By popular demand of customers and users, last week the first NetEye User Group took place. The met aimed primarily at exchanging knowledge, practical experiences and concrete examples in applying the successful monitoring solution. During the first phase of the users forum, the current roadmap and the NetEye 3.2 release were introduced.

In this context the integration of the service management processes following the ITIL standard obtained a big consensus. For the majority among the NetEye users, ITIL is in fact a important issue. Therefore InfoCert, that also hosted the event, commented their own concrete examples and experiences on the field. The company headed in Rome proved to be jointly responsible also of the first successes in widening NetEye functionalities for the service management following the ITIL standard. In future the NetEye team foresees an OTRS integration in their offers, too.

Also the integration of ntop in NetEye was keenly welcomed by the participants. ntop is a network traffic tool that shows network usage in real time based on IP address or protocol level. One of the advantages of ntop is that the traffic is not only monitored but can also be analyzed in detail. Luca Deri, a University professor from Pisa, started the project in 1998. In the meantime ntop is available for all users in the NetEye cbs and NetEye ebs offers.

Positive feedback

Most important for all participants, among which Lotto Sport, Tecnica Group, Savio, Texa or InfoCert, was the possibility of actively contribute to the NetEye development. „We appreciate very much this common communication platform initiated by Würth Phoenix, which enables the quick exchange of requests and concrete ideas in a direct way to the NetEye developers” explains Claudio Pieri of Lotto Sport.

Also positive the evaluation by Giovanni Belluzzo of InfoCert: “This first edition proved to be a functional network among users, customers and suppliers. Thanks to the ideal relationship with Georg Kostner and his development team we believe to have good opportunities of further widening NetEye by creating a solution, which meets the market requirements accurately and therefore will prove to be even more successful.“

• To the current release note 3.2
• Interview with ntop founder Luca Deri about the integration of ntop with NetEye

http://www.neteye-blog.it/?p=829

About WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye:

NetEye is based on Nagios, but during the last 9 years of deployment other well-known Open Source projects such as Cacti, GPLI, OTRS or OCS Inventory have been integrated into the solution. NetEye is a free package distributed under the GNU License and aims at simplifying implementation processes and maintenance without lacking in terms of functionality. The application is therefore linked to narrow maintenance costs and convinces primarily because of the simple installation and maintenance together with its wide functionality spectrum. NetEye at the moment features more than 100 installations and is also distributed through a wide partner network.

Würth Phoenix and Information Consulting will work side by side in future. The international software provider of the Würth Group and the Italian HP distributor have lately agreed on a partnership for the IT monitoring solution WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye. Information Consulting will offer the successfully introduced Open Source system throughout Italy and, as a Premium Partner, set itself the goal of expanding the huge market potential of NetEye. The solution developed by Würth Phoenix can already exhibit about one hundred installations only on the Italian market. Notable companies such as Lotto Sport, Unico, Tecnica or the Valbruna Group are among the customers.

„With NetEye companies can take advantage of the cost benefit of an Open Source system, without renouncing the upscale requirements in terms of highest availability of their own IT environment. The solution has excellent market possibilities, which we want to make use of“, states Erich Putzer, CEO Information Consulting, about the important step of his company.

About WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye

WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye merges the worldwide most successful Open Source monitoring tools into an integrated solution and provides customers with extensive consulting and maintenance services through a broad partner network. Main component of the solution is Nagios, with more than 250.000 users, one of the most successful OSS software projects of the last years and Google, MTV, Time Warner up to Yahoo and Amazon among the users. After intensive development activities the basic system has been enriched by further Open Source components. In the meantime Asset and Capacity Management also belong to the NetEye repertoire as well as inventory functionalities, extensive enhancements in the area of reporting and analysis or integrated smoke, humidity and temperature sensors.

Flexibility and scalability: despite being already buzzwords and widely used when introducing a new ERP System, from Würth Canada’s point of view, they were the central aspects for choosing Microsoft Dynamics AX and the industry solution WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade+ for wholesale distribution provided by Würth Phoenix.

Würth Canada settled for the migration from Oracle JD Edwards to Microsoft Dynamics AX for various reasons. On the one hand, technological aspects such as the scalable architecture and the simple integration into the whole Microsoft world, lead to the decision in favor of Microsoft Dynamics AX. On the other hand, investment security and the broad functional degree of covering wholesale industry characteristics played a decisive role in opting for the new system.

