Technology
US Army selects IFS applications
IFS, the global enterprise applications company, said that the U.S.
Army has selected IFS Applications as the manufacturing and maintenance
software for use in its Logistics Modernization Program (LMP) at all the
Army's arsenals, depots, and ammunition plants.
The basic purchasing agreement (BPA) between Army Materiel Command (AMC)
and IFS North America outlines plans and options to purchase IFS
Applications components and services over five years, totalling U.S.
$9.9 million.
AMC manages, through its subordinate commands, a maintenance and
production enterprise that easily equates to a Fortune 100 industrial
organisation with a diverse assortment of functions that is seldom, if
ever, duplicated in the commercial sector by a single company.
This means that agility and suitability for a broad array of
manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities was
a key factor in the Army's selection of IFS Applications.
IFS Applications will bring efficiency to ongoing refurbishment of
assets such as ground vehicles, missile and radar support systems,
engines, transmissions, and fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft used in
ongoing military operations.
IFS delivers its best-in-class MRO and manufacturing functionality to
the U.S. Army, which certainly operates an extensive and very demanding
depot repair environment," IFS North America President and CEO Cindy
Jaudon said.
"Given the demands placed on the military, there is a recognised need
to do more with less, and we know IFS Applications to be the ideal tool
to get the most out of repair depots, maintenance inventories and
associated fabrication operations. We feel that this enhanced ability to
efficiently move assets through the reset and recapitalisation process
and redeploy them will serve as a force multiplier for the US Army in
support of the War Fighter.
The US Army plans to begin rollout of IFS Applications at the Corpus
Christi Army Depot, followed by Rock Island Arsenal and the Joint
Technology and Manufacturing Center at Watervliet Arsenal. Additional
depots included in the project are Anniston, Red River, Tobyhanna,
Letterkenny and Sierra.
Thereafter, IFS Applications is slated for implementation at army
ammunition plants in 2014.
Aerospace and defence is one of IFS' targeted market segments.
IFS Applications includes advanced standard functionality that meets
the demanding requirements of the armed forces. IFS' fully integrated
MRO, performance-based logistics (PBL), project management, fleet
management, supply chain management, and other IFS Applications
components help to ensure asset visibility, sustainment, and
availability 'three key objectives in managing weapons systems for
optimal combat readiness.
IFS also provides an industry-specific solution for defence
manufacturers that helps companies manage the design, manufacturing, and
ongoing spare parts logistics and maintenance support of complex
products throughout the product lifecycle.
BSA to create awareness on perils of software piracy in corporate
sector
Business Software Alliance (BSA) hardware partners has been actively
involved in creating awareness on intellectual property rights (IPR) and
software piracy in Sri Lanka.
The main objective of BSA Sri Lanka is to create an environment where
intellectual property rights are respected, valued and protected to
encourage local software entrepreneurs to develop innovative products
that make businesses operate more efficiently and build an environment
in which investors can place trust.
Growing the IT industry within Sri Lanka requires effective and
reliable IP protection, if the growth anticipated by many is to become a
reality.
BSA SL aims to realise these objectives through strong partnerships
with the Government, the enforcement sector and the corporate sector.
BSA represent one of the fastest growing industries in the world, and
its programs foster technology innovation through education and policy
initiatives that promote copyright protection, cyber security, trade and
e-commerce.
One of the key issues that needs to be addressed to in the protection
of Intellectual Property Rights in the software industry is corporate
end-user software piracy, which occurs when a company utilizes
unlicensed software or does not acquire sufficient licenses
(under-licensing) and so installs more copies than it is entitled to
under the Software Licence Agreement, said Shalini Ratwatte-Consultant
Sri Lanka Committee, BSA. "This type of software piracy is the main
culprit among the other types in which software piracy takes place, she
said.
The Intellectual Property Act of 2003 is very comprehensive and the
violation of the Act is a crime.
As per The Computer Crimes Act which was brought into operation
recently new offences have been created, having the effect of enhancing
the penalties for those violating Intellectual Property in Software.
These laws are further supported by the new Companies Act of 2007
wherein Directors of a company are entrusted with a fiduciary duty to
act in the best interests of the company in keeping with the Articles of
the company and the laws of the country.
Enforcement measures have further been strengthened by the
establishment of the Commercial High Court, which has the jurisdiction
to hear and determine intellectual property infringement cases.
'Like with burglary or any other crime, piracy involves large sums of
money with very well organised networks behind it.
Software piracy is not a victimless crime and has many different
faces.
The law must be adhered to just like any other crime and the police
will use enforcement measures on a regular basis to tackle this problem,
said M K D Wijaya Amarasinghe - Director, Criminal Investigations
Department (CID), Sri Lanka Police.
Corporate end user raids commenced against companies using unlicensed
software in their businesses early last year.
