Approximately 200 Customers Have Taken Advantage of Ground-Breaking Infor Flex Program for Reduced Implementation Time and Risk
ATLANTA - Mar 01, 2010
Infor, the leading provider of business software for mid-market customers, today announced increased customer demand for the latest versions of its software through the Infor Flex Program. Exceeding expectations, approximately 200 customers have cost-effectively contracted to upgrade or exchange their existing Infor solutions to software that can utilize Infor Open SOA (service-oriented architecture) since the program's announcement in June 2009.
"Customers have made it clear that they expect more from their software vendor than solutions that do not grow with their business and must be ripped out and replaced through a prolonged, expensive and risky implementation," said Dennis Michalis, corporate senior vice president, Infor. "The success of the Infor Flex Program highlights our unique approach to software upgrades that provides transparency up front, mitigating the risk of an implementation that runs over on time or budget."
Infor Flex enables qualifying customers with active maintenance contracts to upgrade from an existing Infor solution to the latest version of that software or to exchange an Infor solution to a more robust system which may take advantage of innovations through Infor's Open SOA technology. Infor Open SOA, a unique, event-driven service-oriented architecture (SOA) leverages an industry standard business language to distribute data between certain Infor solutions and other systems, and provides a standards-based approach for non-disruptive integration of both Infor and non-Infor systems and data sources.
Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc., a customer of Infor ERP SyteLine since 1997, is using the Infor Flex program to upgrade from version 6.0 to version 8.0. In addition, the Warrendale, Pa. based company is implementing Infor EAM, Infor PM 10 and Infor Expense Management, which will integrate into ERP SyteLine through Infor Open SOA, providing users immediate access to critical information aggregated throughout multiple systems.
"Software systems that collect data are useful, but to drive our business operations to the next level we needed to upgrade to a system that provides users with access to information that enables them to make informed, real-time decisions," said Joseph Marcoz, IT director, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. "Implementing a new ERP system across our 8 divisions is a daunting task, but Infor Flex is simplifying the process by providing a fixed cost and implementation period as well as a proven methodology that will minimize our downtime and enable us to quickly be up and running on a system that meets our needs now and into the future."
In addition to supplementary modules and complementary applications, Infor Open SOA enables customers to deploy new components, which provide innovative functionality across multiple solutions. Such components from Infor will aggregate data across various aspects of the business and improve operations in the areas of business intelligence, accounting and strategic planning. Many of these future components will be included with an active maintenance contract, while others require the payment of a license fee. Such components will be delivered non-disruptively through Infor Open SOA, providing customers an additional benefit to participation in the Infor Flex Program.
"We recognized a need for a more robust system to manage our nationwide lighting inventory to continue to provide the world-class service that our customers have come to expect from E. Sam Jones," said Julian Richard, CIO, E. Sam Jones Distributor, Inc. "The opportunity to upgrade our Infor ERP SX.enterprise system though the Flex program meant that we could be live and taking advantage of the solutions' functionality in only six weeks - and that was an offer too good to refuse."
According to industry analyst firm, AMR, implementing new ERP systems typically cost millions of dollars and can take two to three years before implementation is complete. "Many companies are struggling with older business systems that no longer meet their needs. Simply waiting until funding and resources are available for a new ERP system may damage morale and leave the company with inefficient business processes and inadequate information access," AMR states in its 2009 report, "Should You Rehabilitate Your Current ERP System Rather Than Buy a New One?"
Additional Resources
Infor Flex Web site - http://www.infor.com/flex/
Blog: Dennis Michalis and MEPPI - http://blogs.infor.com/insights/
Infor's Manifesto: At Infor, we work with a core belief. We believe in the customer. We believe that the customer is seeking a better, more collaborative relationship with its business software provider. And a new breed of business software: created for evolution, not revolution. Software that's simple to buy, easy to deploy and convenient to manage. Our 8,000+ employees in more than 100 countries and 70,000 customers stand with us. We look forward to your sharing in the results of our belief. There is a better way. For additional information, visit www.infor.com.
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