Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), a leading software provider that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive, has today announced that the Belgacom Group, Belgium’s leading provider of integrated telecommunications services, is building an innovative integration foundation using all Progress® enterprise infrastructure products and solutions. This IT project, which is part of a long-term strategic initiative, includes the implementation of an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and enables Belgacom to be even more responsive to the needs of their business clients through improved integration and middleware simplification.
Yves Biver, EAI domain manager at Belgacom, said: “Selecting the right enterprise integration foundation to support our IT strategy was an important first step in our long-term strategy. We were looking for seamless integration across retail, wholesale, fixed line, mobile services as well as broadband data and Internet services. In order to provide the best possible services for our enterprise customers, we needed the most robust, integrated and easy-to-implement solution. We partnered with Progress Software because of their best-in-class software integration offerings coupled with their data transformation engine and end-to-end monitoring.”
The business telecommunications sector is growing at a rapid pace along with the demands placed on businesses. Providing high quality services to enterprises is increasingly complex. Belgacom nevertheless wants the end-to-end experience of all its business customers to be of the highest quality, while competitively offering them a broader selection of applications and services from one source.
Dr John Bates, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Progress Software, commented: “Belgacom’s integration infrastructure requirements include support for highly reliable connectivity, an end-to-end view of transactions and a single view of customer data. The combination of the Progress Sonic® ESB (enterprise service bus), Progress Actional® business transaction assurance platform and the Progress DataXtend® Semantic Integrator product, will result in the most responsive, reliable, and scalable infrastructure. This enables Belgacom to dramatically enhance their customer experience management to attract and retain their enterprise customers, differentiate their offerings and lower their service costs.”
Belgacom’s ESB project has been created in line with the TM Forum Solution Frameworks NGOSS and is focused on the re-use of business services for service delivery in the future.

Source:http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Belgacom-Transforms-Its-Integration-Platform-Using-Progress-Software-Products-Solutions-NASDAQ-PRGS-1400143.htm

Canada’s minister of National Revenue, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Atlantic Gateway says he’s impressed with the work being done by a high-tech firm based in the capital.

Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield toured local software giant Caris on Tuesday in what was described as an information exchange visit.

“They are a world-class company, and I am quite impressed with what they’re doing,” Ashfield said in an interview.

Caris, a family-owned business, can trace its roots back to 1979.

It develops and supports geomatics software for customers in the land, marine and software development sectors of spatial information management. Its 4,500-square metre headquarters on Waggoners Lane employs 140 people.

The company also has offices in the U.S., Netherlands, Australia and Great Britain, as well as supporting a network of more than 20 authorized Caris representatives, providing expertise and first-line support in more than 90 countries.

Ashfield said because Caris is a Fredericton-based company, he not only had an interest in it but was curious about the type of work it was involved in.

“It intrigued my interest to get in here and see what was going on; it’s a fantastic facility and great work that they are doing here,” the minister said.

Ashfield said ACOA has worked with Caris in the past and is always interested in seeing the work it’s doing.

Hopefully, it will generate more economic activity and create more job within the province, the minister said.

Ashfield also used the visit to explain the government’s tax strategy with regard to job creators.

Mark Masry, spatial products research and development manager for Caris, said he wanted to acknowledge the effort government is making to help and work with the company at the technology level.

“It’s very beneficial of him (Ashfield) to take the time to come to visit us,” Masry said.

“We feel very much a part of the province and we hope that we benefit from being here.”

Masry said information was passed back and forth between the two parties and that Tuesday’s visit was designed to further the relationship between them.

Ashfield, meanwhile, who has been at the centre of a number of provincial announcements over the last few days, including making federal assistance available for a runway upgrade at the Fredericton International Airport, said he wasn’t in campaign mode.

While it’s important for Canadians to understand the direction the government is taking, it’s normal for him to be on the ground and meeting people, Ashfield said.

“A lot of days, I do seven or eight events in a given day. I am into a day and a half and only five (events). That’s pretty good,” the minister joked.

Source:http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/cityregion/article/1382818

Advanced Chemistry Development (ACD) is targeting CROs by offering flexible licenses for its analytical software tools.

Subscription-access allows contract research organisations (CRO) to use analytical chemistry software as and when they need the tools. Using the service CROs can handle intermittent demand for analytical chemistry data services without making a major investment.

Furthermore, CROs using the service will always have access to the latest version of the ACD software. CROs and small research organisations can access these tools on a project-by-project basis.

Subscribers can produce customisable reports and also have access to expert tools and databases. Results are traceable to ensure accountability when submitting to clients or regulatory agencies.

Source:http://www.outsourcing-pharma.com/Commercial-Services/ACD-targets-CROs-with-flexible-access-to-analytical-software

Laval’s 20-20 Technologies Inc., a specialist in 3-D software for interior design and furniture manufacturing, yesterday announced another breakthrough in its campaign to expand in emerging markets.

It will supply a computerized kitchen design and manufacturing system to Mekran, a leading Russian producer of solid wood home furniture. The 20-20 Technologies software will be a key part of Mekran’s plan to upgrade its operations with state-of-the-art kitchen design and manufacturing and create the region’s largest plant.

“Our factory will become the most modern and automated operation in eastern Europe,” said Mekran CEO Alexey Metelkin.

“The 20-20 suite of applications will make us more efficient by interconnecting all our business processes. Every operation will be managed and integrated on a common data platform.”

Joerg Witthus, 20-20 Technologies’ executive vicepresident for European sales and services, said the Mekran deal resulted from “a concerted effort with our local distributor and it represents our seventh contract of this type in Russia in the past 15 months.”

Its inSight system provides a complete set of integrated applications for the creation and sale of home and office furniture, including kitchens, bathrooms and offices.

Mekran, based in Krasnoyarsk, produces six furniture collections and also operates at the retail level in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ristov and elsewhere.

Earlier this month, 20-20 Technologies sold its inSight software to a Ukrainian producer of kitchen and wall systems to automate order entry and production monitoring.

The Laval company, with about 500 employees, was hit badly by the 2008-09 recession, especially in North America. Business stabilized early last year and has since improved, according to CEO Jean-François Grou.

Senior management last fall fought off an attempt by U.S. equity fund Crescendo Partners to replace three directors and change the company’s development strategy.

Source:http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Laval+software+company+expands+into+emerging+Russian+market/4330371/story.html