JACKMAN
Business-to-business collaboration and e-messaging are not new to either Mincom or Pronto. Do you think that the Federal Government is pushing hard enough on this competitive imperative, especially in the area of data communication infrastructure?
BEESLEY
We are seeing an increase in businesses that want to conduct their transactions electronically. Last year sales of our hosted B2B messaging infrastructure, Mincom Axis, grew strong—by 120 percent. This offers evidence of this trend.
We have also seen a greater take-up of this solution within government over the last 12 months at both state and federal levels around the world. We believe this trend is going to continue to drive demand in communications infrastructure.
BEESLEY
What are the key drivers for your customer base when adopting ERP solutions?
JACKMAN
I find that drivers are very situational—one customer may need improved manufacturing processes, another needs supply-chain improvements and a third wants to deliver improved facilities-management services. And of course it is critical that the drivers are fully explored before any work commences, or the outcome is likely to be a disappointment for all concerned.
Most executives share a desire for full process integration and real-time visibility, especially as companies grow. They like local support, local product development and the comfort of a vendor that is clearly experienced in their market segment.
At the end of the day, the really “key” drivers for our customers are to save money or make money by growing their business, and ideally both.
JACKMAN
It seems that every year is “the year of mobility”. Do you think that it finally is the year of mobility?
BEESLEY
It seems that every year is the year of mobility for different markets. In the Australian market last year there was a lot of momentum with mobile products, 3G network providers and mobile email usage. We believe there is still some device convergence to go on within the enterprise space but we see mobile enablement as a critical area.
BEESLEY
What different needs for ERP do you see within different vertical industries?
JACKMAN
The main difference arises from the externally-driven issues, ranging from industry-wide requirements to sector-specific issues.
For example, an industry-wide driver in the retail supply chain is GS1’s EANnet initiative, which significantly reduces electronic trading errors between retailers and their suppliers. This is a big-ticket item and I am proud that Pronto was the world’s first vendor to integrate EANnet support into an ERP system.
An industry-sector driver is where food manufacturers selling in the USA have had to cope with the traceability requirements of the Public Health and Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002, no matter in which country their manufacturing operations are located. But for other types of manufacturing sectors the Bioterrorism Act has not been an issue.
Write to the Editor at Technology and Business
* All fields are mandatory.