Software AG has announced open beta availability for ARISalign, its first cloud computing solution, leveraging Amazon Web Services.

Lorge, a long-established supplier and implementer of Accpac ERP, Accpac CRM and Sage ERP X3 business and technology solutions, has won three new support and service contracts from Gauteng companies using Accpac ERP financial accounting software systems.

Oracle has agreed to acquire Convergin, a provider of realtime service brokering solutions.

Today, applications proliferate in our businesses and our daily lives. From cellphones, to online applications, to self-service kiosks, to the many other applications that we interact with on a regular basis, applications run a business.

Sheet metal fabrication, machining, manufacturing and heavy duty engineering company Efficient Engineering has contracted 4most, a leading SAP Business One ERP business software and technology solutions supplier and implementer, to supply, install and integrate SAP Business One at its head office and manufacturing plant at Elandsfontein east of Johannesburg.

Enterprise communications solutions provider Nashua Communications -- formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications -- has contracted SAP Business One ERP business software and technology specialist 4most to supply, install and integrate a complex SAP Business One solution for its national operations.

Today’s business management solutions, particularly enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, are evolving from a focus on transactions and data entry to one that places people and usability at the centre of solution design. This includes attention to varying work styles, role-based perspectives on information and tasks, and the need to extract information in the context of business processes.

When it comes to technology, many South Africans are labouring under the misconception that solutions developed overseas are of better quality, writes Kgabo Badimo, MD of Spescom DataVoice. The local software industry in particular is struggling, perhaps as a result of the stigma of perceived inequality attached to South African technology, which could simply be due to poor marketing.

Stationery manufacturer and distributor Trefoil is no stranger to Accpac’s software, having used the Accpac DOS system for many years.

With the worldwide economic slowdown forcing organizations of all size to drive increased value from their IT environments, the integration of disparate systems and the information they have stored within their databases, has once again become top of mind.

As the demand for managed hosting services continues to increase, the industry’s requirements of the systems used to operate their businesses have become increasingly more complex.

Customer self-service can enable companies to move closer to their customers rather than distancing the two from each other.