-VAI today announced its inclusion on Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers, now in its 28th year. VAI is a leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail and service industries, and an IBM Premier Business partner.

The Software 500 is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers targeting medium to large enterprises, their IT professionals, software developers and business managers involved in software and services purchasing.

Approximately 47% percent of the 2010 Software 500 companies are privately held, including VAI.

John P. Desmond, editor of Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com, said, “The Software 500 helps CIOs, senior IT managers and IT staff research and create a short list of business partners. It is a quick reference of vendor viability. Additionally, the online version, to be posted soon at www.Softwaremag.com, is searchable by category, making it what we call the online catalog to enterprise software.”

Bob Vormittag, President and CEO, VAI, said, “It is a great accomplishment for VAI to rank among the largest software providers throughout the globe. Our inclusion in this year’s Software 500 demonstrates VAI’s presence as a trusted leader in ERP solutions. We will continue to lead the way in ERP technology with our always-evolving S2K Enterprise Software Suite.”

The Software 500 is based on total worldwide software and services revenue for 2009. This includes revenues from software licenses, maintenance and support, training and software-related services and consulting. Suppliers are not ranked on their total corporate revenue, since many have other lines of business, such as hardware. The financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by King Content Co. and posted at www.Softwaremag.com, as well as from public documents.

Source:http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100930005091/en/VAI-Named-Software-Magazine%E2%80%99s-28th-Annual-Software

Now available on the iPad, S2K Sales Force is designed to provide VAI customers with an integrated and mobile Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution that is accessible anywhere, anytime, the Company said. This new web-based application is available as an add-on option for any module within the S2K Enterprise Software Family. VAI, an IBM Premier Business Partner, offers enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail and service industries, designed to navigate the global marketplace.

“We have been working with VAI as a beta user for S2K Sales Force and have been impressed with the functionality, data quality and ease of use,” said Robert Scarboro, IT Director, RefrigiWear. “We’ve been using S2K software for some time and wanted to enhance its performance with mobile capabilities. The opportunity to test the solution has provided our team with a slew of benefits, not the least of which is a fully integrated, multi-functional ERP solution capable of handling every aspect of our business.”

“VAI has a reputation for listening to our customer base and incorporating their suggestions into our product offerings,” said Pete Zimmerman, manufacturing segment manager, VAI. “This was the case with S2K Sales Force and our decision to offer it on the iPad.”

VAI is a software developer and an IBM Premier Business Partner. Designed for the mid-range market, S2K Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Suite is used by a variety of mid-sized companies worldwide, with a number of clients in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, food and related service industries.

Source:http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/ensw_vai-debuts-s2k-sales-force-1093498.html

VAI has announced enhancements to its S2K Service & Repair software, a completely integrated service management software solution.

VAI is an IBM Premier Business Partner and a provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for a variety of distribution, manufacturing, retail and service clients worldwide.

In a release, the Company noted that S2K Service & Repair software streamlines operations to ensure that businesses can capitalize on money-saving opportunities without sacrificing service. Designed to manage service calls and the repair of serialized equipment, this module provides the ability to enter and track a service request, assign work to technicians, as well as record labor time and service codes and parts used to repair equipment. This application supports Service Contracts and Preventive Maintenance Agreements with automatic recurring billing options. Available inquiries and reports allow the user to view open and completed service requests, service calls by technician and a complete list of maintenance contracts by expiration date.

“VAI strives to offer each segment of our customer base the most advanced ERP software solutions on the market,” said Joe Scioscia, Vice President of Sales, VAI. “We understand how important it is for the service and repair industry to have access to accurate information and the right technology tools to complete jobs as quickly and easily as possible. For this reason, S2K Service & Repair offers a job scheduler, electronic data interchange (EDI) applications, translation software and more, designed to help organizations gain a significant advantage over the competition.”

Source:http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/ibm_vai-enhances-its-s2k-service-amp-repair-software-986669.html

VAI customers were given another way to obtain mobile access to their ERP applications and data last week when VAI announced a partnership with Xpedium. The partnership is expected to yield a direct integration between S2K, VAI’s suite of ERP software, and xMobility, the suite of .NET-based software for executing certain business processes on mobile phones.

The rush to mobile devices is in full swing, for consumers and businesses alike. As people flock to devices like the iPhone, Android, and Windows Mobile phones, they are discovering a world of new useful applications that are un-tethered from their PCs. Businesses, which usually lag consumers in the technology adoption curve, are maneuvering to take advantage of the technology breakthroughs that are occurring in the mobile computing space, and figuring out ways to make their businesses more profitable or efficient by enabling access to certain processes from mobile phones.

VAI–which is one of the most forward-looking ERP vendors in the System i space, by virtue of its pledged support for RPG Open Access, its adoption of SaaS application delivery, and other reasons–is also looking to give its customers a relatively easy path to mobile computing.
The integration of S2K and xMobility will bring VAI customers benefits in several areas. One of these is the electronic capture of signatures, pictures, and other data. Integrating the data capture and workflow into VAI through the xMobility software can help to eliminate paper costs and increase cash flow, the companies say.

In addition to capturing data, the xMobility software allows users to enter orders, perform shelf audits, and process cash collections and invoices. The integration of the two products maintains a record of transactions, and workflow is linked to the i/OS-based VAI software on a real-time basis through a Windows-based middleware component called xLink.

Xpedium, which is a subsidiary of Hauppauge, New York-based Numeric Computer Systems, gains hundreds of potentially new customers with the VAI partnership. Many of VAI’s customers are medium size companies in the distribution and service industries, which typically deploy many employees into the field. These are the types of companies where smart mobile phones can have the quickest impact.

The partnership with Xpedium provides a .NET-based alternative to the Java-focused approach to mobile phone support that VAI previously offered. In the past, representatives for the Ronkonkoma, New York, software developer said the Java-based WebSphere Portal, which integrates with S2K, was a key product to enable mobile phone support. Using this route, an iPhone interface to S2K was introduced in 2008 with the launch of S2K 5.0.

“VAI had been looking for a partner for its S2K Enterprise to enhance our mobility offerings, and seized the opportunity to work with NCS on its platform to deliver this functionality,” stated Joseph Scioscia, director of sales for VAI. “This relationship will provide a complete mobility solution that is comprehensive, integrated and scalable.”

Source:http://www.itjungle.com/fhs/fhs042010-story06.html