Global application maintenance costs are cut dramatically as a result of a re-engineering project performed by Aplana Software for Management Technologies
May 06, 2004
Aplana Software, a leading Russian software services provider, has completed the project of re-engineering of a Hotel Service Order Optimization System (hotSOS), the product of Management Technologies (USA), one of the leading suppliers of innovative hotel service management solutions.
The hotSOS solution was designed to automate day-to-day operations of hotel service units and is an essential add-on to PMS (Property Management System), the core application for hospitality business. The system helps to manage guests service requests and work orders associated with the engineering departments, providing the functionality for management of regular preventive maintenance and un-scheduled orders.
In March 2003, Management Technologies engaged Aplana Software, its Russian partner, for the de-sign and development of a new technology platform for its Espresso! product family, which is used to manage service requests in 450 hotels in 34 countries in the world. The purpose of re-engineering was to deploy the new product in ASP (Application Service Providing) mode. It was expected that new business model would make the system deployment and maintenance process more simple and less expensive, both for the hotels and the solution provider. Prior to that, the solution was shipped in a traditional way involving resource consuming integration with other automation systems and on-going maintenance. Geographical reach of customers slow down further business growth of Management Technologies: the support team counted over 20 members who were virtually "living" on airplanes and cost the company a significant share of revenue.
Aplana's specialists suggested a web-services technology as a core point of the concept and designed the system as a set of distributed components interacting via the Internet. The system provides message exchange with line-level employees via all available communication channels (pagers, cell phones, video displays, e-mail, etc.) and is integrated with a voice processing system based on Intel Dialogic. As a result, the following deployment and maintenance features were implemented:
As a result of implementing the new technology, the Management Technologies technical support staff has been decreased to just a few engineers. Anatoly Gayday, Technical Director at Aplana Software says: "The technology concept proposed by Aplana project virtually eliminates the problems and expenses related to on-site deployment and maintenance of the geographically distributed systems. We believe that global scale and incredibly rapid speed of system deployment differentiate this project from many others."
Anatoliy Babayev, Director of Software Development Management Technologies: "Our cooperation with Aplana is a good example of well-timed business idea being implemented competently using innovative technologies. As a result, we gained a strong competitive advantage that allows us to be "a year ahead" of the other suppliers, while investments into solution design and deployment will pay off within just half a year."
Aplana Software
APLANA Software (http://www.aplana.com) is a Moscow based steadily growing software services company, a member of Russia's top high-tech group - I.T.Co. APLANA provides a wide spectrum of high-quality software services for international customers with focus on development and integration of software systems according to customer requirements. Aplana aims at long-term relations with cus-tomers and partners on the basis of co-operation and co development. Aplana customer base include largest local and international companies such as Central Bank of Russia, Sberbank of Russia, YUKOS, Procter&Gamble, OTIS, TetraPak, Wrigley and many others. Major successes include 3 years of maintenance of corporate SFA applications for GE Medical Systems (France), 6 years of co development of smart-cards based technology (SmartCity, trademark of ICL/Fujitsu, USA), product development for Relavis (USA) and Systran (France).
Aplana Software, I.T.Co Group
Philadelphia office: 2600 Philmont Avenue, suite 305, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, U.S.A,
Tel/Fax: (215) 947-4773
Moscow office: 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Str, Entrance 6,
117485, Moscow, Russia
Tel: +7 (095) 748 1345, 748 1346, Fax: +7 (095) 333 6412
[email protected]
http://www.aplana.com
PR and Marketing: Maria Dragan, PR&Marketing, Aplana Software, [email protected]
Business: Vladimir Kurbatov, VP Business Development, Aplana Software, [email protected]
Management Technologies
Management Technologies, USA, is a leading market supplier of hotel service solutions. Since 1992 the company ships Espresso, a solution for management of service orders. The solution is an add-on for the main application for hotel businesses, Property Management System, a sort of "production management module" which encompasses all areas of interaction with customers. Users of the solu-tion from MT are over 400 hotels in major international hotel networks, those to which issues of high-quality and timely service are not only a high priority, but in a sense a part of corporate identity.
