Enterprise Analytics and IFS successfully hosted their first customer summit, which brought together many business leaders from across various industries. The event, which was designed to highlight the business benefits of IFS Cloud, was held at the Hilton Colombo.

Speakers from both organizations and current customers, the Silvermill Group, shared insights on the product roadmap, key features, implementation strategies, the value of choosing the right implementation partner, and the business value generated by utilizing IFS Cloud.

Speaking about the event, Eranda Maldeniya, Director of Enterprise Analytics, said, “I’m happy with the participation we received. It simply shows that keeping up to date with the latest technology is critical for a business to maintain a competitive edge regardless of which industry you are in. This is why we conceived Evergreen. It was a way for us to help inform some of our nation’s most prominent companies about the best-in-class technology available to them that can help unlock their true potential.”

“We believe IFS Cloud can play a significant role in making them more competitive locally as well as on the world stage, thereby securing their future growth and stimulating the long-term economic growth of Sri Lanka. When they do better, we all do better,” he added.

IFS Cloud’s state-of-the-art Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) capabilities are designed according to industry best practices with a concrete framework that leverages a mobile-first environment. The platform gives an organization complete control over its data and the ability to access it anywhere in the world using any device. Ultimately, the solution helps management achieve a seamless workplace experience for their employees and reduces business complexity, cost and risk.

“We were thrilled to partner with Enterprise Analytics on Evergreen,” said Uthpala Kumara, Head of Sales and Partnerships, IFS South Asia. “Events like this help share vital knowledge that can accelerate a company’s digital transformation and improve its competitiveness in the marketplace. IFS Cloud was designed to offer companies an uncomplicated path towards becoming more data-driven and help improve innovation. It is a scalable solution that can be used across all business functions and connect global operations. We believe it will facilitate companies in delivering exceptional moments of service.”

IFS develops and delivers enterprise software for companies worldwide which manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within a single platform, its industry-specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so businesses can be their best when it matters to their customers—at the Moment of Service™.

Enterprise Analytics is an ERP and software development company that delivers strategic change to businesses globally. The company’s team of IFS-certified consultants have the deep domain knowledge and extensive experience needed to accommodate the unique needs of organizations across a myriad of industries. With offices in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, the UK and America, EA’s specialist teams are able to deliver exceptional service across geographies. This broad reach has also allowed the company to offer 24x7 global support, thus guaranteeing their promise of Transformation Driven by People.

The team from the Silvermill Group share their recent IFS Cloud upgrade experience

Photo Caption : Pasan Gunawardena – General Manager at Enterprise Analytics, describes the IFS Cloud upgrade journey and EA’s global experience in helping companies upgrade.

• Annual Recurring Revenue increases by 38% YoY
• Cloud Revenue grows at 104% Vs. 2021 Q3 YTD
• Third consecutive high performance quarter cements IFS leadership in core capabilities

IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company, today reported its financial results for Q3 year-to-date (YTD) ending September 30, 2022. IFS posted strong financial performance with Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increasing by 38 percent year on year (YOY) and cloud revenue growth of 104 percent Vs. 2021 Q3 YTD. The company attributes its continued success to its dogmatic commitment to delivering a frictionless experience to its customers and a product strategy that meets real market demand, and provides the capabilities business leaders are looking for today to mitigate risk, and tomorrow, to future proof their business.

IFS also posted an increase in Software revenue of 26 percent versus Q3 YTD 2021: the increase in bookings has been driven by a combination of new customer names accounting for 44 percent of new ACV, and existing customers upgrading to IFS Cloud at an increased pace with the IFS Momentum upgrade program.

The company’s ability to differentiate by providing embedded innovation such as AI, ML, IoT, automation and advanced analytics across ERP, EAM, and FSM in a composable way means companies have a real choice when it comes to their business and digital transformation requirements and the pace at which they execute on this, without having to compromise on functionality; a value proposition that is resonating in the company’s target industries.