From wholesale traders for wholesale traders

WÜRTHOENIX Trade⁺ based on Microsoft Dynamics AX, meets both typically wholesale requirements as well as Würth specific needs and was therefore the ideal candidate within the selection process. In fact Trade+ like few other solutions is optimized for rollouts within the Würth corporate organization, but is also succeeding in being effectively used outside the motherhouse. And here in particular, the integration of all company processes into one unique solution proves to be essential for many customers: „With Trade⁺, Würth Phoenix provides a software package able to display the entire supply chain from the order to the final delivery in a transparent and comprehensible way.“ states Richard Kipin, IT director at Würth Canada.

Extensive reporting

Last but not least, the broad reporting and forecast functionalities in Würth Phoenix´s solution seemed to be important issues for the new customer. Flexible data views and meaningful graphic illustrations allow to analyze any kind of information, depending on the individual company’s needs. With the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics AX and Trade+, Würth Canada is convinced to reduce operational complexity without renouncing the functional depth for all daily business aspects in wholesale trade being so able to ideally support the continuous company´s growth.

Read more on recent customer news:

• Why Swiss wholesaler Airproduct opted for Microsoft Dynamics AX
• Supporting 65 companies in more than 30 countries: Dynamics AX for the Würth Group
• Igeam assigns Würth Phoenix with the implementation of Dynamics AX

„Quality is when the customers return, not the products“. The Swiss trading company Airproduct bets on the highest level of innovation and reliability with its products and services to guarantee a perfect realization of every single customer requirement. These criteria have been also applied to the selection of a new ERP solution and a strong partner to professionally support them in the implementation phase. Würth Phoenix with its vertical solution WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade⁺ based on Microsoft Dynamics AX in this context seemed to convince Airproduct primarily with its industry competence and customer oriented operating methods.

Integrated industry solution for wholesale distribution

Airproduct deals with ventilation technology components, fixing techniques as well as electro-tools and has been able to continuously develop and expand its commercial activities within the last years. The company based in Overwil, Switzerland, in fact in 2008 and 2009 increased its turnover in spite of the difficult economical circumstances.

Through the growth and an incremented order volume, the ERP-software in use encountered several difficulties. Therefore the management decided to replace the existing software through the introduction of a comprehensive and completely integrated solution. Business processes had to be optimized for all business areas, a maximum information transparency had to be ensured for all company departments. As a wholesale distribution company, absolute flexibility in determining prices and conditions, calculating discounts as well as provision and bonus handling for the sales force were important topics, too. Also the whole order process had to be managed through an integrated system to ensure a lasting reduction of the storage capital.

Investment security – Microsoft and Würth synonym for stability and quality

From a strategic point of view, investment security was an important issue to Airproduct. The new solution had to support the company´s growth throughout the years to come and flexibly cover the extended business activities. Furthermore a partner with vast experience in managing demanding ERP projects and broad expertise in wholesale industry was needed.

Würth Phoenix combined in a perfect way the security of an international ERP standard product of Microsoft with the industry competence and the quality standards of a worldwide successful corporation as the Würth Group.

„During the selection phase we could make sure, that a good part of our requests could already be met within WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade⁺, the industry solution for the wholesale distribution offered by Würth Phoenix. As a result we obviously expect a shorter introduction phase and a smooth implementation. The experience and broad competence that Würth Phoenix brings along, convinced us already during our first meeting and encouraged us in our opinion to have chosen the right partner.“ explains Marco Fazio, CEO of Airproduct.

• Knowing more: WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade+ at a glance
• Case studies: Mircosoft Dynamics at the Würth Group

ntop offers an Open Source software solution for the network traffic named nprobe. With ntop Würth Phoenix runs an intensive cooperation for the further extension and integration within WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye.

We had the opportunity to interview the mastermind behind ntop, Luca Deri and asked him about his motivation on collaborating with NetEye and on his future plans with his project nprobe.

• Go to the interview with ntop founder Luca Deri (Italian version)
• See this youtube video giving an overview of the integration of ntop/nprobe in NetEye

For those who wanted to gather global information about Microsoft Dynamics solutions, the Convergence once again was the right place. The worldwide largest event for Microsoft Dynamics customers in 2009 was held in four Europeans cities, namely London, Frankfurt, Vienna and Rotterdam. In addition to detailed information on the newest solutions and an outlook over upcoming versions, a deeper insight in the strategic development of the Dynamics platform has not been missed out this year either. The afternoon was centered on case studies and practical examples of customers using Microsoft Dynamics.

