Valogix LLC taps a new supply of customers with IBM

Incorporated in 2001, Valogix LLC delivers comprehensive inventory planning and management tools that help users automate and streamline processes. The organization’s software aids with forecasting, replenishing and optimizing finished goods, after-market service parts, and inventories used in maintenance and repair operations. Active in North America, Western Europe and Asia, the business takes advantage of its skilled staff and robust products to meet the needs of customers in more than 40 countries.

Challenge
From its founding, Valogix worked to drive innovation in its offerings, constantly looking for improvements that allow the company to better meet customer needs, improve supplier relations and reduce inventory management costs. Since 2003, the organization had been building a business case to move its solutions to a more flexible, web-based offering. Ideally, such a move would allow the company to open up its offerings to a larger cross-section of customers, particularly those businesses that lacked the infrastructure to support new inventory management tools internally.

Of course, before it could proceed, Valogix needed to find the right partner. But this step proved challenging. The business evaluated several vendors and technologies, but none of these could match the vision and goals that Valogix had for its new service.

However, things changed in early 2009. In recent years, Valogix worked closely with IBM to develop solutions surrounding its SAP ERP platform. Based on its ongoing positive experience with IBM, Valogix was confident it could establish a solid working relationship with the firm. In addition, IBM clearly established itself as a pioneer in cloud technology, developing solutions and strategies intended to take advantage of this emerging approach to IT.

Solution
Now an IBM Business Partner^®, Valogix joined with IBM in early 2009 to design and launch a new cloud-based version of its inventory management tools. Operating under a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, the business now allows its customers to not only run on-premises versions of its software but to also access virtualized instances of its application from an internally managed cloud environment including IBM^® Power Systems^™ and IBM^® System x^® hardware. The Valogix software is designed to take advantage of the virtualization capabilities and high performance of the IBM server hardware.

At the same time, by working with IBM, Valogix better configured its on-premises software packages to operate within a cloud architecture, offering users the choice to run the software in a private cloud within their own environments.

Each virtual instance of the company’s cloud-based inventory management solutions incorporates not only Valogix technology but also IBM^® WebSphere^® Application Server software, which serves as the Java^®-based middleware for the environment. In addition, a unique IBM^® DB2^® data server instance stores the corresponding inventory data.

Benefits
· Helps drive increased sales with a new revenue stream built around its portfolio of cloud-based offerings
· Establishes a reliable operating platform with IBM technology, supported by in-depth technology expertise from IBM
· Provides users with a highly available service that can be readily scaled to accommodate shifting usage demands and costs

For more information
To learn more about IBM Power Systems servers, please contact your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website: ibm.com/systems/power