Infor unveils Center of Excellence for IBM System i platform
05 Jun '07
4 min read
One of the focal points of the Center of Excellence is an effort to provide new and state-of-the-art capabilities that can be used across Infor's System i solution portfolio. This is being accomplished through the Infor Development Framework for IBM System i, a common application design and development environment for Infor's System i solutions.
It gives users the ability to create any number of intuitive role-based user interfaces and dynamic reports through simple configurations. This development framework enables SOA capabilities for System i solutions compliant with Infor Open SOA, the architecture for solution interoperability, innovation and evolution across all Infor product lines and technology platforms, providing customers with increased business and IT flexibility and agility.
The development framework is based on Java, interacting with a meta-data layer over the core application. When users configure their desktop interfaces or when the IT administrator creates a new extension or integration to another system, they are not altering the source code. This means all future upgrades are non-disruptive to user and administrative configuration.
"We've been using Infor's XA for fifteen years and the System i development framework has updated it with features that you don't see in newer ERP systems," said Steve Sandy, director of Information Technology at DMI Furniture, a unit of Flexsteel Industries.
"Our end users in different departments are creating their own interface setups, enabling them to answer questions independently and increasing their productivity. Using the web services component, we cost effectively set up an application to track containers coming out of Asia and can now give our customers accurate arrival dates on their shipments. XA has flexibly adapted as our business has evolved and grown."
The Infor System i development framework illustrates a key goal of the Center of Excellence, which is to help customers protect their existing investments while benefiting from cutting-edge features without an application or platform migration. The Center of Excellence will also serve to focus Infor's development efforts and leverage the team's scale, providing modules and enhancements that are interoperable across the entire System i-based application portfolio.
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