Würth Phoenix reports on multisite scenarios with Microsoft Dynamics AX

In an exclusive lecture in Frankfurt also Dynamics Partner Würth Phoenix took the opportunity of presenting Microsoft Dynamics AX applications within a multisite environment. After a press conference with Corporate Vice President Microsoft Business Solutions Michael Park and Jochen Wießler, MS Business Solutions Director in Germany, the CTO of the Würth Phoenix Group, Egon Steinkasserer illustrated how Microsoft Dynamics AX is supporting the expansion of a globally operative company like the Würth Group.

Through Dynamics AX business processes were consistently managed, working efficiency could be considerably increased and daily transaction costs strongly reduced. By now Microsoft Dynamics AX is operative in more than 30 countries within the whole group. An important issue in this context is obviously the full coverage of specific industry requirements. Therefore Würth Phoenix, by the experience gathered within and outside the Würth Group, with WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade⁺ has developed a complete industry solution for the wholesale distribution based on Dynamics AX.

New companies at the push of a button, efforts in purchase reduced up to 50%

Concrete advantages by the deployment of Microsoft Dynamics AX and Trade⁺ have been realized by the combination of typically commercial functionalities along with the possibilities of multisite and intercompany features. New companies can be activated and consolidated financially and commercially at the push of a button. Concrete added value could be reached also by central handled purchasing processes with an improvement of working efficiency up to 50%. Last but not least the global integration in the Microsoft products range has revealed itself to be a considerable advantage for Würth. The reference video shown at the Convergence can be downloaded from the following pages.

International expertise, many business related examples

The business related examples as well as the direct access to Dynamics expertise also reached the audience of the Convergence at Frankfurt. Knowledge could be deepened among the more than 600 participants through personal discussions  with top experts as well as the intense exchange of experiences with likeminded customers and partners. The whole program was wrapped up into a well-proven mix of lectures, round table discussions as well as broad community offers. All this turned the Convergence once more into the unquestioned event highlight on Microsoft Dynamics topics.

Würth Phoenix Group

As a software and consulting company in the Würth Group, Würth Phoenix supplies forward-looking ERP solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics AX. The company, with bases in Italy, Hungary and Germany draws on worldwide experience in business software as well as many years of expertise in wholesale distribution, warehouse management and logistics.

Standardisierung aller relevanten Prozesse für die Landes-IT-Organisation

Standardisierung war letztendlich auch das zentrale Anliegen der Autonomen Provinz Bozen, die sich seit längerer Zeit mit ITIL auseinandersetzt und jüngst Würth Phoenix damit beauftragt hat, sie bei der systematischen Einführung von ITIL in der aktuellen Version 3 zu unterstützen. Das Projekt beinhaltet dabei alle Aspekte eines ITIL-definierten Service Managements und ist insbesondere darauf ausgerichtet, einen verbesserten Kundenservice durch optimierte Supportprozesse sicher zu stellen.

„Mit ITIL standardisieren wir unsere Arbeitsabläufe im Betrieb der IT-Infrastruktur. Damit erhöhen wir die Zufriedenheit unserer Kunden durch kürzere Bearbeitungszeiten von Anfragen und Problemen. Gleichzeitig schaffen wir uns intern die Freiräume, um nachhaltiger als bisher neue Konzepte zu erarbeiten und Aufträge zeitnah zu realisieren“, so Kurt Pöhl, Leiter der Abteilung Informationstechnologie bei der Provinz Bozen.

Immer stärkere Verbreitung auch in Südtirol

Die autonome Provinz liegt mit der Einführung von ITIL voll im Trend. Nach Clemens Drilling, ITIL Spezialist bei Würth Phoenix nehme die Verbreitung kontinuierlich zu. Die am häufigsten umgesetzten Disziplinen seien derzeit europaweit Incident Management, Service Desk, Change Management und Problem Management. Zukünftig würden aber auch Configuration Management und Service Level Management (der Regelkreis zur Verhandlung, Definition und Überwachung von so genannten Service Level Agreements) zu immer wichtigeren Themen.

Würth Phoenix und ITIL

Würth Phoenix beschäftigt sich seit Jahren intensiv mit ITIL und verfügt derzeit über 17 Personen mit ITIL Zertifizierung. Dabei deckt das Bozner Unternehmen schwerpunktmäßig jene Funktionsbereiche ab, die auf eine effizientere Abwicklung von Service- und Supportprozessen abzielen. Dazu gehören insbesondere Incident-, Capacity-, Security- und Problem Management.

