IBM, MAPICS Widen Cooperation To Drive Integration In Enterprise and SMB Markets

07/26/2004

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MAPICS (Nasdaq/NM: MAPX), a developer of enterprise solutions for manufacturers, and IBM, announced an expanded strategic alliance designed to increase product offerings for enterprise and SMB customers of MAPICS ERP for IBM eServer iSeries systems. MAPICS says it will “utilize the Web services capabilities in IBM's WebSphere Application Server to enable customers to share applications with resident systems in their IT infrastructure. In this expanded alliance, the two companies will jointly market the MAPICS ERP for iSeries products to reach enterprise and mid-market manufacturers.”

The companies offered the following details:

Through this alliance, MAPICS and IBM will help customers extend the value of existing application investments to leverage new applications from MAPICS and their partners. These applications can extend the value of the MAPICS ERP application by providing integrated support for functionality ranging from customer relationship management to supply chain management, helping MAPICS customers improve customer service, lower costs and improve responsiveness to the market. The first product, MAPICS CRM for eServer iSeries, integrating the CRM product from previously acquired Frontstep, will be made available later this year. The integration between the MAPICS ERP application and these extensions will be built on IBM middleware, including IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM DB2 Universal Database.

"The expansion of our relationship with IBM strengthens a long history of working together to provide customers with the tools they need to drive on demand, business process efficiencies," said Alan MacLamroc, Chief Technology Officer, MAPICS. "We are using WebSphere to implement our technology strategy of utilizing Web services for integration of our products and the products of our partners into our eServer iSeries suite. This approach enables our customers to share critical business information across their extended enterprises, while reducing the cost and complexities of managing their systems."

"We're committed to working with our partners to extend the reach of their products to attract a wider base of enterprise, as well as SMB, customers," said Marc Lautenbach, general manager, IBM Global Small and Medium Business. "Through our expanded strategic alliance, IBM and MAPICS will provide mid-size manufacturers with the solutions to help them improve business performance, increase competitive advantage and deliver increased value for their customers and shareholders."