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PARTNER NEWS
IBM
Pact markets FPO to MES customers
ILOG has signed an agreement with IBM (www.ibm.com) to market ILOG Fab PowerOps (FPO), ILOG’s solution for semiconductor production scheduling, to IBM’s manufacturing execution system (MES) customers. ILOG FPO will be offered to IBM’s installed base of SiView, LCDView and other View MES product customers. The agreement is expected to result in new product revenue and service opportunities for both companies.
“We’ve already seen increases in fab productivity due to the relationship with ILOG,” says Dr. Elizabeth Williamson, IBM director of 300mm manufacturing operations. “The enhanced dispatch scheduling capabilities that are provided by FPO have resulted in quantifiable benefits in IBM’s 300mm facility, resulting in faster time to market for our customers.”
ILOG FPO reduces cycle time by as much as 15 percent for specific processes at the IBM facility, and significantly shortens “hot lot” (urgent order) processing times.
IBM SOA Specialty Program
ILOG has earned a place in the IBM SOA Specialty Program, the IBM PartnerWorld program that gives participants greater access to the service-oriented architecture (SOA) market.
SOA helps companies keep up with customer demand and changing regulations by reusing applications and cutting time and cost in introducing policies. ILOG JRules was the first business rule management system (BRMS) to be integrated with IBM WebSphere Process Server, a key element in IBM’s SOA offering. The BRMS extends the WebSphere business integration platform with enterprise rule repositories, decision tree support, template editors, Web-based management tools, and rule simulation and testing.
IBM leads the industry in SOA initiatives. ILOG has long supported the IBM WebSphere platform, but participation in the SOA Specialty program gives ILOG a new level of accessibility for customers of all sizes.
 Shanghai FirstTech
ILOG invests in Chinese partner
To strengthen its position in the Chinese market, ILOG is acquiring a 35 percent ownership interest in Shanghai FirstTech (www.firsttech-soft.com). Both companies will benefit from the partnership through joint projects to develop solutions for automating processes and optimizing operations. China has one of the fastest-growing economies today. Fueling it are companies that supply the world with a broad range of products, including appliances, electronics and steel. As demand grows, these companies increasingly depend on advanced software like ILOG’s business rule, optimization and visualization technologies to cut costs and improve efficiency and productivity.
FirstTech has already used ILOG software in projects that include an ILOG CPLEX-based supply chain planning solution that halves the steel production cycle time at Baosteel – from 41 days to just 21 – and an ILOG JRules-based solution that can process as many as 432,000 applications a day for Taiping Life Insurance.
“A leading international software company, ILOG has proven its value as a strategic technology provider to Baosteel and other top companies in China,” says Kevin Zhu, FirstTech vice president and Baosight Software board member. “This alliance with ILOG will help FirstTech further establish itself as a leading solution provider to the Chinese IT market, at a time when the government is encouraging home-grown innovation.”
Baosight will retain a 41 percent interest in FirstTech, while its original venture partner, First Technologies, will hold 24 percent. As part of the deal, ILOG’s executive vice president for Asia, Bounthara Ing, and Asia-Pacific general manager, Foo JongTong, will join FirstTech’s board of directors.
“Our expanded relationships with FirstTech and Baosight Software are an important part of our strategy to accelerate the adoption of ILOG solutions in China,” explains Mr. Ing. “Since the Chinese market for IT is expected to grow substantially in the next five years, we should be well positioned with a strong local partner that is as committed as we are to helping customers succeed through better decision support and process automation solutions.”
Tavant Technologies
Rule solutions for mortgages
Through a partnership agreement, Tavant Technologies will use ILOG JRules, our top business rule management system (BRMS), as a component in Tavant Mortgage Solutions.
Tavant (www.tavant.com) has extensive experience developing applications for mortgage lenders. Its Mortgage Solutions provides prebuilt functionality and global delivery to help companies rapidly build and enhance origination, servicing and capital market systems.
Tavant has already used ILOG JRules, along with ILOG Constraint Programming, in a highly successful sales automation solution built for Ameriquest Mortgage Company (www.ameriquestmortgage.com). ILOG JRules serves as a key part of a scalable and extensible service-oriented architecture for automating and integrating Ameriquest’s end-to-end mortgage sales process.
“The solution developed by Tavant and ILOG has helped us operate our business more efficiently, making faster and more consistent business decisions, responding more quickly to customers, and adapting more effectively to changing business conditions,” says Mark Sarago, chief information officer at Ameriquest. “With Tavant’s services and software solutions from ILOG, we were able to take a more holistic, cost-effective approach to our infrastructure and implement a service-oriented architecture that has increased our agility, ensured long-term value and lowered the total cost of ownership.”
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