These differentiators have also earned IFS unrivaled recognition by leading analyst firms such as IDC, Gartner and Forrester over the years. More recently, IFS was listed as #1, per Gartner’s “Global EAM Market Share 2021 by Revenue” report, and named the “Leader for the seventh consecutive time in 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Field Service Management. The company was also named a “Leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Manufacturing ERP” for 2022.

Additionally, IFS has also been named as a Gartner Peer Insight Customers’ Choice for EAM in 2022.

These accolades speak to IFS’s dedication in supporting its customers to meet their business goals and that IFS Cloud and IFS’s Success Services are more relevant than ever.

Darren Roos, CEO of IFS, commented: “Our compelling proposition and genuine commitment to our customers continues to serve us well in driving growth for IFS. We are uniquely positioned in the industry with the best asset and service management capabilities”. Roos continued: “We are seeing more and more companies recognize that the ability to orchestrate their assets, people and customers on a single, composable platform across EAM, FSM & ERP helps them to deliver amazing moments of service to their customers. This is a real differentiator.”  Roos concluded: “I am grateful to our extended team of partners and employees for staying true to our pledge to add value and continue to innovate and deliver our best to all our customers when it matters most to them.”

Constance Minc, CFO of IFS, said: “Our performance over the first nine months of this year has been exceptional. ARR has increased by 38 percent compared to Q3 2021. This demonstrates the health and resilience of our business.” Minc added: “Over the last few years, we have transformed our revenue model, which is not a simple undertaking but underpinned by IFS Cloud’s leading capabilities, our teams have stayed focused on delivering quarter after quarter, and these latest results are evidence of this.”

Following the acquisition of Ultimo, now rebranded IFS Ultimo, IFS has further extended its share of the EAM market. IFS Ultimo is a flexible and easily deployed EAM solution that caters for companies looking for a best-of-breed, point solution for asset management.

First of four release announcements deliver IFS's vision to lead as the default Composable Enterprise Application Vendor

IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company, today announced the general availability of the October release of IFS Cloud. The release is focused on enabling organizations with intelligent insight and accelerating automation efforts. Central to the October release are enhancements that will support end-to-end process automation and advanced analytics capabilities that will impact the organization across functions. The release includes over 340 new features and advancements that will accelerate our customer's journey to digitalization.

 Automation highlights 

 The heightened automation in this release will continue to help organizations transform operations, work efficiently, and liberate staff. IFS Cloud will help to rescue the time, effort, and resource burden while increasing the quality of work and experience across industries. The new automation features include:

• New cash planning analysis model enabling customers to improve cash management, reduce risk, and better plan for unforeseen scenarios for projects and companies.
• Streamlined Manufacturing Execution System (MES) to improve production quality control and performance, helping to drive fast decision-making and identify patterns.
• Simplified expense submission and reporting process, for Human Capital Management (HMC), improving the quality and accuracy of receipt types.
• Enhanced request management for ordering, delivery, and pick-up of non-stocked consumables to reduce costs.
• Improved accuracy for work estimates and technical productivity through AI and historical data-driven work schedules and job completion times.
• Save time through Independent Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MROs) businesses to quickly and easily bulk upload hundreds of maintenance requirements.
• Drive increased accuracy and reduce error for mobile workers to take lidar-based measurements on mobile devices easily.

With regards to Advance Analytics, the October release of IFS Cloud, will build on the new architecture, new user experience as well as automated management and deployment made available in the spring release to further improve experience and capabilities.

The enhanced capabilities will allow customers to gain a faster understanding of key challenges across the business, transform operations, work more efficiently, and increase productivity. It also provides simpler, more intelligent analytics for faster time-to-insight and improved predictive capabilities to support planning and reduce downtime for example.

Current Capabilities in IFS Cloud include:

• In-memory analytics engine replacing the old Cubes version and significantly increasing performance.
• In-memory capability that facilitates more granular data for better drill down
• Automation of the setup and deployment process that reduces the technical skills needed by businesses and the number of people needed on projects
• Third-party plug-ins that add capabilities like process mining, forecasting etc.
• Embed functional analytics models into the business, including CRM, human capital management, enterprise asset management, projects, procurement, sales, finance, and maintenance 

The October release additionally supports a range of Business Intelligence (BI) capabilities, which will drive faster, more accurate decision-making processes.

Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer, IFS, said: "With each successive evolution of IFS Cloud, we are continuously looking to develop the solution to ensure it is fully aligned to how customers buy and use technology. Today our customers are telling us they are looking to accelerate automation and attain intelligent insights faster. Pedersen continued, "Customers want to drive productivity and operational efficiencies, and through this latest release, that is exactly what we have delivered to them."

Photo Caption:  IFS Chief Product Officer Christian Pedersen

Enterprise Analytics (EA), a leading ERP solutions provider with offices across the globe, was recently awarded IFS Services Partner of the Year 2022 (Mid-Market) at the IFS Partner of the Year Awards. The event, which was held in conjunction with IFS’ partner network summit called Unleashed, was held in Miami, Florida.

The IFS Services Partner of the Year is nominated based on a partner’s expertise in implementation methodology their breadth of knowledge of IFS solutions and instrumentally superior customer service mentality in delivering a multitude of successful projects in record time driving exponential ROI for customers.

Eranda Maldeniya, Director of Enterprise Analytics, said, “We are absolutely elated to have won this award. It is a testament to our strong commitment to our customers and the dedication of our team, without whom this would not be possible. I am proud of each one of them and grateful for their hard work that allowed us to quickly adapt to an ever-evolving business landscape.”

“We have been on a strong growth trajectory the last few years and we see this award as a validation of our strategic efforts to open up new markets and deliver on opportunities as we more closely align ourselves with IFS’ own business initiatives,” he added.

This award comes on the heels of Enterprise Analytics making the first new customer acquisition to IFS Cloud in South Asia. EA was recently chosen by global sports manufacturer Aqua Dynamics to implement, support and roll out IFS Cloud across its entire operation. The company was chosen for its track record of excellence and experience in IFS Cloud upgrades having completed 5 similar projects for businesses across the globe.

“I am proud of the achievements Enterprise Analytics have made in such a short time,” said Merlin Knott, Global Head, Partner and Channels at IFS. “They have shown a real commitment to expanding their role within our partner ecosystem and a dedication towards delivering exceptional moments of service to their customers. It is evident that their values and strategic approach are in line with our own and that their depth of knowledge has allowed them to meet their customers’ business requirements. As with all our partners, Enterprise Analytics is an invaluable contributor to our continued success and we look forward to more great things from them in the future.”

The IFS Partner of the Year Awards is a global initiative designed to commend partners for their continued commitment to excellence within the global IFS partner ecosystem. The awards celebrate outstanding partner achievements across nine categories and provide a platform to recognise partners’ dedication to the IFS Partner Program, commitment to excellence in the service(s) delivered to mutual customers, and expertise in leveraging innovation to extend the capabilities of IFS’s solution.

Founded by a group of ex-IFS Consultants in 2018, Enterprise Analytics is an ERP and Software Services Company headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The company’s team of IFS certified consultants have the deep domain knowledge needed to accommodate the unique business needs of their customers across a myriad of industries and geographies. Expanding rapidly over the years, EA currently operates in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, the UK, Europe and America.

IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company in collaboration with Enterprise Analytics, today announced that Aqua Dynamics, world’s leading action sports manufacturer based out of Sri Lanka has chosen IFS Cloud as its ERP solution to underpin the company’s future growth plans while driving its digital transformation efforts.  

Established in 1988, Aqua Dynamics is one of the leading action sports manufacturers in the world for custom-built products, combining skilled workmanship with state-of-the-art technology and innovative design. Situated in Sri Lanka, the high-tech manufacturing facility of Aqua Dynamics has over 30,000 m² of dedicated floor space and produces for global kiteboarding, windsurfing, paragliding and big boat sail brands. 

