iJungle Delivers a Web-Based i OS Application Framework

September 23, 2008 Alex Woodie

AS/400 shops interested in starting fresh with a customizable, Web-based application framework–including programs such as accounts payable, business intelligence, CRM, and document management–may want to check out the new iJungle suite that AdventureTech Group announced earlier this month. The software is built on AdventureTech’s sockets-based Web-enablement software, called iSafari, and can take much of the grunt work out of developing such applications from scratch.

AdventureTech has been selling iSafari and a related message management product called iConga since they were formally introduced in early 2007. The company found, as many software vendors do, that customers are often looking for a customized solution that fits their needs to a T, as opposed to a shrink-wrapped product that may force them to change business processes. As a result, AdventureTech built many custom solutions for its customers.

As time went on, AdventureTech realized there might be a market for all the custom-built Web-based solutions it built for customers using iSafari, including AP, accounts receivable, human resources, customer relationship management (CRM), business intelligence (BI), forms overlay, document management, and reading or writing checks, says John Patsch, director of sales for the Olathe, Kansas, company.

“We felt that we could productize them and offer them as a full product suite,” Patsch says. “From a marketing perspective, we felt like we might be able to get more traction with a suite.”

The point solutions are sold under the iJungle umbrella, which also provides a home for iSafari and iConga which are also sold separately. The applications run directly on the i5/OS server (AdventureTech is currently testing for i 6.1), and require some level of configuration and customization to a client’s unique environment before they can be put into production, Patsch says.

AdventureTech realizes that many i5/OS and i OS shops already have basic accounting functionality as part of an ERP package, and these aren’t necessarily the companies that it’s targeting with this solution. But many small and mid size businesses may lack some of the advanced functionality that is available through human resources and BI products, and AdventureTech hopes this functionality gap may provide an entry point for iJungle.

“The value is getting that to the Web,” Patsch says. “I don’t see them replacing their existing stuff. In a smaller outfit, they may want to utilize AR or AP. Not everybody has HR capability. Some people are just running applications on the ‘400 that are homegrown. They may want to replace it, or they may want to take it to the Web.”

iJungle also includes the iConga message management solution, which provides automated monitoring of critical logs, such as QSYSOPR, and competes with other systems management tools. The company recently added support for monitoring BRMS, which will come in handy for organizations that want to monitor their nightly backup routines.

AdventureTech is committed to supporting the iJungle suite and continuing development of the products, Patsch says. Direct communication with customers is a company priority, he says, and it even added a client enhancement-request screen to the products, to allow customers to submit requests via the Web.

Licenses for the iJungle suite run in the $25,000 range, which includes two weeks of on-site training and application customization services by an AdventureTech consultant. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.atgi.org.