IFS today announced that it is developing a new product, code-named "Attila" that will help companies provide faster and easier access to enterprise data, enabling better business decisions. Attila will provide direct access to information and processes in IFS Applications from within Microsoft Office applications. The development is done in close collaboration with Microsoft.
Attila will increase efficiency for information workers who use Microsoft Office as their primary working environment, allowing browsing and updating of enterprise data directly from within the Office applications. The first step of Attila, which includes reporting, budgeting, and financial planning modules integrated in Microsoft Excel, is scheduled to be available for select customers in the second quarter of 2006.
Most companies use Microsoft Excel in their budgeting and financial planning process. With Attila department managers and other workers involved in budgeting and planning processes will be able to retrieve, review, and update budget data directly in the familiar Microsoft Excel interface. Additionally, while working in Excel they will still benefit from the centralized storage, distribution, and revision handling provided by IFS Applications. The reporting module makes all business data stored in IFS Applications instantly available for processing and an alysis in Microsoft Excel, with the full security and access control of IFS Applications still applied. Subsequent steps of Attila will include modules that integrate Microsoft Outlook with the HR and Document management components of IFS Applications.
"IFS believes that an optimized user experience offers companies greater productivity, opportunities to increase profits and ROI. Allowing workers to perform processes such as budgeting from within their preferred working environment, in this case Microsoft Office provides a better user experience that will result in higher productivity and higher information quality as manual transfer and re-entry of information is avoided," said Hans Rune Rnningen, IFS Senior Vice President, Products.
"I am pleased to see IFS being on the forefront of innovation and technology development. With Attila our joint customers will be able to get even more return on their investments in Microsoft Office and IFS Applications," says Klas Hammar, Bus iness Group Lead Information Worker, Microsoft AB.
The Attila product will use Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture to seamlessly integrate the two company's products, demonstrating IFS and Microsoft's commitment to open standards. Attila leverages the openness of IFS Service-Oriented Component Architecture, Microsoft .NET, and the upcoming Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 to provide a completely standards based integration that does not require any additional setup or management.
IFS and Microsoft share a history of co-operation. More than half of IFS customers run IFS Applications on Microsoft Windows. Many also use products like Microsoft BizTalk Server and Microsoft Exchange integrated with their IFS Applications solution.
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