Aqua Dynamics needed a solution that gave it a single point of truth across its business with the ability to provide real-time updates and accurate forecasts. It was finding it difficult to scale its existing ERP solution in line with the evolving needs of the business. The company has extensive plans to accelerate its digital transformation journey and it needed a system that could support its immediate need for enhanced efficiency across business operations and a solution and a partner it could rely on for future business growth. 

The company evaluated the IFS Cloud ERP solution, finding it to be highly scalable with the ability to allow the company to streamline its operations. IFS in collaboration with their partner, Enterprise Analytics, understood Aqua Dynamic’s focus points and was selected for its deep industry expertise and ability to provide real-time, enterprise-scale decision making insight across functions.  

“With IFS, we hope to have found one ERP system that covers all business streams, a technology partner with  a scalable solution that can be used across our whole company,” said Carolin Ulmer, Operations Manager at Aqua Dynamics. “We are excited about our future potential.” 

“We are delighted that Aqua Dynamics has selected us as their technology partner and is trusting us to support their future ambitions. We are looking forward to seeing the business grow,” says Uthpala Kumara, Head of Sales & Partnerships for IFS South Asia. “We are proud to be able to support Aqua Dynamics deliver its Moments of Service™ to their customers. IFS Cloud was designed to offer companies an uncomplicated path towards becoming more data-driven and improve innovation.” 

The IFS implementation will begin in November 2022, carried out by IFS partner Enterprise Analytics. The first stage and roll-out in manufacturing in support of the company’s own production capabilities, is expected to complete by October 2023. “We are thrilled to partner with Aqua Dynamics as they embark on their digital transformation journey,” said Eranda Maldeniya, Director of Enterprise Analytics. “IFS Cloud will enable them to be more agile in an ever evolving business landscape which will serve their customers well. We are proud to be able to facilitate this change and look forward to building on this relationship.” 

Image Caption : Left to right: Janaka Bandara, Group Executive Director at Enterprise Analytics; Lalindu Samaraweera, Executive Director at Enterprise Analytics; Eranda Maldeniya, Group Executive Director at Enterprise Analytics; Carolin Ulmer, Business Operations Manager at Aqua Dynamics; Uthpala Kumara, Head of Sales & Partnerships at IFS South Asia and Simon Schmidt, Manager - Operations at Aqua Dynamics

IFS, the global cloud enterprise software company, is partnering with Hatch to enable the 6-week ChallengerX Incubator program - Sri Lanka’s first AI-Machine learning Incubator.

IFS has the leading tech stack for Scheduling and Service Management. As experts in the industry, IFS is continuously looking to innovate and improve its platform's service experience.

The incubation program aims to drive innovation within Sri Lanka’s growing technology industry by providing a new opportunity for entrepreneurial talent. With a proven commitment to the industry and over 20 years of operating in Sri Lanka, IFS is dedicated to investing in the Sri Lankan technology landscape. Together with Hatch’s record in purpose driven open innovation in Sri Lanka and IFS’s support, ChallengerX is the perfect environment for collaboration, success, and innovation.

Taking advantage of the exceptional network in Sri Lanka, the ChallengerX Program will look at enhancing IFS’s Field Service Management Tool (WISE) capabilities. The What If Scenario Explorer (WISE) is used for forecasting resource requirements or KPIs for different business scenarios for organizations with a service-oriented mobile workforce. The Incubator will focus on improving Predictive Modelling systems capable of minimizing supply chain damage in the service industry caused by unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters.

Speaking about the partnership Ranil Rajapakse, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, IFS Sri Lanka Operations, said "As one of the largest IT companies in Sri Lanka we wanted to be part of this, we felt that we had a duty as well to invest in this thriving tech ecosystem. So to do that, we saw some good synergies between IFS and Hatch to work on a common set of problems and build solutions,"

At IFS, we have admired the work of the Hatch team for a long time. Like IFS, Hatch is committed to investing in Sri Lankan technology and visualizes the country's potential to be a leader in innovation. We have continued to work closely with many universities in Sri Lanka, and the quality of graduates is world-class. The partnership with Hatch is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate to the world what is possible.

