News Briefs and Product Shorts

Inovis Benefits Large Traders with BizManager 2.5

Inovis last week launched an updated version of BizManager, its B2B data interchange offering for OS/400 and other platforms. Large companies (specifically retailers) that use BizManager to exchange purchase orders, invoices, and other important documents with a large number of trading partners, using EDI, AS2, and other supported transport mechanisms, will be able to implement a complete "B2B gateway" with hub-style automation in BizManager Version 2.5, the Georgia company says. Specifically, the new release has certificate managing and monitoring improvements that let users minimize the number of errors associated with expired business certificates and prevent subsequent loss of business, Inovis says. There is also the new Exception Dashboard in BizManager 2.5, which lets users track errors more efficiently. Finally, this release has new transaction archiving and data aging capabilities that allow businesses functioning as high-volume hubs to categorize and archive their EDI and Electronic Business XML (ebXML) records to ensure an optimum operational level, while still providing access to historical information. "With the added features to BizManager, retailers can more effectively manage their diverse trading partner community to maximize relationships for business gain," says Michael Croxton, Inovis' senior vice president of marketing. These enhancements to BizManager, which Inovis obtained in its acquisition of IPNet Solutions last year, are available across all of the BizManager flavors, including BizManager400, BizManager BizLink, its (non OS/400) enterprise-strength B2B product, and its new BizConnect Professional, a desktop solution designed for smaller companies.

GST Unveils SCSI-to-Fibre Channel BridgeLink Converters

The eServer storage specialist GST recently launched its new BridgeLink product line for connecting older SCSI storage devices into storage area network (SAN) architectures that use the newer and faster Fibre Channel interface. The BridgeLink Fibre-to-SCSI devices can support up to two SCSI devices through two SCSI ports, and feature a single serial port for a 2 Gigabit Fibre Channel connection. GST offers four different BridgeLink models, giving users the option of low-voltage LVD-SCSI or high-voltage HVD-SCSI connectivity, in either a desktop or a rack-mounted form factor. The LVD bridge is capable of data transfers of up to 160 MBps and costs $5,150, while the slower HVD model hits a top speed of 40 MBps and costs $5,700. That may sound like a lot for protocol conversion, but without such a bridge, implementing a fully Fibre Channel SAN would be prohibitively expensive, says David Breisacher, GST's chairman and chief executive. "This is due to the current perception that anyone who implements a SAN must invest heavily in replacing their SCSI infrastructure, including backup devices, in order to achieve Fibre Channel compatibility," he says. "GST's BridgeLink family of bridges permits conversion to Fibre Channel connectivity without the large investment required to replace all SCSI devices with FC devices." GST sources the BridgeLink hardware from British storage manufacturer Bridgeworks.

Proginet Supports Password Synchronization on Linux

Proginet last week announced that its SecurPass password synchronization and reset software now supports Linux. Instead of requiring users to remember different passwords to access all of the different applications they use, SecurPass allows users to access all of their organization's servers with a single strong password. With the addition of Linux, the software works most major operating systems, including OS/400, OS/390, Unix (Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Tru64), Windows (95, 98, NT, 2000, and XP), Open VMS, and NetWare; the notable exception is Microsoft Windows Server 2003. The Garden City, New York, company has also configured SecurPass to work with specific programs like the Oracle database and IBM Lotus Notes. Proginet has high expectations for SecurPass for Linux, which it will sell for about $20 per user. "With modest success of only 1 percent market penetration, SecurPass Linux could contribute several million dollars of revenue to Proginet's growth over our planning horizon," said Jack Gazzola, Proginet's vice president of sales.

Tennessee Truckers Tickled with Spreadsheet Server

Averitt Express, a Cookeville, Tennessee, trucking company, has purchased Global Software's Spreadsheet Server business reporting software, it was disclosed last week. Spreadsheet Server gives spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel real-time access to data housed in OS/400-based ERP systems. In the case of Averitt Express, Spreadsheet Server is being used to access the company's Infinium financial applications, and from the sound of things it's working out well. "You just can't compare the ease of using the Spreadsheet Server application to manually scripting queries or manually manipulating data in Microsoft Access and Excel," says Johnny Fields, Averitt's finance director. "Spreadsheet Server was born to suit the very specific financial reporting and analysis needs of accountants like myself." North Carolina-based Global Software also sells Spreadsheet Server editions for BPCS, Movex, and World ERP applications.

View MQ Assets from a Higher Ground with Q Pasa! 3.2

MQSoftware this month started shipping Q Pasa! Version 3.2, the latest release of its real-time monitoring software for WebSphere MQ, IBM's message queue middleware, and other WebSphere components. The big new feature in Q Pasa! 2.3 is something called User Navigation Tabs, which let users define their own hierarchical organization and view of logical and physical representations of their technology infrastructure. User Navigation Tabs also restrict access to specific content and dashboard views, based on a user's role in the organization. The Minneapolis, Minnesota, company also reminded us that it also issued a release of Q Pasa! in the spring, which introduced object-level support for OS/400, better password management, and a couple of mainframe enhancements, including support for WebSphere MQ on zSeries Linux and a WebSphere MQ Integrator Broker V2 OS/390 extension.

Seagull's Transidiom Certified for Exposing PeopleSoft ERP Apps As Web Services

PeopleSoft has certified Seagull Software's LegaSuite integration software for accessing and exposing iSeries and mainframe applications as Web services, Seagull announced last week. The certification provides assurance that the Transidiom component of Seagull's LegaSuite works as advertised with PeopleTools Versions 8.43 and 8.44 for integration work involving PeopleSoft's Enterprise, EnterpriseOne, and World ERP suites. Seagull says that a "lack APIs and standards-based access points to application logic" on OS/400 servers and mainframes makes integration problematic. Its solution is Transidiom, which wraps "legacy" functions and business logic on iSeries and mainframes (along with the "new" Unix and Windows legacy) into reusable XML, J2EE, WSDL, COM, and .NET components.

EnterpriseOne Users Choosing FormScape for Document Management

Document management software vendor FormScape says that its business among PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne users is picking up. One of the software vendor's new EnterpriseOne customers, Caltrol, has found that the FormScape solution is allowing employees to stay in their chairs longer. "Rather than getting up from their desks, going to a printer, and distributing documents by fax or mail, our customer service representatives can now simply create a purchase order, view it online, then distribute it anywhere, in any format--e-mail, fax, PDF, or the local printer--without having to leave their seats," says Erik Van Curen, manager of information technology at Caltrol, which runs EnterpriseOne on Dell servers. Another customer, Kidde, which runs EnterpriseOne on iSeries servers, chose FormScape for its efficient use of network bandwidth. "Because we're using a central data center, users are not just generating output across the corridor; they're doing so around the world," says Chris Bailey, IT projects manager for Kidde. "FormScape allows the use of data-rich PDF files during development; then, in the production environment, uses Output Stream Access (OSA), which consumes minimal bandwidth. This clever design, combined with a flexible and friendly development environment, allows us to create complex forms without impacting WAN performance."