Management Technologies
14380 SW 139th Court, Miami, FL, 33186, USA
+1 (305) 256-0429 (119)
Anatoliy Babayev, Director of Development, Management Technologies, [email protected]
The hotSOS solution was designed to automate day-to-day operations of hotel service units and is an essential add-on to PMS (Property Management System), the core application for hospitality business. The system helps to manage guests service requests and work orders associated with the engineering departments, providing the functionality for management of regular preventive maintenance and un-scheduled orders.
In March 2003, Management Technologies engaged Aplana Software, its Russian partner, for the de-sign and development of a new technology platform for its Espresso! product family, which is used to manage service requests in 450 hotels in 34 countries in the world. The purpose of re-engineering was to deploy the new product in ASP (Application Service Providing) mode. It was expected that new business model would make the system deployment and maintenance process more simple and less expensive, both for the hotels and the solution provider. Prior to that, the solution was shipped in a traditional way involving resource consuming integration with other automation systems and on-going maintenance. Geographical reach of customers slow down further business growth of Management Technologies: the support team counted over 20 members who were virtually "living" on airplanes and cost the company a significant share of revenue.
Aplana's specialists suggested a web-services technology as a core point of the concept and designed the system as a set of distributed components interacting via the Internet. The system provides message exchange with line-level employees via all available communication channels (pagers, cell phones, video displays, e-mail, etc.) and is integrated with a voice processing system based on Intel Dialogic. As a result, the following deployment and maintenance features were implemented:
- Quick and smooth integration with other IS using a standardized web-service interface, inter-faces to most popular PMS solutions, such as MICROS-FIDELIO, LMS, SMS are included in the standard product release
- A fully automated workstation upgrade: when a new version becomes available, the system upgrades all thick clients automatically
- Interactive user support over the Internet
- Secured Internet connection and high system performance even using a dial-up lines
As a result of implementing the new technology, the Management Technologies technical support staff has been decreased to just a few engineers. Anatoly Gayday, Technical Director at Aplana Software says: "The technology concept proposed by Aplana project virtually eliminates the problems and expenses related to on-site deployment and maintenance of the geographically distributed systems. We believe that global scale and incredibly rapid speed of system deployment differentiate this project from many others."
Anatoliy Babayev, Director of Software Development Management Technologies: "Our cooperation with Aplana is a good example of well-timed business idea being implemented competently using innovative technologies. As a result, we gained a strong competitive advantage that allows us to be "a year ahead" of the other suppliers, while investments into solution design and deployment will pay off within just half a year."
Aplana Software
APLANA Software (http://www.aplana.com) is a Moscow based steadily growing software services company, a member of Russia's top high-tech group - I.T.Co. APLANA provides a wide spectrum of high-quality software services for international customers with focus on development and integration of software systems according to customer requirements. Aplana aims at long-term relations with cus-tomers and partners on the basis of co-operation and co development. Aplana customer base include largest local and international companies such as Central Bank of Russia, Sberbank of Russia, YUKOS, Procter&Gamble, OTIS, TetraPak, Wrigley and many others. Major successes include 3 years of maintenance of corporate SFA applications for GE Medical Systems (France), 6 years of co development of smart-cards based technology (SmartCity, trademark of ICL/Fujitsu, USA), product development for Relavis (USA) and Systran (France).
Philadelphia office: 2600 Philmont Avenue, suite 305, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, U.S.A,
Tel/Fax: (215) 947-4773
Moscow office: 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Str, Entrance 6,
117485, Moscow, Russia
Tel: +7 (095) 748 1345, 748 1346, Fax: +7 (095) 333 6412
[email protected]
http://www.aplana.com
PR and Marketing: Maria Dragan, PR&Marketing, Aplana Software, [email protected]
Business: Vladimir Kurbatov, VP Business Development, Aplana Software, [email protected]
Management Technologies
Management Technologies, USA, is a leading market supplier of hotel service solutions. Since 1992 the company ships Espresso, a solution for management of service orders. The solution is an add-on for the main application for hotel businesses, Property Management System, a sort of "production management module" which encompasses all areas of interaction with customers. Users of the solu-tion from MT are over 400 hotels in major international hotel networks, those to which issues of high-quality and timely service are not only a high priority, but in a sense a part of corporate identity.
Management Technologies
14380 SW 139th Court, Miami, FL, 33186, USA
+1 (305) 256-0429 (119)
Anatoliy Babayev, Director of Development, Management Technologies, [email protected]