IDIOM News
Wednesday, 10 March, 2004
IDIOM V3 Launch Announcement
Idiom Software Ltd., a leading supplier of business rules software, is delighted to announce the launch of version 3 of its IDIOM Decision Suite, due Monday, 29 March 2004.
Commenting on the new release, Idiom CEO Mark Norton says "We have focused on building a product that allows end users to be directly involved in managing the implementation of business rules in the application systems that they depend on to run their businesses. When users specify business rules, IDIOM automatically generates the application code and confirms in plain English precisely what the rules are going to do. This direct involvement means rules reflect business requirements.
Rules are created once and stored once - they do not need to be coded in dozens of applications, resulting in a maintenance nightmare. Rules can be used for any number of applications yet need only be held and maintained in one place. This frees IT professionals from significant application maintenance work, meaning they can focus on more creative, innovative tasks. It also means changes in business policy can be quickly incorporated into application systems.
IDIOM benefits the business by ensuring that systems and business policies are 100% aligned, and it makes life easier for its IT staff as they work to deliver competitive advantage through technology."
This latest version of IDIOM focuses strongly on increased simplicity and productivity for the business users who define the business rules (or formulas). Decisions, formulas and schemas are now developed using graphical techniques - for example, by dragging and arranging shapes and selecting operations from palettes. This provides an intuitively clear interface, which is comfortable for the new user while allowing the experienced user to work extremely quickly. IDIOM's wizard-based philosophy remains unchanged, ensuring that only valid options are selectable and only valid formulas can be constructed.
The business user's view of the underlying schemas is also simpler than before. Schema views now ensure that only relevant schema sections are visible to each business user, enabling better concentration of relevant information within a single screen.
Administrative enhancements include increased compliance with the W3C schema recommendations, and enhanced support for multiple repositories, including the ability for individual users to access multiple repositories with a common ID.
IDIOM is being marketed through a network of resellers, independent software vendors and systems integrators who have found that IDIOM's approach to business rules allows them to add value to their customers and applications.
NZ reseller Team Progress is actively promoting IDIOM alongside its Sonic messaging product.
"Sonic and IDIOM represent a great combination for companies needing to get application systems talking to each other and working together based on shared sets of rules and policies", comments Managing Director Jon Perry. "We are very excited about the new release of IDIOM and are already working on projects where it is integrated with our Sonic product. Customer reaction has been excellent and we look forward to further successes".
In Australia, Power Solutions have been using IDIOM in combination with their PowerCost Manager financial decision support application for the health sector. Chief Executive Paul Venables believes the product addresses a large and growing market opportunity. "We needed a tool that could define funding rules like WIES (Weighted Inlier Equivalent Separation funding system - the rules set by health authorities for the allocation of state funds) and manage them outside of the application, allowing us to update them every year without hassle" he says. "We saw right away that Idiom would offer us that opportunity. There was also a clear cultural fit between our two organisations, and Idiom's willingness to accommodate our particular requirements clinched the deal."
Idiom Software Ltd. is also pleased to announce that Mark Lunt has taken a consulting role with the company and will be working with Mark Norton on business development and marketing. He has over 20 years experience in marketing and general management in the IT industry and his recent roles include Group Managing Director of CommSoft Group Ltd. and Chairman of gen-I. He has many years experience in international marketing and channel creation and management.
"Because of the new release with its increased functionality, we are ramping up our marketing activities and are following up enquiries from the US and UK, as well as Australia and New Zealand," says Mark Norton. "We know IDIOM's combination of features and performance, along with its flexible licensing structure, makes it very attractive to ISVs, resellers and end users alike. The new version incorporates suggestions and ideas from all our customers as well as our own analysis of what the broader market demands. We are very confident about the future".