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Enterprise Content Management from the Cloud

forcont business technology gmbh opts for PaaS solution from GROUP Business Software / IBM provides technical infrastructure

Stuttgart/Frankfurt/Leipzig, 23 August, 2010 – forcont business technology gmbh has decided to offer its Enterprise Content Management solutions on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis. To do so, the company will rely on the powerful Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technologies from GROUP Business Software AG, an IBM Business Partner, thus becoming one of the first software specialists to opt for a cloud computing platform and address the entire range of parties involved – from manufacturers and partners to end customers. In addition, forcont provides the option to offer its partners’ branch-specific applications on a lease basis, with IBM providing the necessary technical infrastructure.

Headquartered in Leipzig, Germany, forcont business technology gmbh is a software company that specializes in Enterprise Content Management. Its product range includes standardized applications that primarily address the fields of contract management, media asset management and electronic personnel files as well as customized project solutions designed to control business processes. The company has now decided to use the PaaS cloud from GROUP Live to offer its solutions on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis.

For the near future, forcont plans to provide a SaaS option for nearly its entire product portfolio. "Software-as-as-Service is an ideal way for companies to get quick and easy access to IT infrastructures and software systems, as it effectively eliminates the need for complicated acquisition processes, necessary investments and approval cycles”, said Matthias Kunisch, Managing Director at forcont business technology GmbH. “Partners and customers are now in a position to simply lease software and hardware through the Internet as required.”

Furthermore, the software specialist also plans to offer cloud-based access to branch-specific applications developed by its partners, such as key data and regulation management solutions for the power supply industry.

As Matthias Kunisch explains, GROUP Live was selected, because “according to our assessment, it is the easiest-to-use and safest platform to manage the complexity of an application environment that includes hardware, storage, network, operating system and IT operation with flexible scalability. And their hosting partner IBM stands for stability, safety and sustainability.”

GROUP Live is an automated and easy-to-administrate PaaS solution targeted at ISVs and mid-sized enterprises. „The decision again shows that providers are increasingly discovering the significance of a SaaS-enabled solution portfolio for a quick and cost-effective entry into the market”, said Constanze Zarth, General Manager GROUP Live. “For us it is a very good signal that, with forcont, it is the first time that an ISV has opted for our cloud computing platform with a view to address the entire chain – from manufacturers to end customers, including partners”, Zarth concluded.

For further information please visit:
http://www.ibm.com/de/mittelstand
http://www.forcont.de/