Bristol, UK, June 28, 2012 – UNIT4, the global business software group, announced today the availability of 35 role-based, turnkey and rapidly-installed business intelligence (BI) apps that are offered through the UNIT4 Solution Store via a pay-for-use per user/per month subscription model. The first series of highly-defined solutions are designed to solve nine categories of repetitive challenges, risks and/or opportunities experienced by specific roles across the entire organisation. The announcement delivers on a promise made by UNIT4 six months ago that by June 2012 it would reinvent the enterprise software analytics market by changing the way new-age BI solutions will be purchased, deployed and consumed.
Called UNIT4 Business Analytic Apps, the new line of mobile-accessible, pre-integrated and interchangeable apps break through the existing barriers set by the current giants and their “all or nothing” analytic software solutions. Reflecting emerging demand for what many analysts call “the new consumerisation of IT” by business users, the new UNIT4 Business Analytic Apps offer a faster, easier, and more targeted path to BI for employees at any role in the organisation. They are also very affordable for even smaller and mid-sized organisations.
The “bite-sized” tapas-style apps are 90% complete on purchase, can be ordered via the online UNIT4 Solution Store and can be up-and-running within two days priced from just six dollars per user /per month. Such accessibility and affordability is a marked departure from the market’s current line of aging, 20+-year-old BI providers, most of which have enormous IT footprints, are prohibitively expensive for the mid-market, and remain difficult-to-implement and change. These dated solutions were primarily acquired in a spate of giant software acquisitions a decade ago, and have been bolted on top of even larger and more cumbersome enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
UNIT4 Business Analytic Apps are currently available for UNIT4’s Agresso and Coda Financials customers, and extend the company’s change-centric value proposition. The company is known globally for its post-implementation agility features by cost-effectively addressing organisations identified as Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC) ™.
Order via online turnkey Solution Store; Get value within days; Pay just dollars per month
Typical enterprise analytic software solutions have long sales and deployment cycles. Since software licensing and maintenance contracts traditionally cost tens of thousands to millions of dollars per year, buyer organisations carefully collect needed roles, requirements and data source connections to corral costs as best as possible. Competitors’ installations usually take multiple months to multiple years to complete, and heavily strain IT resources. Once completed, these solutions are difficult to change to meet new market or organisational requirements, and once again put considerable cost and resource restraints on organisations to make needed changes.
By contrast, customers of the new UNIT4 Business Analytic Apps will be able to use any internet-connectable device to enter the UNIT4 Solution Store, and then search for solutions based on role or requirement; order pay-for-use solutions; add wish list solutions for future needs; rate solutions and join the social collaboration comment stream.
Once initiated, the Store order automates contact by a consulting team that organises any further configuration. Activation of the first UNIT4 Business Analytic App takes two to three days or less. Subsequent orders can be deployed even faster. UNIT4 makes it possible for customers to add and configure applications themselves, independent of any external consultancy needs, by offering a four day “Do It Yourself” knowledge transfer program.
“The rapid two/three day professional services bundle makes it turnkey for those users who simply want it fast and easy, but we’ve also got an option for the power user who wants to explore and exploit additional add-on options,” says Ton Dobbe, Vice President, Product Marketing, for UNIT4. “Our research shows there is a large pool of power users who enjoy a build-your-own-solution environment. For this group we have a user-friendly builder tool for those comfortable with data modeling; adding new data sources or workflows, building interactive reports, etc. We expect this will grow into a classic and highly-demanded solution production environment – where creative users write and post new turnkey solutions useful for other UNIT4 customers to the online Solution Store.”
A new study released today by BizTechReports cites that technology executives and business users both believe the market’s prior analytics choices are too costly, centralised and slow to respond to changing market requirements. The new BizTechReport states that, “companies desire smaller, better targeted end-user solutions. There is a growing international consensus that Business Intelligence and Analytical tools employed by mid- to large-sized enterprises must be more flexible, more affordable and provide more support for day-to-day decision-making by line of business managers.“
35 role-based apps available across nine solution categories
UNIT4 has unveiled its first 35 Business Analytic Apps based on the questions users are trying to solve and highly defined for various organisational roles ranging from C-level suite to functional managers, such as the head of property development. The first nine solution categories of easy name/easy solve UNIT4 Business Analytic Apps include: “Is My Budget on Track?” – a cross-horizontal market solution for following and adjusting plans as circumstances change; “Is My Utilization on track?” – a means for professional services organisations to monitor key performance indicators tied to efficiencies/revenue and “Is Everyone in my Business Performing” – useful for any industry or organisation, this is the next-generation methodology for turning point-in-time business reviews into an ongoing activity.
The UNIT4 Solution Store will launch in the UK on July 16th, followed by Germany on August 1st, and Norway towards the end of September. Other countries within the UNIT4 group will follow later this year. The next round of Business Analytic Apps are already in development, and will target strategy management, human resources, project management and sales management.
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About UNIT4
UNIT4 is a global cloud-focused business software and services company aimed at helping dynamic public sector and commercial services organisations to embrace change simply, quickly and cost effectively in a market sector it calls 'Businesses Living IN Change' (BLINC)™. The Group incorporates a number of the world’s leading change embracing software brands including Agresso Business World, our flagship ERP suite for mid-sized services intensive organisations; Coda, our best-of-class financial management software; and FinancialForce.com, the cloud applications company formed with investment from salesforce.com.
With operations in 17 European countries, as well as 7 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and Africa and sales activities in several other countries, revenue of €454.7 million was realized in 2011.
In the UK we focus strongly on the public sector, where we are the leading provider of ERP systems to local government and post 16 education organisations, as well as having a considerable presence in the emergency services and health sectors. We also focus strongly on professional services organisations and a range of commercial sectors including Financial Services, Retail and Media and Publishing. Overall we aim to be the UK’s foremost business software company, providing solutions that transform the delivery of public services and comprehensively support commercial organisations in their ability to adapt and prosper in rapidly changing environments.
UNIT4 is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands and has over 4,000 employees. It is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext and is included in the Amsterdam Midcap Index (AMX). For more information on UNIT4 or any of its operating companies, please visit the website at www.unit4software.co.uk, follow us on Twitter @UNIT4_UK , or visit our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/UNIT4BusinessSoftwareNV