Upon the inspection and identification of suspected pirated software,
it was evident that seventy (70) of their computers were installed with
suspected pirated business software valued at approximately Rs
7,000,000/-.
The Police seized 20 computers which were taken into police custody
for further inspection and analysis.
Among its activities in 2009, BSA in cooperation with the Judges
Institute, Sri Lanka Customs and the Attorney General's Department in
partnership with the National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO), the
Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), The United
States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), The US Embassy in Sri Lanka
and the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (AMCHAM), organised a
series of successful capacity building programs for Magistrates of the
Western and Southern Provinces, Customs Officers and Law Officers of the
State in an effort to provide sustainable awareness and education on
Intellectual Property Law to the enforcement sector.
We will be concluding the final phase of the islandwide IPR Law and
Industry Perspectives capacity building program for Magistrates in March
this year.
Intellectual property is not only the concern of a few multinational
companies, it is also a vital necessity for Sri Lanka's economic and
social progress.
The country's intellectual property system helps stimulate scientific
and technological advancement, cultural prosperity and economic
development.
Our aim is to provide a forum to discuss the emerging trends in
Intellectual Property Law and more importantly, to create an opportunity
for the industries to discuss the issues faced by them due to the urgent
need for IPR protection and enforcement in Sri Lanka, said Chullante
Jayasuriya, Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce.
In 2010, BSA plans to continue with its capacity building and
awareness programs for the public sector.
The BSA will carry out enforcement actions on behalf of its members
for IPR infringements in the Corporate Sector.
BSA does not, as a worldwide policy, take to task the public.
NoTouch Elite 2800
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Shafraz Hamzadeen and Ashish Kapahi at
the NoTouch launch |
eSys Technologies one of the leading computer hardware distributors,
in Sri Lanka and a subsidiary of EZY Holdings, introduced Universal
Tech's latest NoTouch Elite 2800 External Storage and MyXerver MX3600
Network Storage devices to Sri Lanka.
The storage capacities of these devices are up to 2000 GB (2TB).
The Universal Tech is one of Asia's leading brands for external
storage devices and offers the most affordable storage solutions with
continuous data protection for both homes as well as business users.
Speaking at the launch, CEO EZY Holdings, Shafraz Hamzadeen said "these
storage devices will utilise the WD Caviar Green and Samsung's EcoGreen
F2EG hard drives which deliver reduced power consumption and are geared
towards being more environmental friendly.
WD's Caviar Green hard drive comes with the GreenPower technology,
which yields power savings of 4-5 watts over standard desktop drives,
while maintaining solid performance.
ICTA brings ICT to distant villages
The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA)
in collaboration with the Industrial Services Bureau has launched a
project for taking the dividends of ICT to the small scale businesses in
remote villages.The project centred around Kurunegala, Dambulla and
Tambuttegama introduces two key training modules for managing a
successful business - computer-based accounting and computer-based
business education.
The main task carried out in computer-based accounting is to enable
computerisation of business accounting activities by introducing a
computer software.The programe provides for installation of the
software, providing training in the proper use of the software and
offers post-installation services.
The only prerequisite to avail oneself of the benefits of this
project is that he/she possesses a computer. The project is currently in
place targeting 30 beneficiaries.
The computer-based business education programe aims at making even
the small businessman inculcate the habit of using ICT as a continuous
educational tool. As a first phase of this, conducting a computer-based
course covering business accounting, taxes and business communication
has commenced.
IT to drive Union Assurance forward
As Union Assurance (UA) reposition itself to a platform of Trust, the
company firmly believes that Information Technology (IT) has a
significant role to play in delivering its brand promise.
UA will drive the promise of Trust based on three key pillars of
Transparency, Convenience and being Respectful.
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Chandana Jayasooriya, General Manager
IT - Union Assurance PLC |
Living the brand will be the challenge, but we are confident that our
technological enhancements will make it achievable, said General Manager
- IT at UA Chandana Jayasooriya.
Jayasooriya believes that change creates the best opportunities, made
at the right time. He said that 'at a time our country is stepping into
a new era, hopeful of better times ahead, we believe that this is the
best time to initiate change for a new brand preposition." Jayasooriya
said, we have always been a company driven by technological innovations
and probably the benchmark in the industry. IT has been the backbone of
UA from its inception.
Even the very first insurance policy was generated from a
fully-fledged IT system, way back in 1987.
Since then, we have been continuously in line with the technological
advancements to empower the business.
Explaining how IT at UA promotes transparency and convenience,
Jayasooriya said that UA will be steadfast in reinforcing the changes
through IT. Our unique approach to insurance business involves the use
of common technologies such as email, internet, mobile phone, SMS and
mobile computers in an innovative manner, which enables a customer to
obtain insurance services with much convenience.
UA's IT infrastructure has improved to an extent that the
state-of-the-art technologies such as video conferencing has been a
day-to-day activity, which provides convenience and transparency to its
business dealings. We're making insurance simpler, faster and easier. |