Aras delivers microsoft-based open source enterprise solution

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Zone : IT in manufacturing
Published : 15 Jan 2007 14:38

LAWRENCE, MASS. – January 15, 2007 – Aras® Corporation, leading Microsoft enterprise open source software solution provider, today announced the immediate availability of the Aras Innovator® open source solution suite. The version 8 release offered exclusively on the Microsoft .NET platform includes business ready enterprise solutions along with a solution studio for customization, extension, and integration. Aras is making the free download and additional open source solution projectsavailable on its aras.com website.

Aras aims to simplify enterprise software solution licensing and technology by delivering Aras Innovator as a commercial open source offering on the Microsoft platform. Companies can now take advantage of existing Microsoft skill sets and infrastructure while realizing the licensing flexibility and IT control of open source. Peter Schroer, Aras founder and president told The Manufacturer “We chose to go 100% Microsoft because the microsoft infrastructure is what [customers] prefer. It’s the cost-effective alternative, and most of our customers who are manufacturers are trained, they know Microsoft.”

“They already have the skills set, and the infrastructure’s there,” said VP of Marketing Marc Lind. “The solutions have a common application framework, which is Aras Innovator, which can be used to extend or build entirely new solutions.”

“The really compelling aspect is that as open source, there’s no charge for software, so there’s no need to get a capital budget, no concerns of runaway cost, and unlimited users. So think about quality processes, where you have infrequent users: You don’t have to pay for user licenses for everyone, you have unlimited user access.”

As the company described in a press release, Aras Innovator enterprise open source solutions address strategic business processes such as new product introduction [NPI], advanced product quality planning compliance [APQP], and enterprise product lifecycle management [PLM]. Solutions include:

• Program Management – Phase-gate project management of milestones and deliverables for executive visibility and team collaboration

• Quality Planning – Failure mode & effects analysis and closed-loop actions for mitigating risks and achieving compliance

• Product Engineering – Bill of materials, document management, and change management workflows for development control and cost tracking

Aras believes the solutions can be tailored to support a range of other enterprise lifecycle processes such as project lifecycle management, asset lifecycle management, and service lifecycle management. “What we’re finding,” said Lind, “is that almost all of our customers have an MRP or ERP, but they’re finding it ery hard to add functionality or business processes. So we fit in as a complement to their SAP or Exapta—they’ll build out a suite of quality forms or processes, a project management program, or PLM functionality that’s not available in ERP. They just need a simple way to build and manage those. Aras Innovator solutions are designed to operate either as stand-alone enterprise applications or as an integrated complement to existing systems.

“Aras brings a new value proposition to the enterprise software solution market by delivering direct customer benefits to companies running Microsoft technologies,” said Bill Hilf, general manager of Platform Technology Strategy at Microsoft Corp. “We are supportive of Aras’ move to offer enterprise open source solutions on the Microsoft stack, and we continue to see tremendous growth in the Microsoft partner ecosystem as a variety of industry partners are finding innovative ways to take advantage of the value of the Microsoft platform under a wide range of licensing models.”

“Aras recognizes the urgent need to simplify enterprise software complexity and reduce risks,” said Peter Schroer, President of Aras Corporation. “By delivering the Aras Innovator solutions as enterprise open source on the Microsoft platform we provide software licensing simplicity and align with the technologies that companies already have and understand.”

Aras Innovator Specifications

Developed exclusively on the Microsoft .NET platform, Aras Innovator’s proven application framework technology is a unique model-based, service-oriented architecture [SOA] that delivers unmatched flexibility enabling companies to deploy quickly and adapt easily while maintaining upgradeability. Aras Innovator requires minimal infrastructure to run:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with .NET 2.0

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Aras Innovator supports Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7 and provides configuration options [not required] for: the 2007 Microsoft Office system; Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or SharePoint Portal Server; Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 or Business Scorecard Manager; Microsoft BizTalk Server 2006; and Active Directory.

Aras Innovator is based on open standards, including XML / SOAP Web services, for simplified integration with conventional enterprise systems such as SAP, Oracle, UGS, PTC, Dassault, and Infor legacy applications; enterprise application integration suites; or enterprise service bus [ESB] products.

Aras Innovator open source projects for new solutions, solution extensions, Microsoft Office clients, and system integrations are hosted on the Microsoft CodePlex collaborative development site at www.codeplex.com.

Availability and Pricing

Aras Innovator version 8 is immediately available, with unlimited user access to all the solutions.

While there is no licensing fee, Aras offers enterprise-class support subscription packages, just as open-source providers Red Hat and Novell offer for Linux-based systems. Standard package prices are $8,300 / month for the Enterprise Edition and $4,100 / month for the Small Business Edition. Implementation consulting services and training are also available.

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