Friday 13 April, 2012

Ariba has has announced a new strategic alliance arrangement with Microsoft enabling the companies to link their leading business commerce and ERP applications, and provide businesses using Microsoft Dynamics AX with access to the Ariba^® Network. The aim being to help them to connect and collaborate more efficiently and effectively across the entire commerce process. The news came during Ariba LIVE 2012, being held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

“Business has officially entered a new era,” said Tim Minahan, Chief Marketing Officer, Ariba. “It’s social, it’s mobile, it’s collaborative and it’s creating a major shift in how companies interact.”

Enabled by trends like cloud computing and the convergence of enterprise applications, social media and communities, more and more organisations are looking beyond the four walls of the enterprise to extend their processes and systems to connect and collaborate more efficiently with customers, suppliers, and other trading partners across the street and around the globe.

“Traditional operating models and enterprise applications limit collaboration,” said Dana Gardner, principal analyst, Interarbor Solutions. “The pairing of Microsoft’s ERP capabilities with the Ariba Network enables a unified, open, and collaborative community accessible by any application or via any device. The result will be more efficient ways to achieve new levels of productivity among and between companies from any corner of the globe."

Uniquely designed to help companies be more agile and simplify decision-making, Microsoft Dynamics AX includes built-in capabilities for multiple industries and geographic regions, lets people make quick and easy changes to processes and personal experiences to fulfill the shifting needs of their business, no matter how complex the organisation. The application gives people across the company the information they need to do their job, access to the Microsoft productivity tools they use every day, and built-in, contextual business intelligence, empowering better decisions. 

As part of the strategic alliance, Ariba will develop an adapter that will allow Microsoft Dynamics AX customers to connect to the Ariba Network.

“By combining the powerful capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX with the world’s largest business trading network, we can deliver a solution that enables companies of all sizes to connect with their trading partners electronically, helping businesses improve collaboration, grow their business with existing customers and discover new opportunities,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Partners and Existing Customer Service Programs, Microsoft Dynamics.

Used by companies around the world to transact more than $300 billion in commerce on an annual basis, the Ariba Network provides:

• Cloud-based applications that allow organisations that share a business process to share the underlying technology infrastructure that enables that process.
• A community of partners through which companies can quickly discover, qualify, connect, and collaborate with trading partners.
• Capabilities in the form of best practices, community-derived intelligence and other unique features or services that are only available to members of the community, such as unique analytics, preferred financing, and ratings.