Oh, and in the new year, I will be back with more interesting news on CRM as well (sorry for not doing so lately, I’ve been busy with my regular work, but I’m afraid I won’t have to be worried about that anymore), so stay tuned, and have a great, happy, awesome new year!

The new CRM application runs as a Java program under i OS, delivers Web- and Windows-based UIs, and provides close integration with the DB2 for i (DB2/400) database, as well as other Infor ERP applications. Instead of adapting the established Epiphany CRM application to run under the i OS platform, a new, fresh approach was taken, developed to benefit the company’s unique customer segment. Infor hopes that the fact that CRM i Edition was built specifically for i OS will mean a lot to those who rely on the platform to run critical business processes.

“Infor CRM i Edition helps our System i customers leverage their ERP data with new capabilities that will help them increase sales revenue, reduce sales costs, expand data visibility, enhance forecast accuracy, and improve customer service,” Kevin Piotrowski, Infor’s director of System i solution marketing was quoted as saying. “Providing innovation and support to our large installed base of System i customers is an important priority and commitment for Infor and a major factor behind our recent establishment of a business unit dedicated to our worldwide base of customers who use IBM System i,” he added.

Infor has been the owner of the System i industry’s largest ERP customer base since 2006, when a string of mergers has led the company to acquire SSA Global for $1.6 billion. At the moment Infor boasts with over 14,000 unique clients. Despite the solid client base, some experts have doubted that Infor would continue to innovate on the i OS platform and said that, the company opted to using maintenance revenue as a cash cow in the future.

Sceptics proved wrong in February, 2009, when Infor announced the launch of its dedicated System i division, headed by Mark Wright, to show commitment to further developments. Wright spent 18 years at IBM and his role as senior vice president and general manager for the IBM System i organization was to be responsible for strategic direction and leadership of all System i-based sales, pre-sales, product management, product development, and marketing, as well as working with Infor’s channel partners who sell and service software for the platform.

“Infor remains committed to the IBM System i platform, the continued development of our System i-based products and elevating service and support for these customers around the world,” corporate senior vice president Greg Corgan, said at the time. “In his role as general manager, Mark will work with IBM and our new System i team to drive product strategy and innovation, foster a more collaborative approach within the System i customer base, and provide greater overall value to customers.”

Infor CRM i Edition is the first full application launched by the department established in February. As Kevin Piotrowski, director of System i solution marketing for Infor put it, “Infor CRM i Edition is a “net new” application that was written from scratch using the Infor Development Framework (IDF), a development tool specifically for writing IBM i OS (i5/OS and OS/400) applications.

Infor CRM i Edition is already available. Pricing is dependent on the number of users and other factors. A license for an implementation for 10 to 20 named users would cost between $15,000 and $30,000.

Infor Global Solutions

Infor Global Solutions is an Alpharetta, Georgia based, privately held US software company, specialized in enterprise software ranging from financial systems and resource planning to the supply chain and customer relationships. Founded in 2002, under the name Agilisys Infor is currently one of the largest providers of business software in the world. Infor offers a full range of enterprise business software including customer relationship management, enterprise asset management, enterprise resource planning, financial management, human capital management, performance management, product lifecycle management, supplier relationship management, and supply chain management, including business specific inventory management, transportation logistics and warehouse management software.

Currently, Infor has direct offices in 125 countries, implementation and support capabilities in 100+ countries, some 8,000 employees and over 70,000 customers worldwide.

According to media sources, Infor is the 10th largest software company, and the 3rd largest business application provider (after Oracle and SAP) in the world, with a yearly revenue of around $2.2 billion (in 2008).

Infor’s executive team includes

Jim Schaper, Chairman and CEO
Raghavan Rajaji, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Gregory M. Giangiordano, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary
Bruce Gordon, Chief Technology Officer
Rick Parker, Senior Vice President, Marketing
Ken Walters, President, Customer Direct
Gregory Corgan, President, Global Field Operations
Jerry Rulli, President, Americas Enterprise Solutions
Lawrence Chan, President, Asia Pacific
Benoit de la Tour, Senior Vice President and General Manager, EMEA

As a private company, Infor is not listed on the Stock Exchange, its primary shareholder is the private equity firm Golden Gate Capital Partners.