IFS breaks new ground with Applications 10 launch at Atlanta World Conference

• Stunning visuals and new interaction patterns empower users to be more productive however they prefer to access IFS Applications 10
• Innovative new features—including AI chatbot and enhanced service-centric capabilities—plus hundreds of functional improvements across all solution areas
• IFS remains committed to customer choice: IFS Applications 10 available as SaaS, in the cloud or on-premise

 IFS, the global enterprise applications company, yesterday launched IFS Applications 10, the new version of its enterprise applications suite at the IFS World Conference in Atlanta.

Built to help customers capitalise on disruptive industry trends such as automation, connected devices (IoT) and servitization, the new version helps companies connect their business to a digital backbone.

“We are thrilled to launch IFS Applications 10, which has been built to help customers capitalise on major trends such as automation, connected devices and servitization,” IFS CEO Darren Roos said. “The new core version has been developed in close collaboration with our customers and brings to the market a vast amount of innovation that will ensure maximum business value from day one.”

IFS CTO Dan Matthews said: “The new version contains more than 500 new capabilities, including a completely reimagined user experience and powerful features for service-centric organisations, all designed to help users engage with the business and connect people and processes to a modern digital backbone. By combining the new features of IFS Applications 10 with recent innovations like IoT and layered application architecture, we are able to offer a truly unique business solution.”

IFS Applications 10 has already been implemented by five early adopter customers who have also provided feedback on the system. Representing a range of different industries and geographies, the early adopters are Chief Industries, Inc. (USA), Hexpol (Sweden), Portsmouth Aviation (UK), Volac (UK) and Valmont Industries (USA).

IFS Applications 10 is available as a Software as a Service (SaaS), as a managed service in the cloud and on premise.

New to IFS Applications 10 are:

IFS Aurena: A state-of-the-art browser-based user experience that offer users an intuitive interface. IFS Aurena employs a consumer-first design to drive employee engagement and productivity. Introduced first for business-to-business and casual users, IFS Aurena will continue to evolve at a high pace using IFS’s concept for evergreen enterprise applications.

AI/human-machine interaction: Drawing on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, IFS Applications 10 features the IFS Aurena Bot which empowers users to interact with the system via voice or textual input in an intuitive and efficient way. IFS Aurena Bot can be used by employees and managers to ask questions in a natural language, as well as perform transactions such as registering absence or applying for leave. IFS Aurena Bot can be accessed from popular communications tools such as Skype, Skype for Business and Facebook Messenger, as well as from within the IFS Aurena user experience.

Service-centric capabilities: IFS Applications 10 includes major investments to support service-focused organisations, especially for manufacturers with service or aftermarket operations as well as service companies that need an integrated enterprise applications suite tailored to their business model. Among the major updates in this area are the ability to manage service work and contract quotations directly in the CRM module, enhanced support for multi-person and multi-occurrence work execution, continued investment in IFS Mobile Work Order, better management and visualisation of resource demand and utilisation, cost control and WIP accounting along with new capabilities to engage with customers across the service lifecycle and manage work outsourced to contractors.

Demand-driven MRP (DDMRP): DDMRP is an extension of traditional MRP that helps companies deal with today’s challenges caused by short product lifecycles, long lead times and high demand variability. By introducing strategic inventory buffers, companies can reduce lead times and become increasingly demand-driven instead of having to rely on uncertain forecasts. IFS’s embedded solution has been validated and approved by the Demand Driven Institute, which demonstrates IFS’s ability to offer cost-efficient implementations.

Manufacturing functionality: The new version boasts major enhancements to support process manufacturing, including new and extended capabilities for traceability, quality management, recipe and formula management, batch balancing, rework and trade management. The extended features empower manufacturers to leverage digital transformation into increased efficiency.

Enhancements for global business: To offer extended support for globalised businesses, IFS Applications 10 features a completely rebuilt engine for global tax management, more multi-company capabilities as well as robust support for parallel ledgers.

Modern and cloud-friendly APIs: Open micro-service organised APIs, built according to the latest RESTful principles and the OASIS oData standard, ensure easy integration of data and processes in IFS Applications with IoT and AI technologies, Microsoft Office365 and most other modern cloud technologies and SaaS solutions.

Volac Business Development Director Neville Chapman said: “One of the major benefits of IFS Applications 10 has been the new user experience IFS Aurena, which empowers users to work efficiently on any device and at any time. We are excited to use this, together with the IFS Lobby functionality, to enable users to easily access the information they need to do their jobs. We are developing visual strategic KPI dashboards that pull information direct from IFS and allow it to drill down through to the relevant data. Using these dashboards, together with relevant operational and performance information Lobbies, we expect to drive real value out of our system investment. Working with IFS through the Early Adopter Program and being able to influence the development of the product has been a very positive experience and we look forward to continuing our collaboration.”

IFS Applications 10 has also garnered early commercial success through major sales agreements with French postal service company La Poste, global defense and security company Saab, leading Swedish coffee producer Löfbergs Lila, Swiss micromotor producer maxon motor and Norwegian timber corporation Bergene Holm AS to name a few.