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WAYNE, PA – November 14, 2013 – Deacom, Inc., producer of an ERP software solution built specifically for process manufacturing companies, announced today that their mobile strategy looks beyond simply offering remote system access, to the overall impact ERP mobility can have on their customer’s businesses. “Any ERP vendor can offer a bolt-on mobile application”, said Deacom Operations Manager Scott Deakins. “The important thing to evaluate is not whether or not one exists, it is the technology the app is built upon, the approach taken to develop it, and the potential affect both can have on the customer.”
Deacom believes one of the keys to an effective ERP solution, and consequently ERP mobility, is a strong technology foundation. Having spent the last several years gradually converting the entire back-end of their software to the .Net framework, the most advanced technology currently available; Deacom has laid the groundwork for continued technological evolution.
The ability of a business to adapt and progress can be strongly influenced by the ease with which it’s ERP solution evolves. Systems built using third party software and customizations create a complex and inflexible environment that is difficult and costly to support, maintain and upgrade. With this traditional ERP model, a mobile application is typically developed as one of these third party bolt-ons. Like with any bolt-on, the business rules and queries written to process and package the data must be replicated in the new software. With thousands of lines of code to re-write, the likelihood of a developer missing something or translating the code incorrectly is high. These discrepancies considerably affect the consistency with which the data is processed, and subsequently viewed by the user. For instance, pulling a report via a desktop application versus pulling the same report through an iPhone app may deliver significantly different results. Even more concerning, if the business rules are not exactly the same from one piece of software to the next, the risk of putting expired, damaged or hazardous product on the market increases.
An ERP system is only as effective as the level of process control and consistency the system can provide. This traditional ERP model and approach to mobility actually becomes a hindrance to a company’s success by creating distrust among system users of the very tools meant to strengthen reliability.
With all of DEACOM’s business rules and queries written in .Net, the need for third party software or any kind of replication is eliminated. Deacom has the flexibility to rapidly develop and deploy thin front-end layers (i.e., mobile applications, WMS, etc.) that all utilize the exact same business rules and queries as the core solution. This allows each layer to pull identical data, and merely display it differently. The single point of data processing provides consistency throughout the entire system, resulting in a mobile application that is a true extension of the main ERP. Any report or data view accessed via the desktop/laptop will automatically be available on the mobile app, delivering continuity and process control that directly impacts how effectively DEACOM users can serve their customer base.
“Our mobile application was not an afterthought, or a hasty reaction to tech market trends”, said Deacom President Jay Deakins. “Just as our single system model was inspired by the long-term needs of our customers, so was the mobile app. Converting the back-end of our software to .Net was just one step in our strategy to remain as nimble as possible, therefore providing our customers the latest and best technological advancements available.”
