IBS has gone live with its first Windows version of its IBS Enterprise application. The installation for the property company, Varbergs Bostads AB, was implemented according to plan and the application has exhibited high performance under large transaction volumes. During 2008, IBS will commence launching IBS Enterprise applications in multi-platform versions.

To date, the IBS business system has been focused entirely on the proprietary IBM i5 server platform. To expand market opportunities within its target industry segments, IBS pursues a development strategy founded on open business systems that can be used by client companies whose IT environments are based on the IBM i5 platform, Windows, Unix or Linux.

During recent years, IBS has successfully established a new development environment based on the open development platform, Eclipse, and the IBS integration platform, IBS Integrator. Using this environment, IBS has produced a Java version of IBS Enterprise for Windows. The IBS financial application is the first part that has now been tested and put into operation. The pilot installation also included applications such as IBS Asset Management, IBS Attest and the third party product Mercur. The applications run on IBM’s new open x-Series 64-bit server with Windows operating system and Microsoft SQL Server.

“We have been using the IBS Enterprise financial system for a number of years. Since we have switched to a Windows environment, we were eager to change to IBS’s new Windows version in conjunction with an upgrade to Version 6. The change was implemented as planned and we are very satisfied with the functionality and performance of the application,” says Rolf Nielsen, Administrative Manager of Varbergs Bostads AB.

IBS customers, many of whom are distributors that manage large transaction volumes, need reliable and scaleable systems. With the latest 64-bit technology and new database functionality, IBS will also be able to supply the same performance in the Windows platform.

“IBS Enterprise applications are based on a new integration framework, which facilitates easy integration into other systems and allows applications to be used with various databases such as SQL Server, DB2 and Oracle. The new SOA architecture also means that it is easy to create and organize web services through, for example, visual tools,” says David Malmgren, VP IBS multi-platform development.

Additional Windows versions of client installations of the IBS financial module will be implemented and the development project will thereby enter a phase of gradual market launching. The pilot installations using other parts of the IBS Enterprise software system, of which the distribution module is the largest, will be implemented during the first six months of 2008. These installations will be followed by an expected commercial market launch of IBS Enterprise for Windows in the second half of 2008.

“We can now verify that the first IBS Enterprise application in Windows version is showing high performance and reliability under high transaction volumes. Our development philosophy, which is based on open standards, provides numerous opportunities in the future to combine our own solutions with other open applications, the combination of which will provide major benefits for customers. We will be able to target significantly larger parts of the industry markets in which we aim to grow following the introduction of applications for Windows and other platforms,” says Erik Heilborn, President and CEO of IBS.