News Briefs and Product Shorts

IBM Launches iSeries, zSeries Testing Tool Based on Rational XDE

IBM last week announced new software that allows iSeries and zSeries shops to test their terminal-based applications with the same tool they use to test their Java and Web-based applications. The new product is called the Rational Function Tester Extension for Terminal-based Applications, and it enables test teams to use IBM's Rational Functional Tester for Java and the Web (formerly known as simply Rational XDE Tester) on 5250 and 3270 applications. IBM's Rational Functional Tester was formerly only used for automating the regression testing of J2EE, J2SE, HTML, DHTML, XML, JavaScript, and Java applet applications. Standardizing test tools across traditional green-screen and Java or Web applications increases the cost-efficiency, breadth, and quality of software testing, IBM says. A single user license for Rational Function Tester Extension for Terminal-based Applications is $1,245; a floating user license can be bought for $2,375.

Logistics Operator Signs Contract with Geac for System21

GeoLogistics, a global provider of logistics and transportation management services, has decided to stick with Geac's System21 ERP suite for accounting software. Last week Geac announced that GeoLogistics, which is based in Santa Ana, California, and had sales of $1.2 billion in 2002, recently signed a two-year maintenance contract worth nearly $1 million. GeoLogistics first started using System21 in 1989, but over the years it installed various other accounting systems to support its business, which spans 140 countries. Over the last few years, GeoLogistics has been consolidating its financial systems, and System21 is the one that it chose. Geac says that its global support centre in Manchester, England, will provide primary support for 300 GeoLogistics employees around the world who deal with accounting issues. Geac's support offices in the United States and Asia will also provide local service in relevant time zones for true "follow the sun" support. GeoLogistics' System21 implementation runs on an iSeries Model 825, hosted by Digica, an English outsourcing service provider.

England's Top Lamb-Products Company Taps LANSA for ERP

Cherry Valley, a leading producer of live and processed duck products in England, has selected LANSA's ERP Framework solution. LANSA started selling seven pre-built, but configurable, ERP solutions for OS/400 and Windows last year as part of its CodeStart program (see "LANSA Gives New Twist on Old Approach to Selling Software"). Cherry Valley's decision to go with LANSA for ERP was influenced by its programmers' experience with LANSA for iSeries and Visual LANSA. "We decided to move ahead with LANSA because we knew that it worked for us," said Kate Butler, Cherry Valley's finance director. "As our IT department is trained in LANSA, they can make any modifications to the ERP themselves. This eliminates the need for expensive consultants that are often associated with these types of solutions." Butler also cited the fact that LANSA will provide source code for its ERP framework as another benefit to Cherry Valley.

PFSweb to Manage Raytheon Aircraft Parts Warehouse

The Raytheon Aircraft Company has expanded its contract with business process outsourcer PFSweb to run Raytheon's Western Hemisphere aircraft parts warehouse. Last month we covered the establishment of a contract under which PFSweb--a fulfillment expert that relies on J.D. Edwards software and iSeries hardware--will maintain 10,000 aircraft parts in a warehouse near the Liege Airport in Belgium. Last week PFSweb announced that Raytheon has established another contract to provide fulfillment services at a 200,000 square-foot warehouse near Dallas. The five-year contract is expected to employ 75 people and to involve rapid selection and shipment of 60,000 different parts to aircraft hangars in North, South, and Central America.

ServerProven: Profound Logic's RPG Smart Pages

Profound Logic Software recently announced that its Web application development tool for the iSeries, RPG Smart Pages, has received IBM ServerProven validation. The ServerProven label ensures that a software product is running on at least one iSeries server in the world. The validation also provides the potential for customers to receive rebates on hardware purchases from IBM, from $500 on an iSeries Model 800 up to $128,000 on an iSeries Model 890 Enterprise Edition. RPG Smart Pages provides an integrated development environment that allows RPG to be embedded directly into HTML, which, Profound says, speeds development of dynamic Web applications on the OS/400 platform.

Manhattan Associates Enjoys Renewal of ISO 9001 Certification

Manhattan Associates has renewed its ISO 9001-2000 certification, the software company announced last week. The Atlanta developer of supply chain software for OS/400 and other platforms achieved its renewal with help from SGS International Certification Services, which performed audits at several key Manhattan offices around the world, including Bangalore, India, and Utrecht, The Netherlands, as well as Burlington, Vermont. The International Organization for Standardization maintains the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards, which have to do with the quality of management and the quality of an organization's environment, respectively. In today's topsy-turvy world, it's never too soon to begin thinking about standards compliance, and today parents can get their children started along the path to ISO certification, thanks to the ISO 14000 program for kids.