Die Zusammenarbeit mit der Autonomen Provinz Bozen ist für Würth Phoenix ein zusätzlicher Ansporn, um das Thema ITIL vor allem in Südtirol noch stärker zu verbreiten und Unternehmen die Möglichkeiten und Vorteile dieses Standards aufzeigen zu können.

Wissen: ITIL – die Entwicklung

Der international anerkannte Standard wurde in den späten 80er Jahren durch die Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), einer Regierungsbehörde des Vereinigten Königreichs, entwickelt. Die CCTA trug Informationen darüber zusammen, wie verschiedene Unternehmen in Großbritannien Service Management handhaben. Die gesammelten Daten wurden analysiert, herausgefiltert wurde, was als nützlich für den öffentlichen Sektor in Großbritannien erschien. Zu den von der CCTA/OGC erarbeiteten Ergebnisse wurden schließlich fünf Bücher veröffentlicht, die zusammen das ITIL Referenzmodell darstellen. Sie unterteilen sich in:

• Service Strategy
• Service Design
• Service Transition
• Service Operation
• Continuous Service Improvement
• Security Management
• Business Perspective

Was die Informationstechnologie leistet, um komplexe Logistik- und Belieferungsprozesse optimal abzuwickeln, darum ging es beim jüngsten Besuch der Sektion ICT des Südtiroler Unternehmerverbandes bei Würth in Neumarkt. Im Rahmen der Veranstaltung konnten die 50 Gäste in Begleitung von Innovations-Landesrätin Barbara Repetto auch den erst vor wenigen Wochen eingerichteten Showroom des weltweit tätigen Konzerns besichtigen.

Die Würth-Gruppe: Eine weltweite Erfolgsgeschichte

Nach der Begrüßung durch Verbandspräsident Christof Oberrauch (Durst und Alupress AG) und Sektionspräsident Paul Schäfer (ACS Data Systems AG) konnten sich die Gäste über die Würth-Gruppe informieren, die Weltmarktführer im Handel mit Montage- und Befestigungsmaterial ist. Über drei Mio. Kunden vertrauen mittlerweile auf die Produkte und Dienstleistungen von Würth. International besteht die Firmengruppe aus über 400 unabhängigen Gesellschaften in 84 Ländern.

Zentraler Erfolgsfaktor für das Unternehmen ist laut Nicola Piazza, Geschäftsführer von Würth Italien, neben dem Direktvertrieb die konsequente Wachstumsstrategie. Es gilt also, laufend neue Kunden zu gewinnen und, parallel dazu, die Dienstleistungen für die Kunden ständig zu verbessern. Würth arbeitet an einem laufenden Prozess der Serviceoptimierung und –erweiterung. So z.B. beliefert Würth große Baustellen vor Ort. Über einen Baustellen-Container erfolgt die Warenversorgung direkt auf der Baustelle, wodurch lange kosten- und zeitintensive Beschaffungswege entfallen.

Zum Einsatz kommen immer mehr auch die mobilen Lagermanagement-Systeme „Orsy“: Individuell zusammengestellte Regalbauteile helfen, die jeweils spezifischen Anforderungen von Betrieben flexibel und rasch abzudecken. Eine zentrale Kennzahl ist für Würth dabei der Servicegrad: 98 Prozent der bestellten Produkte kann das Unternehmen innerhalb eines Tages ausliefern. Dieser Wert ist, so Piazza, nur durch die Unterstützung leistungsfähiger Softwaresysteme erreichbar.

Würth Phoenix internationaler Software Anbieter innherhalb wie außerhalb des Firmenverbundes

Daß die in der gesamten Würth-Gruppe eingesetzten Softwarelösungen ständig weiterentwickelt und störungsfrei funktionieren, dafür sorgt die Würth Phoenix-Gruppe. Michael Piok, Geschäftsführer des innerhalb wie außerhalb des Konzerns tätigen IT-Dienstleisters, schilderte beim Unternehmertreffen in Neumarkt die Herausforderungen. 

