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People Are the Hardest to Integrate, Not Products.

MSB Argentina expands to new markets, while its MAP product continues to grow, integrating GXQuery, GXPortal, GXplorer and the Balance Scorecard tool GBGL.

MSB Argentina is expanding in Latin America. It has opened up new markets through its Argentinean clients' affiliates in other countries and through a recent agreement to distribute MAP, its human resources, payroll and time management product developed using GeneXus, in Mexico.

The company has also announced that MAP version 7 adds new features, integrates new products and replaces Impromptu (Cognos) with GeneXus Query. The next version of MAP is full Web, includes GXPortal, GeneXus Query, GXplorer, and the base version of CeltaConsulting firm's GBGL control panel, also developed using GeneXus.

The following is an interview with Jorge Arancibia, CEO of MSB Argentina.

How is MSB Argentina growing?

Both the product and the opportunities have grown significantly. We now have a number of business opportunities in two or three Latin American countries besides Argentina. At first, companies in Argentina helped us break into those markets. We are now working to define our strategy so as to make our presence felt and have a pro-active approach there. For example, we are closing an agreement with Digital Touch to distribute MAP in Mexico.

Since the end of 2002 we started getting projects in our clients' affiliates in other Latin American countries. Avon Cosmetics has been our client in Argentina for 10 years while in 2003 we got running Avon Uruguay, Avon Chile, Avon Peru and Avon Bolivia. Colgate Palmolive was our client in Argentina, last year we took on Colgate Palmolive Chile, and we are now working to get Colgate Palmolive Uruguay going. These installations are peculiar: The database is in just one country, so there is actually only one MAP installed.

Just one MAP installed for affiliates in different countries?

Yes, and just one database. In the case of Avon, there are four sets of users, one for each country. Each country has its own management and "sees" a different MAP, but it is customized according to parameters. That means that each country has its own solution and each one is independent in terms of processes and data, but if they want to consolidate their human resources they can see everything in just one place, on one computer. There is no need to bring everything together because it's already there.

We have made this possible by the way in which we developed the product. The tools to solve the problem are generated based on parameters; the solution is never a code. In this way the problem is solved just once; if we had used code we would have to adapt it as often as the problem changes.

What are the new features included in version 7 of MAP?

The Java version of MAP was released in mid 2003 and we announced MAP 7 in December. Access is gained through GXPortal and includes GeneXus Query instead of Cognos' Impromptu.

We had been using PowerPlay to develop a module called PowerMAP OLAP to analyze the information's dimensionality and dynamics within the MAP databases with respect to staff, payroll and human resources. We cancelled that project and we are making the first models and prototypes to reproduce it using GXplorer.

Thus, we are integrating GXQuery, GXPortal and GXplorer to MAP. We announced MAP 7 with Webpanels at the users' meeting held in December 2003. We showed MAP 7 with all ARTech tools unified, integrated and using the same language. We generated a MAP Java version and showed it in a product developed with GeneXus, which has integrated ARTech reproducible components.

Is there a fluid integration of the different GeneXus products and developments through GXPortal?

Yes. People are the hardest to integrate, not products. This is due to the characteristics of the products. GXPortal makes product integration easy, and you get results in no time. You see this all the time, this happens for anyone who uses GXPortal.

But we took a step further and decided to use GXQuery as a report builder and did away with the other one. We had developed a PowerMAP module using PowerPlay and we dropped it to adopt GXplorer. So when we show MAP 7, we are showing GXplorer OLAP or the control panel as an integrated component. In a way, a client buying MAP 7 or higher also gets GXPortal.

Different products, each with its own policy, are starting to get integrated.

Why did you decide to replace Impromptu (Cognos) with GeneXus Query?

When we started using GeneXus to generate our first PC version, we integrated Impromptu, a Cognos product, as a report builder. We started getting jobs with Impromptu and ended up developing a Business Intelligence area using Cognos products. We worked on BI projects that have nothing to do with MAP ? in Banco Galicia, Abbot Laboratories, Rasic, Goodyear and Avon Cosmetics. We had that business until the beginning of 2003, when our partnership with Cognos came to an end.

Since 2001, Cognos products were no longer available on the market due to its cost. Impromptu is an excellent tool, but most of our MAP users end up using Impromptu to draw data and then transferring it to Excel.

The GeneXus Query cost-benefit ratio is better if you want to move forward; naturally it is better integrated with MAP, and besides, adopting GeneXus Query is part of MSB Argentina's strategy. We were already drawing closer to ARTech and had asked for more support for our projects. As we got that support, we decided to move to GeneXus Query and drop Impromptu. We felt it was a better solution, and a good deal in every sense.

http://www.celtaconsulting.com
http://www.gxquery.com
http://www.gxportal.com
http://www.gxplorer.com

 

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