Technology briefs.
Barclays is set to offer a payment solution that will aim to serve the procurement, business travel expenses and data management needs of multinationals. The bank has formed a joint venture called Global Commercial Payment Solutions with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Santander Direkt and US Bancorp. It has also teamed up with Visa International to combine the banking services of the individual members with Visa’s transaction processing platform, in a bid to provide a network of commercial payment solutions, accepted worldwide.
PwC service to accelerate Identrus entry www.accountancyage.com/Business/1123315
ACCPAC is extending its end-to-end e-business solutions by introducing an employee benefits and human resource management system for mid-sized companies. Called ACCPAC HR Series, it has been designed to integrate with its Advantage and Pro Series accounting solutions. The HR Series is available in two editions – corporate and enterprise. The enterprise version comes complete with added functionality, such as file attachments, which enable HR managers to track files such as applications and resumes.
Further information at www.accpac.com and
www.accpaconline.com
Middlesex-based software vendor BXS Solutions has launched BGate in the UK. BGate integrates with many of the UK’s leading SME accountancy products and uses their database to create an instant online ordering and customer information site. The company is understood to be working with Sage Line 50 Financial Controller, Sage Enterprise NT edition, Access Accounts, Pegasus Opera, QuickBooks, Tas Books and MYOB. It is also finalising a new version of BGate to work with Sage Enterprise Unix edition and Sage Line 100.
For more visit www.bxsuk.com
Software development is no better than a ‘cottage industry’ that fails to serve the needs of business, according to IBM.
John Swainson, the company’s software group general manager, warned that software design is behind the times, is produced on a ad hoc basis and is too artistic.
‘Software has not evolved as far or as fast as hardware. It’s still a cottage industry. Getting it out of being an art form and into the 21st century would be a good thing,’ he said. Swainson was speaking at Rational Software’s annual user conference in Denver, Colorado. IBM is a key hosting partner of Rational, a developer of tools that allow companies to build, test and model ebusiness applications.
More on IBM at www.ibm.com.