Es gilt insbesondere,  branchenspezifische ERP-Systemen auf Basis von Microsoft Dynamics AX für Handels- und Logistikprozesse bereitzustellen. Dazu kommt, daß Tausende von Verkäufern mit von Würth Phoenix bereitgestellten CRM-Systemen arbeiten. Das in Bozen ansässige Unternehmen setzt mittlerweile darauf, Microsoft Dynamics Systeme zu veredeln, anstatt ressourcenintensiv Eigenentwicklung voranzutreiben, wie dies bis vor wenigen Jahren der Fall war. Von Bozen aus versorgt Würth Phoenix zudem den gesamte Würth-Konzern mit Reporting-Lösungen für das Konzernrechnungswesen. Große Chancen erkennt Würth Phoenix auch im Infrastrukturbereich mit der bereits erfolgreich am heimischen Markt eingeführten Open Source Überwachungslösung WÜRTHPHOENIX NetEye.

 Sektionspräsident Paul Schäfer zeigte sich ebenso wie die übrigen Gäste beeindruckt von der Würth-Welt. „Wir sind stolz darauf, Unternehmen wie die Würth Phoenix unter unseren 63 Mitgliedern in der Sektion ICT im Unternehmerverband zu haben. Südtirols ICT-Betriebe haben sich gerade in den vergangenen Jahren stark entwickelt und sind mittlerweile in der Lage, auch technisch anspruchsvolle Großprojekte zu verwirklichen“, so der Sektionspräsident.

In diesem Jahr findet die Convergence, das wichtigste  Event für Microsoft Dynamics-Kunden erstmals als eintägige Veranstaltung in mehreren europäischen Ländern statt. Am 3. November macht sie für den deutschsprachigen Raum in Frankfurt Station: für die Teilnehmer bedeutet dies aufgrund der lokalen Nähe weniger Zeitaufwand und geringere Reisekosten bei trotzdem zahlreichen wertvollen Informationen rund um das Thema Microsoft Dynamics.

Würth Phoenix unter den Speakern

Inhaltlich bietet die Convergence 2009 den bewährten Mix aus Vorträgen, Diskussionsrunden und Community-Angeboten. Das Programm für Frankfurt sieht auch ein Referat von Würth Phoenix vor.  Thema des Erfahrungsberichtes wird die ERP-Strategie und Microsoft Dynamics AX-Implementierung innerhalb der Würth-Gruppe sein. Teilnehmer erfahren somit aus erster Hand, wie sie mit der Unternehmenssoftware Microsoft Dynamics AX und der Großhandels-Branchenlösung WÜRTHPHOENIX Trade+ die Produktivität Ihrer Mitarbeiter in allen Geschäftsbereichen noch weiter steigern können. Das gesamte Programm kann direkt auf den Seiten der Convergence 2009 abgerufen werden.

Seien Sie dabei und melden Sie sich noch heute an

Interessierte Unternehmen können sich jetzt für die Veranstaltung anmelden. Würth Phoenix sieht ein eigenes Betreuungsprogramm vor und würde sich freuen, Sie persönlich bei der Convergence anzutreffen. Nutzen Sie für die Anmeldung unser Kontaktformular oder lassen Sie sich einfach über unseren Rückruf-Dienst kontaktieren, um Ihre Daten aufzunehmen.

Building on the Dynamics AX enterprise resource planning (ERP) strategy to drive industry-specific innovation for customers Microsoft and its partners today announced the acquisition of four industry solutions that will extend the core capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX.

This move supports Microsoft’s promise to enable the Dynamic Business, which includes offering flexible business applications that remain relevant as business needs evolve.
The following acquired technology will be offered as part of Microsoft Dynamics AX giving customers deeper vertical solutions in manufacturing, professional services and retail.

• A process manufacturing solution acquired from Fullscope Inc., which provides tight integration of business processes across discrete manufacturing and process manufacturing      
• A professional service solution acquired from Computer Generated Solutions Inc., which delivers a single system to manage projects and resources, execute financial transactions and customer billing, and match resources with client assignments      
• Retail solutions from LS Retail EHF and To-Increase Denmark A/S, a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus IT Partner A/S, that enable Microsoft to provide an end-to-end retail solution including store management with point-of-sale, merchandising and ERP capabilities     

Process manufacturing and professional services solutions for Microsoft Dynamics AX are available immediately, the retail solution at a later date. Updates to customers will be provided as the availability date approaches.

About Dynamics AX

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of adaptable, easy-to-use ERP  applications that enable business decision-makers to run their business efficiently and drive business success. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business. Get more information on Dynamics AX >>