Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Chinese Software Company Enhances Its Products with Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Overview
Country or Region:China
Industry:Software
Customer Profile
Based in Beijing, UFIDA Software Co. Ltd. is one of the leading providers of management software solutions and service in Asia.
Business Situation
UFIDA requires an efficient, scalable, and reliable database to support its enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and other business solutions.
Solution
The company upgraded to Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 database running on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system.
Benefits
Enhanced operating efficiency
Improvedreliability through clustering support
Lower total cost of ownership
Improved management
Easier developmentenvironment
UFIDA Software Co. Ltd. is one of China’s leading providers of management, financial, and enterprise resource planning(ERP) software. The company’s solutions, which also include supply chain management (SCM) and customer resource management (CRM) applications, require an efficient, scalable, and reliable relational database. While the company was extremely satisfied with deploying its solutions using Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 running on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system, it was an early adopter of SQL Server 2005 because it wanted to take advantage of new features and enhancements.Since upgrading to SQL Server 2005 the company has seen enhanced operating efficiency, improved scalability, lower total cost of ownership, and an easier development environment.
Situation
UFIDA Software Co. Ltd. is one of the leading providers of management software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, and financial software in China, and also one of the leading independent software vendors in China. Since 2000, according to the annual market report from independent market surveys such as CCID and IDC, UFIDA has occupied the number one annual ranking for the management solutions market in China for five years.
IDC, the premier global provider of market intelligence, ranked UFIDA as the top software vendor in the China market in IDC’s Semi-annual Enterprise Applications Tracker 2nd Half of 2004 report. The Tracker is based on sales of enterprise resource management (ERM) applications, customer relationship management (CRM), and product supply chain (PSC) applications. Each form factor contains market size, review and drivers, competitive landscape, and market forecast.
According to the Tracker, UFIDA has "maintained its leadership due to its depth knowledge of local end users and nationwide network,” and "local ERM vendors continue to dominate the China ERM market. SAP is the only global vendor in the top 5 ERM vendors in China." The company reported annual growth over the 2002 to 2004 period of nearly 36 percent.
The company’s undertakings are divided into three areas, including ERP software, e-government software, and software outsourcing services. UFIDA owns a number of operations including UFIDA Software Stock Company, UFIDA Government Software Company, UFIDA Software Engineering Company, five overseas companies, and 31 joint stock companies. Additionally, UFIDA owns 35 branches and 15 offices located across China. UFIDA as a whole employs over three thousand people with approximately one thousand staff members working in its software development team and over one thousand working in its software advice and consulting practice team.
UFIDA offers a broad range of software product lines for enterprise applications involving areas such as ERP, supply chain management (SCM), CRM, human resources management (HR), enterprise assets management (EAM), office automation (OA), and industry management.
As a key cooperative partner of Microsoft Corporation, UFIDA takes full advantage of Microsoft technical platforms, including Microsoft®SQL Server™ 2005 running on the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Enterprise Edition operating system.Both Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000 are part of Microsoft Windows Server System™ integrated server software.
Because ERP, SCM, CRM, HR, and so many of the company’s other solutions require integration with a relational database, UFIDA needs a powerful database that provides speed, scalability, and reliability.
Solution
UFIDA was extremely satisfied with how well it had been able to use SQL Server 2000 as a foundational part of its solutions. After seeing the new features and other improvements in SQL Server 2005, it became an early adopter of Microsoft’s next-generation data management and analysis software. UFIDA is using SQL Server 2005 to simplify the creation, deployment, and management of its enterprise solutions.
Prior to moving to SQL Server 2005, UFIDA tested the new database, finding a number of reasons to upgrade. SQL Server 2005 provides integrated information management solutions to help the company:
Create and deploy more scalable, reliable, and secure enterprise-level applications.
Reduce complexity in the creation, deployment, and management of database applications, thus realizing maximized IT efficiency.
Enhance work efficiency of development personnel by creating a rich, flexible, and modern development environment where database applications are more secure.
Realize data sharing across multiple platforms, applications, and devices, thus simplifying the interconnection between internal and external systems.
Realize powerful integrated business intelligence (BI) solutions, thus promoting enterprise-wide scientific decision making and enhancing work efficiency.
Control cost level without sacrificing performance, availability, or scalability.
