Infor selects Microsoft as preferred technology and tools provider
1 min read
Mid-market manufacturing software giant Infor has announced that it is to align its key business applications with Microsoft products, forming "software solutions that are easier for mid-market companies to deploy and use".
The news applies to next-generation Infor software solutions that will, for example, use a unified, intuitive graphical interface, running on Microsoft SharePoint 2010 – broadening the appeal and cutting the cost.
Beyond that, the company explains that it will integrate widely adopted Microsoft server-based products and industry-standard technologies more tightly, so enabling IT departments to deploy Infor solutions faster, while also improving the management aspects.
Infor chairman and CEO Jim Schaper says that users can expect to see Microsoft SharePoint 2010 acting as the foundation for portal based, unified interfaces, while Microsoft Silverlight will be the basis for dynamic graphical interface elements.
Equally, SQL Server will be the preferred database; Microsoft Reporting Services will form part of the foundation for Infor Business Intelligence; Microsoft Single Sign-On will run across applicable Infor applications; and Microsoft Windows Server will be the preferred on-premise operating system.
Schaper reckons the business software industry is at a crossroads. "For too long, business software vendors have failed to meet the needs of mid-size companies that are increasingly frustrated with the high cost and complexity of traditional enterprise applications that were designed for multi-billion dollar corporations.
"By integrating the rich functionality of Infor's applications with Microsoft's intuitive technologies, we will be able to provide mid-size businesses with fast and affordable solutions that meet their functionality needs and are easy to use. This combination of power and simplicity is the direction our industry is headed."
