Baan Co NV has added two more partners to its growing list of application outsourcing alliances, this time entering into a three-way partnership with PrimeSource Technologies and Metamor Worldwide to integrate and host its ERP and supply chain applications for midmarket manufacturing and distribution companies. Under the alliance, PrimeSource Technologies will design, implement and manage Baan ERP projects while Metamor Enterprise Operations (E-Ops), a subsidiary of Metamor Worldwide, will provide application hosting alongside a web-enabled ERP service management system (which provides customers with data on system availability, performance and status) from its new Solution Center in Atlanta. Customers using the service will get round the clock access to Baan applications over the internet, their private network or E-Op’s network for a set monthly fee.
Services provided by the three companies will include Baan administration, systems management, operations, disaster recovery, network management and Baan applications management. Last month, the Dutch ERP vendor struck a deal with Groupe Bull to use the French services house to rent out its applications to customers. The deal gave Bull preferred status to lease Baan applications in France, plus rights to sell the software globally. Baan and its rival ERP vendors, SAP AG, PeopleSoft Corp and Oracle Corp, are falling over themselves to form partnerships with ASPs (application service providers) in a bid to make their applications as widely available as possible following a slow down sales in the mainstream ERP market. Also this week, rival JD Edwards announced an alliance with Deloitte and Touche whereby the consultants will provide hosting services for the ERP vendor’s financial enterprise applications.