IFS is one of the largest technology providers in Sri Lanka. As such, we have the capacity and interest to foster growth and talent in their ecosystem. We hope the Incubator will encourage a new network of young and existing talent to see the possibilities within technology, whilst also giving the opportunity and guidance for budding entrepreneurs to incubate their ideas into an MVP and subsequently make them a reality.

At the peak of advancements in technology and data science, predictive analytics has emerged as helpful and wholly necessary for data mining techniques enabling organizations to extract predictive outcomes based on the current data available to them. The problem statement we have derived is centered around this and how we can identify, test, and solve real-world problems to maximize profit, minimize risk, and create lasting impact.

Sharing his thoughts on the Incubator Jeevan Gnanam, Co-Founder of Hatch shared "We wanted to do something very new and disruptive and create a new paradigm in open innovation in Sri Lanka. That is why we wanted to create Sri Lanka’s first AI-Machine Learning Accelerator," said Jeevan Gnanam

 ChallengerX will be a 6- month residency at Hatch, which has made its mark as the world’s best coworking space in 2021 at the Global Start-up Awards. This residency will provide the ChallengerX finalists with access to events and membership benefits at Hatch, where they will also be mentored by international experts from Hatch and the IFS mentor pool.

The program is looking for teams consisting of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning enthusiasts, UX Designers and SEs, Web front-end developers (Front-End heavy), Backend developers for the server, Individuals experienced in building on spatial databases, large-scale spatial maps, and GIS and those with development experience with open-source geospatial software or ESRI is preferred.

The ChallengerX teams with the best solutions will stand to win from a stipend and prize pool of Rs.3,000,000 along with other exciting benefits.

If you or your team are skilled at problem-solving and can provide a real-world problem with an innovative and value-adding solution, visit our website to apply:  https://ifs-challengerx.hatch.lk/ or scan the following QR code:

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 24 October 2022

IFS has been ranked amongst the top 100 Sri Lankan corporates by LMD (Lanka Monthly Digest) Magazine in its 18^th ‘Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka’ edition. In addition to being honored as one of the most respected entities, IFS has been also ranked as a top Sri Lankan business entity in Dynamism, Corporate Culture, Innovation, Management Profile, and HR/People Management lists. The LMD’s Most Respected Entities survey includes the top 100 blue-chip companies, conglomerates, multinational companies (MNCs), financial institutions, and household brand names in the country.

Since 1997, IFS has played a pivotal role in the local ICT ecosystem as one of the largest tech employers in the country, providing significant inputs to the country’s IT skills and job market. The Sri Lankan operation is a strategic investment of IFS, the global enterprise applications company, and its largest office outside Sweden with approximately 2,100 employees. Beyond housing IFS’ largest R&D and global operations outside Sweden, IFS manages the South Asia Customer Organisation, which sells services and supports organisations in the region that use IFS Cloud - – a single, composable technology platform that enables customers to differentiate on service.

Commenting on the latest recognition, Ranil Rajapakse, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of IFS’ Sri Lanka operations said, “We are humbled by this incredible recognition to be included among some of the most admired Sri Lankan corporates. Our spirit of ingenuity and resilience has enabled us to embrace challenges in Sri Lanka amidst tough macroeconomic conditions while contributing consistent revenues and delivering the highest level of customer service. Both through our software and our success services, we are making it possible for our Sri Lankan and global customers to buy and consume technology in the way that creates the most value for them, so they can deliver amazing ‘Moments of Service’ to their customers.”

The LMD Most Respected survey analyses the most esteemed business entities in Sri Lanka based on the perceptions of over 800 respondents, shared via telephone interviews. In line with this, respondents nominate the organizations they perceive as being the best based on the criteria of financial performance, quality consciousness, management profile, honesty, innovation, dynamism, corporate culture, CSR, vision, and nation-mindedness.

Photo Caption : Ranil Rajapakse, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of IFS’ Sri Lanka operations