News Briefs and Product Shorts

Hormel Picks Aldon for SOX Compliance, But Finds Other Benefits Too

Hormel Foods has begun implementation of Aldon's suite of change management software as part of its effort to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as to increase programmer productivity, Aldon announced last week. As a publicly traded company, Hormel Foods, which had $4.2 billion in 2004 revenues, is required to demonstrate certain controls over its financial reporting process and supporting IT systems. Hormel's auditing firm, Price Waterhouse, asked the Austin, Minnesota, company to implement certain procedures as part of its SOX compliance effort, including an audit trail process, separation of duties, work tickets of what was charged and who made the charges, and report distribution logs, Aldon says. The vendor's Aldon Suite of change management software, which includes the Lifecycle Manager for iSeries¸ Deployment Manager, and Community Manager products, provides these capabilities. While SOX compliance was the primary driver in Hormel's selection of Aldon's change management software, the company reports it has already achieved a return on its investment in terms of increases in programmer productivity and source code analysis at product facilities. "With Aldon, all of our code will be centralized in one place," says Carroll Hermanson, director of facilities services at Hormel Foods. "As a result, our efficiency has dramatically increased. We've seen amazing benefits in such a short period of time."

CLI Launches Two Thin Clients, One for Windows, one for Linux

Computer Lab International has launched two new thin clients, including one that runs Linux and one that runs Windows. The Linux-based MT1200p features the Geode GX 466 processor, 128MB of DRAM, and a fully array of USB, Ethernet, and audio ports, in a svelte 1.4-pound package. The bare-bones MT1200p, which comes with a manufacturer's suggest retail price (MSRP) of $291, includes a pre-loaded Mandrake Linux distribution, support for Citrix ICA and Microsoft RDP protocols, legacy terminal emulation, and support for CLI's SNMP-based remote administration software. Users looking for more power and flexibility may choose the Windows XP Embedded-based MT1500x, which is also based on the Geode GX 466 processor, but comes with 256 MB of DRAM, as well as USB, PS/2, Ethernet, audio, serial, and parallel ports. In addition to Windows and legacy terminal emulation protocols, the MT1500x comes with an array of Microsoft apps, including a Web browser, media player, e-mail client, and a PDF file viewer. All that addition software and memory results in a $510 MSRP.

MAC-PAC Gains New Document Management Capabilities, New Ownership

Users of the MAC-PAC ERP system are gaining new document management and fax capabilities as a result of a partnership formed recently between Quadrant Software and TDCI. The two software vendors formed a partnership last month that results in a "seamless integration" between TDCI's OS/400-based ERP system and Quadrant's FastFax and Formtastic suites of software. "Our joint customers can now eliminate pre-printed forms and manual fax machines while increasing security and efficiency, all from within the MAC-PAC XE application," says Gary Langton, Quadrant's chief executive. In other MAC-PAC news, TDCI last month acquired the remainder of the rights to MAC-PAC, which was originally developed by Anderson Consulting in the 1980s. TDCI had provided maintenance and support for MAC-PAC users since 1997, but now it has full control of the product. "Gaining the rights to MAC-PAC enables us to solidify our commitment to long-term support of the software," says Dan DeMuth, president of TDCI, which is based in Columbus, Ohio. "In short, it gives us the ability to ensure that MAC-PAC XE remains a vibrant and cost-effective ERP solution for many years to come." The number of companies using MAC-PAC is estimated to be in the hundreds, and are mainly manufacturers of windows and doors, HVAC systems, construction equipment, and industrial machinery, although the ERP suite has been used by at least one software developer, Microsoft, which is also in the "windows" business, in a way. (Microsoft, of course, has moved on to SAP's ERP software.)

SP Newsprint Finds Global the Right Choice for J.D. Edwards Analysis

When it comes to J.D. Edwards financial analysis tools, there is really only one game in town, according to Roddy Wells, corporate controller at Atlanta-based SP Newsprint, which manufacturers more than one million pounds of newsprint every year: Global Software's Spreadsheet Server. "The Spreadsheet Server for J.D. Edwards application should be the only option on the table for J.D. Edwards financial users," Wells says. SP Newsprint recently implemented the Global Software product, which creates a real-time connection between J.D. Edwards financial modules and Microsoft Excel, enabling users to view and manipulate live J.D. Edwards data from the comfy confines of nearly everybody's favorite spreadsheet program. "We had no idea that a financial analysis and reporting tool could leverage the familiarity that Microsoft Excel offers in such a significant and powerful way." SP Newsprint isn't the only J.D. Edwards shop getting hip to Global, according to Spender Kupferman, a spokesman for North Carolina-based Global. "We have had a magnificent third quarter in the J.D. Edwards space," Kupferman says. "Our foothold in the J.D. Edwards market continues to be strong and unwavering."

New Infoprint 4100 Series Provides Serious Oomph to Production Printing

Need to print a lot of pages, and need to do it real fast? If you measure your printers' speed in feet rather than inches, then check out the new line of Infoprint 4100 continuous forms printers announced by IBM last week. The new models incorporate Power processors as print controllers, and can hit speeds of 330 linear feet-per-minute (that's 1,400 letter-sized documents per minute). Such printing prowess is usable for really big print jobs, such as printing statements, and digital publishing jobs, such as newspaper printing or printing of books or technical manuals with text and graphics. The new Infoprint 4100 line supports IBM's AFP printing architecture, and features a number of enhancements in areas such as power consumption, e-mail notification, toner loading, and forms identification. IBM also announced a statement of direction to deliver a new AFP Color Emulation feature that enables users to print color and black-and-white objects on black and white printers like the Infoprint 4100. Infoprint 4100 models HS3, HD5, and HD6 will become available Friday. To read IBM's Hardware Announcement 105-333click here.

Adobe Licenses NetManage Librados Connector Technology for LiveCycle Product

Companies using Adobe's LiveCycle document management software will soon gain new capabilities to access enterprise applications and business processes through the LiveCycle product as part of a partnership between Adobe and host connectivity experts NetManage. Last week NetManage announced that Adobe has licensed its Librados suite of Java-based adapters, which translate data among a variety of applications, databases, and file formats (including J.D. Edwards EnterpriseOne), for use with its Adobe LiveCycle Workflow application. Those Librados adapters will work with an Adobe LifeCycle connector technology called Quick Process Action Components (QPACs) to streamline the development of workflow applications using drag-and-drop techniques. Adobe has delivered 50 QPACs that automate things like routing tasks to a user, sending an e-mail, or integrating with backend system, with the latest release of LifeCycle Server, which it announced last week. LifeCycle Server runs only on Unix and Windows. Linux support is expected this fall, but Adobe, which acquired an OS/400 forms management company several years ago, says it has no plans to offer LifeCycle on the iSeries.