JD Edwards Gets an iPhone Interface from looksoftware

September 30, 2008 Alex Woodie

Recently, several JD Edwards customers have been heard complaining to Oracle about the lack of mobile applications for their ERP system. Thanks to a new product released last week by System i modernization solution vendor looksoftware, JD Edwards World shops no longer have to wait for the software giant to deliver an iPhone interface–they can get it straight from looksoftware instead.

The long wait for mobile and Web interfaces from Oracle is over for Dave Hyzy, the IT director at Benderson Development, a Florida-based strip mall developer that owns more than 25 million square feet of retail space in 35 states. “This is the software I’ve been waiting for, for 10 years!” exclaimed Hyzy.

The looksoftware product that made Hyzy so excited is called snap. The Australian software vendor is in the middle of rolling out a series of snap solutions, including snap for mobile front-ends, which enables back-end i OS and z/OS applications to generate interfaces for the iPhone, Windows Mobile devices, and the Blackberry, and which was scheduled to ship last week. The vendor also offers snap solutions sets for Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint, and new snap solutions for Google Gadgets, Lotus Notes, and WebSphere Portal are also in the works.

Beating several of these snap solutions to the punch is snap for JD Edwards World, which is due to ship in November. The new offering plugs directly into the RPG-based ERP systems, and allows users to integrate and access World-based business processes from non-traditional interfaces, such as Outlook, smart phones, or through Web services.

In Benderson’s case, the company was considering moving off its highly customized i OS-based World application to give it the flexibility needed to adapt its system to meet its needs, including Outlook and mobile front-ends, and back-end integration between World and Oracle’s business intelligence, document management, and workflow products.

Now with snap for JD Edwards, Benderson can modify its leasing module instead of replacing it, and thereby eliminate the cost and risk associated with a wholesale ERP migration.