Rising ERP performer SSA Global and IBM reckon their new combined solution will enable SME manufacturers to speed up their implementations of complete ERP systems, including all hardware and software, on a modern SOA (service orientated architecture). The bundled solution is based on SSA’s Baan development, now dubbed ERP LN, pre-loaded and integrated on an IBM AMD Opteron processor-based BladeCenter Linux platform. It also includes SSA Integration for connectivity to SSA ERP LN, and IBM’s WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus and Application Server, the DB2 database and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell. “With this combined hardware and software solution, discrete hybrid manufacturers can significantly reduce the time and cost of implementing an ERP solution on a state-of-the-art technology platform,” says Graeme Cooksley, executive vice president of SSA Global. “This is particularly beneficial for SMBs that now have access to a best-in-class solution that can help them achieve the IT agility made possible by service-orientated architectures at an affordable price.” The theory is that the very act of adopting an SOA approach, SMEs can get more value from their existing and new software investments and achieve greater IT flexibility and thus also business agility. It also makes their IT and business infrastructure scaleable and thus the IT department more responsive to change. Says Sandy Carter, vice president, WebSphere at IBM: “SOA improves businesses’ ability to meet market needs, and can help lower costs by encouraging reuse of IT assets and making integration of business systems easier.” By harnessing SSA’s ERP LN and the SSA Open Architecture, along with the AMD Opteron LS20 for IBM BladeCenter, users will also be able to reduce server floor space by about 50% and power costs by 33%. The Novell SUSE Linux platform and Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors with Direct Connect Architecture deliver 64-bit performance-per-watt and native dual-core processing to support larger customer workloads.