News from 2004

Users refine their own applications for competitive advantage thanks to XSOL’s adaptable processes-based systems. See the XSOL Case Study: PSI - Business Control in Real-Time.

Leading New Zealand clothing importer PSI 2000, have become a Real-Time Enterprise using XSOL’s process-based application software. Warren Bird, CEO of PSI describes the result as “…a full task management system that manages by exception.”

Using XSOL, PSI has automated key parts of their business end-to-end - from new product costing and quotation, to contract management and shipment. And according to Bird it has made a real difference in the way PSI’s business operates, “XSOL provides continuity throughout our business and visibility of all areas of our operation… Things are far more accurate from a management perspective.”

“PSI was one of the first companies to use XSOL to map and publish their business processes; in their case, preparing for a new ERP system. But along the way, they recognized XSOL’s potential to create an alternative to a traditional ERP implementation - using process definitions as the basis for an XSOL business system,” said XSOL’s CEO, John Blackham. “We see the benefits PSI have received as indicative of the value other customers and industry sectors can expect from XSOL’s ultimate deliverable.”

PSI’s operation is complex - the fact that the company’s processes have been defined directly by business users and then automatically translated into applications using XSOL, puts them in a unique position in the New Zealand marketplace.

The key benefits realized by PSI include enhanced visibility of their business and the ability to adapt quickly to meet changing business demands. As Bird comments, “XSOL enables me to report on any aspect of the business … I know exactly how much profit or loss we have made and can find where we can improve the process to do better next time.”

John Blackham, XSOL’s CEO, was invited to join the Prime Minister’s Trade Mission to India.

XSOL CEO John Blackham recently took part in of a five-company trade delegation that accompanied the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, on a tour of India. The five companies, representing some of New Zealand’s most promising software ventures, pitched the New Zealand ICT industry as a hotbed of innovation to some of the largest Indian corporations. The tour through Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi included visits to Infosys, India’s most successful IT company, and Reliance Industries, a Fortune 500 success story, among others, as well as meetings with many industry leaders through groups such as NASSCOM, the ICT industry body.

“My expectation of the potential for XSOL was far exceeded”, said Blackham. “We struck up personal relationships with some very influential Indian business leaders, and in several cases they created specific channels within their corporations for NZ IT companies to explore business opportunities.”

“We see the Indian market, in particular Indian IT companies, offering prospects for partnership in the global market, and we intend building strong long-term links with many of the relationships that were forged during the visit.”

Hedra, the UK’s leading public sector transformation specialists, is working with XSOL to extend their range of consulting and solution delivery offerings. Initial projects are already underway within a number of Government departments, following Hedra consultants being trained in XSOL’s product range.

“The UK Government’s drive toward efficiency and e-Enablement by 2005 creates a natural focus on business process,” said Fiona Driscoll, Hedra’s Strategy Director. “Hedra’s ability to transform the way government works, at the people, process and technology level is key to orchestrating this change.”

“XSOL’s ability to begin with a ‘real-life’ starting point is key – capturing details of how organisations really work and how people and systems are linked together. It allows us to work interactively with the client, simplifying and speeding up the process of implementing change,” added Hedra’s director responsible for the initial projects, John Kopij.

With XSOL, the high level of user participation in defining their requirements creates a better quality starting point for planning and implementing change. This is facilitated by XSOL’s Model of Business, which not only provides users with a business definition template but simultaneously creates the technical foundation for their Enterprise Application. This synchronicity enables highly adaptable applications that can be changed easily, but more importantly, it guarantees the integrity of the resulting system.

The ability to move quickly to proof of concept stage for new Business Applications is especially relevant to the practical implementation challenges of the 2005 e-Enablement goal.

“We are delighted to be partnering with an organization of Hedra’s stature,” commented XSOL’s CEO, John Blackham. “They are clearly the leader in their field, with a far-sighted vision of delivering ‘whole of life’ value to their customers. We see the work we are doing now as setting the scene for a future based on rapid change and implementation cycles for their customers. This next generation of process-based applications is a mutual focus for the future.”

About Hedra:
Hedra is a major provider of consulting, solutions and services that enable its clients, public service and government organizations, to improve performance, adapt to changing circumstances, take bold initiatives and launch new capabilities. Hedra has been building its reputation for excellent services for over a decade, and is now in the Sunday Times annual review of the top 100 growing companies in the UK.

James Abel joins XSOL from the UK to drive next generation software development

After 20 years consulting in IT and selling his successful London based IT Services company, James Abel joins New Zealand based Business Process Management software company XSOL to head their product development effort.

James comments: “I have joined the company at a very exciting time. Building on my experience taking enterprise solutions to market, and working with XSOL’s wealth of technical experience and expertise, I will be taking XSOL’s unique solution to the next level. We will offer enterprise businesses rapid implementation, scalability, and above all flexibility as a replacement or enhancement to their complex and demanding ERP environment.”

"James’ background in managing the development challenges of an international enterprise software company adds an important dimension to the team,” noted XSOL CEO John Blackham.

“As the market begins to transition from data-based to process-based business applications, XSOL is in an excellent position to take the lead, and our ability to satisfy the demands of world-class customer organizations is vital.”

“A picture’s worth a thousand words,” says Reller. Hence his use of Auckland company XSol’s visual business process modelling (BPM) tool. Read article

XSOL announce Release 3.0 of XSOL Automation and XSOL Mapping.

Release 3.0 builds on the foundation of XSOL’s existing Business Process Management (BPM) solutions, establishing a new baseline for inter-departmental, time-critical Process Automation. With XSOL Release 3.0, organisations can rapidly and effectively automate business processes that involve the integration of people, procedures and corporate IT systems into a live sequence of business activity.

XSOL’s underlying model of business allows the activities of an organization to be described using a common structure - one that the CEO can understand and direct. This allows XSOL’s customers and partners to create optimised processes that best reflect the high level goals of the organisation.

Another key benefit of XSOL’s approach is the capability for rapid adaptability and change - processes can be modified and then new live run-time systems created as soon as business requirements change.

Here are some of the key innovations introduced by Release 3.0:

XSOL Mapping

XSOL Automation