Two big names in enterprise software today announced new offerings aimed at manufacturers. Software and database standout Oracle revealed a Hewlett-Packard-based package of its E-Business Suite for mid-sized industrial manufacturers, while another acquisitive software company, Infor, rolled out a document management system for manufacturers running IBM’s System i platform.
As Oracle awaits a decision from European regulators on its pending acquisition of server maker Sun Microsystems, the company is forging ahead with ties to other server providers. Today Oracle announced the HP and Oracle Consulting Accelerate Solution for Industrial Manufacturing, a collection of software, hardware, and services. As part of the bundle, manufacturers get Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 pre-loaded on HP infrastructure hardware and installed by Oracle Consulting. In a statement, Oracle said the package was tailored to U.S. manufacturers with limited IT resources.
“The complete solution is pre-configured, tested, and shipped in just a few weeks,” Oracle said in the statement. The E-Business Suite software features templates geared toward industrial manufacturing businesses and runs on HP BladeSystem infrastructure and HP StorageWorks Modular Smart Arrays. As of press time, an Oracle spokeswoman had not responded to a request for pricing information.
Among the services included with the offering manufacturers receive on-site hardware setup and application-specific technical support during the implementation, Oracle said.
Meanwhile, Oracle competitor Infor drew a narrower focus today, rolling out the Infor Document Management software for companies running on IBM’s System i platform. The document management application aims to facilitate document capture, storage, and management, and can be used from within the company’s ERP products for System i, which include ERP LX, ERP XA, ERP System 21, ERP BPCS, and ERP PRMS.
The new offering relies on technology from document management specialist Quadrant Software, including IntelliChief, which “enables companies to capture paper documents and manage them throughout business processes”; FastFax Servers for faxing or e-mailing of documents from a desktop computer; and Formtastic Forms and Labels, which deliver electronic versions of pre-printed forms.
Infor did not reveal pricing on the new technology.
Infor created its dedicated System i Organization earlier this year in recognition of the 15,000 Infor customers that operate on the IBM platform and need software that integrates well with it. A spokesman today said that the majority of Infor customers on System i are manufacturers.