UFIDA reports using SQL Server 2005 to build management software platforms and solutions that meet the requirements of a range of enterprise-level applications, including:
BI Solutions.The BI of UFIDA’s ERP-U8 utilizes SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. UFIDABIsolutions apply online analytical processing (OLAP) service and modeling tools of SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services to build data sampling, data store, multidimensional analysis reporting, scorecard analysis, performance indicator base, and DuPont analysis systems. The company also uses SQL Server 2005 features such as the unified data model (UDM), Reporting Services, key performance indicators (KPIs), and internationalization features. The company has found that the innovative UDM enables database models to be more practical, and the innovative SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services provides UFIDA’s BI solutions with fast development and personalized implementing tools. The feature Business Intelligence Development Studio provides BI systems development personnel with a rich and complete professional development platform, which enhances work efficiency of development personnel and makes their development tasks easier.
Data Persistence Solutions. UFIDA developers have found that the SQL Server 2005 Data Persistence Layer offers persistence for business data, stringency in the process of business transactions, and security of business-sensitive data. The company has found that this helps to ensure reliable operation of the customer’s business process, and security and confidentiality of business data.
Data Distribution Solutions. UFIDA’s ERP-U8 offers data distribution solutions that are able to provide flexible and diverse resolutions for enterprise data distribution needs. UFIDA’s ERP-U8 system realizes data synchronization and distribution mainly using data copy tools of SQL Server 2005, meeting the need for updates and synchronization between databases at different locations.
High System Availability Solutions. UFIDA’s ERP-U8 product line uses the Clustering Services of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and the cluster support of SQL Server 2005 to ensure smoother and more reliable business processes.
Service-Oriented Platforms for Enterprise Applications. The company uses Microsoft .NET connection softwareand SQL Server 2005 to help provide:
−Expandable program framework and support for effective expansion and update of business functions.
−Product development mechanism with high reutilization and realization of industrialized development, scale customization, and reutilization of application levels.
−Service-oriented component-based software framework and support for large-scale development and application interconnection.
−Good open system to support expansion of industrial ecological chain.
Benefits
Upgrading to SQL Server 2005 has provided UFIDA with a number of benefits, including enhanced operating efficiency, improved scalability, lower total cost of ownership, and an easier development environment.
Enhanced Operating Efficiency
Using SQL Server 2005, UFIDA’s ERP-U8 V8.61 was subjected to concurrent testing by 500 people. Results showed that SQL Server 2005 enhanced the system’s operating efficiency.
Improved ReliabilityThrough Clustering Support
UFIDA found that SQL Server 2005, with its support for clustering and for symmetric multiprocessor (SMP)technology, can enhance overall system reliability and slash unscheduled downtime.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership
UFIDA has found that the low licensing costs and dependability of SQL Server 2005 help to reduce the total cost of ownership. This benefit can be especially important to small and medium-sized organizations.The company has found that the ease of use and flexibility of the Reporting Services feature also can help reduce the total cost of ownership.
UFIDA found that SQL Server 2005 Reporting Serviceswas so much easier to use than other reporting applications that it reduced workload by at least the equivalent of three full-time workers.
Improved Management and Security
Database administration and management at UFIDA was greatly simplified by SQL Server 2005 Management Studio. UFIDA also found it easy to implement security for the operating system and database, enhancing overall security.
Easier Development Environment
The combination of the SQL Server 2005 development environment and Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET 2003 development system enhanced the efficiency ofUFIDA’s internal developers. The company’s developers enjoy fast code development and the ease of debugging with the new environment. The company has found that the SQL Server 2005 common language runtime (CLR)technology overcomes the difficulties of incorporatingspecialized algorithms, and the easy use of debugging considerably reduces the workload of developers and improves development efficiency and quality.
Microsoft Windows Server System
Microsoft Windows Server System integrated server infrastructure software is designed to support end-to-end solutions built on Windows Server 2003. It creates an infrastructure based on integrated innovation, Microsoft’s holistic approach to building products and solutions that are intrinsically designed to work together and interact seamlessly with other data and applications across your IT environment. This helps you reduce the costs of ongoing operations, deliver a more secure and reliable IT infrastructure, and drive valuable new capabilities for the future growth of your business.
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