Document standard for exchanging business documents between applications. So it is "light weight and performant". "ION creates the mobile, social and flexible enterprise," comments Soma Somasundaram, senior vice president for global product development at Infor. "[It] installs much faster than heavy middleware and allows customers to get up and running quickly and efficiently." For him, that means Infor and non-Infor applications can work as "holistic solutions, helping to create streamlined workflows and end-to-end business processes, while improving system performance speed and upgrades". Enough of ION: looking at the "consumer-grade experience" itself, Infor10's front end – which applies to all of Infor's ERP application offerings – now comprises a fairly conventional navigation bar, central context sensitive workspace (your application) but then so-called 'context apps' on the right. The latter get their data from the Business Vault. Think tweets – you can follow customers, production runs, whatever – and hash tags, add in a dose of presence, and you get an additional and potentially powerful edge to event-driven, real-time collaborative working that doesn't rely on periodic reports. "Enterprise software users want to work the way they live," states Angove. "They can see what's going on in the consumer world, where social media, collaboration and mobile devices, combined with beautiful design, ready-to-use applications and agile technology have improved speed, value and productivity." And that's pretty much what Infor10 ION Workspace delivers – a unified screen presenting all relevant information per role, including workflows, tasks, alerts, business intelligence, event streams, social media style collaboration and consumer-like search. One final significant point: Angove insists that Infor's range of acquired and restyled ERP applications is its strength, not a weakness, as so often suggested by its competitors. He claims that this is the key to its tight industry focus, per application. More than that, though, he also states that Infor10 takes industry applicability to a new level – right down to "micro verticals". And he asserts that whatever functionality you need, you will now get it "out of the box". And hence the 'Complete the application' slogan: Infor, he says is wiping out "the billion dollar ecosystem" that currently customises and configures ERP systems. "We believe there is a better way – software developers should productise their offerings, not expect users and consultants to customise them," he says. "We have thought about the functional gaps in industry verticals, and we will deliver those right out of the box," continues Angove. "I mean micro verticals, not just process industry, for example. And that includes integrations into specialist industry applications – and into SAP and Oracle, too. It's the same for localisation and reporting. You won't have to go off to a system integrator any more, because you won't need any modifications. Infor 10 is the application suite that delivers everything out of the box." Now get that. Might be worth a testing phone call? In brief detail, the ION middleware is the foundation/glue for what Infor10 offers. It is uniquely responsible for connecting and integrating Infor and (importantly) also non-Infor applications, enalbing information sharing in a common format via a new repository dubbed the Business Vault. ION allows information that flows among applications, analytics and Infor10's social media streams to be accessed by users from desktops, laptops and mobiles – in fact any device. Interestingly, though, unlike conventional middleware, ION is not layered on top of existing applications – it's more like an interface. It's also what Angrove calls "three, three, three" – meaning "it takes three minutes to install, three to configure and three to provision". Falls of chair in disbelief? This is not about many months' of integration effort, largely because it's not trying to be all things to all people, doesn't need thousands of configurable services and isn't highly programmatic. Instead, ION uses the Apache open source enterprise service bus, and the XML Document standard for exchanging business documents between applications. So it is "light weight and performant". "ION creates the mobile, social and flexible enterprise," comments Soma Somasundaram, senior vice president for global product development at Infor. "[It] installs much faster than heavy middleware and allows customers to get up and running quickly and efficiently." For him, that means Infor and non-Infor applications can work as "holistic solutions, helping to create streamlined workflows and end-to-end business processes, while improving system performance speed and upgrades". Enough of ION: looking at the "consumer-grade experience" itself, Infor10's front end – which applies to all of Infor's ERP application offerings – now comprises a fairly conventional navigation bar, central context sensitive workspace (your application) but then so-called 'context apps' on the right. The latter get their data from the Business Vault. Think tweets – you can follow customers, production runs, whatever – and hash tags, add in a dose of presence, and you get an additional and potentially powerful edge to event-driven, real-time collaborative working that doesn't rely on periodic reports. "Enterprise software users want to work the way they live," states Angove. "They can see what's going on in the consumer world, where social media, collaboration and mobile devices, combined with beautiful design, ready-to-use applications and agile technology have improved speed, value and productivity." And that's pretty much what Infor10 ION Workspace delivers – a unified screen presenting all relevant information per role, including workflows, tasks, alerts, business intelligence, event streams, social media style collaboration and consumer-like search. One final significant point: Angrove insists that Infor's range of acquired and restyled ERP applications is its strength, not a weakness, as so often suggested by its competitors. He claims that this is the key to its tight industry focus, per application. More than that, though, he also states that Infor10 takes industry applicability to a new level – right down to "micro verticals". And he asserts that whatever functionality you need, you will now get it "out of the box". And hence the 'Completely application' slogan: Infor, he says is wiping out "the billion dollar ecosystem" that currently customises and configures ERP systems. "We believe there is a better way – software developers should productise their offerings, not expect users and consultants to customise them," he says. "We have thought about the functional gaps in industry verticals, and we will deliver those right out of the box," continues Angrove. "I mean micro verticals, not just process industry, for example. And that includes integrations into specialist industry applications – and into SAP and Oracle, too. It's the same for localisation and reporting. You won't have to go off to a system integrator any more, because you won't need any modifications. Infor 10 is the application suite that delivers everything out of the box." Now get that. Might be worth a testing phone call?