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Technology Advantages

Browser-Based Deployment
Access to your iRenaissance applications requires only an Internet connection via Microsoft Internet Explorer. No software need be installed on the client. All administration and maintenance activities are confined to the application server. System upgrades, applied to the server, are instantly available to all users, even remote users, with no client maintenance required. Advantages include:

  • Reduced Deployment Costs – Because the Internet Application Framework is a is a native, browser-based architecture requiring no client installations or plug-ins, software installation is centralized to your server and the deployment effort is greatly reduced. For organizations that span broad geographies, this can greatly reduce travel expenses during deployments.
  • Reduced Maintenance and Support Costs – Similarly, centralized administration eliminates the differences in configuration for each user workstation. Help-desk requests are also reduced because user changes to workstation configurations cannot break the iRenaissance applications.
  • Reduced Infrastructure Costs – The intelligent design of the Internet Application Framework is highly efficient requiring only moderate bandwidth for adequate performance. Additional costly equipment, such as 3rd-Party Application Servers, are not needed to enhance performance.
  • Personalized User Interfaces – Each user can establish a “My iRenaissance” personal profile which controls menus, selections, and screen layout. Each individual user can select relevant information for display on their screens. Additionally each user can choose from a variety of screen themes that personalize colors, graphical treatment of buttons, and other aesthetics. Much like the use of popular web sites, your users can personalize and view iRenaissance applications in the format most suitable to them.
  • Follow-Me Profiles – Because all system and personal settings are centrally stored at the server, each user consistently accesses their applications through their individual profile, regardless of physical client PC. Traveling users or users sharing resources (such as split shifts frequently used in manufacturing operations) need not contend with variations in settings from one machine to the next or even the settings left from the previous user. iRenaissance applications look and perform as each user expects, every time.
  • Secure Access from Any Location – Users have secure access to your applications from any PC with an Internet connection. Mobile users within your facilities, traveling users and telecommuters can rely on consistent access to their applications, regardless of their physical location. Additionally, you can extend selected functionality to trading partners such as your suppliers, distributors and brokers, and even customers over the Internet.

Application Independence
The architecture of the Internet Application Framework provides separation between the applications and the underlying technologies. Either the applications or the underlying technologies can undergo upgrades and other changes without necessitating a change to the other. Advantages include:

  • Solution Modeling – With Solution Modeling you can ensure that the enterprise applications support your business processes and address the key issues of your organization. You can define virtually any task, activity, workflow or business function that occurs in your organization. These processes then determine the integrated functionality and core logic of the iRenaissance applications.
  • Business Optimization - The Internet Application Framework insulates your business operations from the technology. Your business decisions, such as modeling and implementing new functionality and applications, can be optimized independently, without necessitating modifications to your technology platforms. Adjustments to your business operations can be made quickly and efficiently, without unnecessary overhead.
  • Technology Optimization – Similarly, changes can be made to your underlying technologies, with minimal, often zero, disruption to your business operations. Migrations to new platforms, operating systems and databases can be optimized based on your corporate computing objectives, with minimal risk of conflict with your operational requirements.
  • Investment Protection – As computing technologies evolve over time, the value of your current technology investments naturally decays. The Internet Application Framework provides the flexibility needed to take advantage of evolving technologies and do so cost-effectively by fully leveraging current and prior investments in your applications. With iRenaissance, you can stay current on technology without constantly tearing down and re-implementing your applications.
  • Additional Investment Protection – Over the life of an enterprise system, it is likely that some functionality will be modified or customized to address unique operational nuances of your company. The Internet Application Framework not only protects your application investments through technology upgrades, it also protects your investments in functional modifications. With iRenaissance, it is very unlikely that your modifications will require a re-implementation.
  • Extensibility and Scalability - The Internet Application Framework supports a broad mix of UNIX and NT-based platforms. You have flexibility needed to optimize your infrastructure and minimize costs with a mix-and-match approach to hardware, operating systems and databases. The IAF also supports extreme scalability in terms of transaction volumes, database sizes and numbers of users. This enables companies to begin with comfortable implementations and cost-effectively scale the system as the business grows.

Broad Connectivity
The Internet Application Framework utilizes the connectivity standards of XML Web Services to provide connections between iRenaissance applications and employees, partners, other systems and devices. Advantages include:

  • Standards-Driven Cost Reduction - Because the IAF utilizes the Internet standards of XML Web Services, connections with external systems for instance can be established and maintained with minimal overhead. You can easily support collaboration with other internal systems (such as shop-floor sensors and controls) or external systems (such as purchasing systems used by your customers, distributors and brokers). The data and functionality of iRenaissance are fully defined and published through these interfaces, eliminating the need for expensive and maintenance-intensive middle-ware systems.
  • Device Flexibility – Access your iRenaissance applications from a broad selection of devices including wireless and hand-held units. Your initiatives to implement bar coding and RFID-enabled inventory control are fully supported by iRenaissance.