After 2 years of absence, Oracle Phils. former Managing Director Mr. Bernard Yu faced the press once again heading a new company called Infoman Inc. The event was about the appointment of Infoman Inc. as a QAD distributor in the Philippines. And during that brief meeting, I must say that most of the members of the press were happy to see him back in the I.T. circulation again.

Just to give you a brief background, QAD Inc. is a provider of ERP and supply chain management solutions for global manufacturers. QAD solutions help streamline the enterprise; improve quality and customer service; speed product time-to-market; and increase supply chain responsiveness across geographies, languages and currencies. QAD solutions manage the six core business processes of the manufacturing enterprise : Quote to Cash; Service and Support; Plan and Execute; Plan and Fulfill; Requisition to Pay; and Design to Obsolescence. QAD solutions is currently deployed in more than 5,200 sites in more than 80 countries.

       A META Group study revealed that for manufacturing companies utilizing an ERP system, QAD delivers the lowest total cost of ownership relative to company revenue; the fastest time to implement; and the highest average annual quantifiable benefits as a percentage of TCO.On the other hand, Infoman Inc. has been in the business of serving varied industries' automation requirements for well over 16 years now. Established in 1985, Infoman Inc. has served more than 100 private and government agencies including banking, retail, insurance, manufacturing and food companies. Infoman Inc. through its subsidiary First Technologies (Firstech) is also the exclusive distributor in the Philippines of all Progress products and services which makes the partnership with QAD logical since Progress is the native database of QAD applications.

       Automating a manufacturing process will not only benefit the owner but the consumers as well. From planning, to purchasing of raw materials, to processing, to finish goods, to delivery, if you can monitor each step of the process with precision, it will tremendously bring down the cost of goods (minimal inventory, controlled errors/rejects) which in turn will be pass on to the consumers. Knowing your suppliers, procedures and clients is key, and being able to automate and informate the entire process will be a great advantage.

       During the said event, we (members of the press) can't help but wonder if Infoman/QAD will be targetting Oracle clients since Mr. Yu headed Oracle Phils. for 11 years. Mr. Yu was quick to dismissed that possibility saying that Infoman/QAD is focussing mostly on manufacturing and the SME/SMB market, which of course I'm not buying. Infoman/QAD and Oracle Phils. is headed for a collision whether Mr. Yu likes it or not.

       Mr. Yu explained that aside from selling to other countries in South Asia, INFOMAN will also look out for prospective products that can be customized and sold to clients in the Philippines.

       In a recent report, Three companies namely : SAP, MS GreatPlains and QAD are offering their software and services aimed at helping JD Edwards' World and EnterpriseOne customers. If you still remember, JDE was acquired by PeopleSoft, then Oracle Corp. bought PeopleSoft. QAD's offer comes as Oracle Corp. announced that its still working on combining its E-Business software with PeopleSoft's ERP applications called "Project Fusion". Expected time of completion will be in the year 2013 or earlier according to Oracle, which left JDE clients in limbo. While it's true that JDE installations in the Philippines is not that big, what's going to prevent Infoman Inc. from partnering with other software companies which may in anyway compete with Oracle's offering. This scenario is not far-fetched.

       If that day comes, can Infoman Inc. win the battle? Well, David defeated Goliath right? Oracle may be big and may have one of the best software technology in the world, but they lack one important thing which Mr. Yu has and that is the ability to build and value relationships. Mr. Yu values his relationship with his clients, his collegues and office staffs, and with the members of the press which the current Oracle Phils. management sorely missed. To prove my point, I heard people from Oracle Corp. recently visited the country to assess the relationship its local office has with its clients and employees. I also heard that some journalists were invited for a discussion but unfortunately they were not asked the proper questions for them to reveal their true sentiments about Oracle Philippines and its members. Oracle Corp. may have sense that there is something wrong not only with their relationship with the press but also with their clients and with their employees. My unsolicited advice to Oracle Phil: Be careful around those individuals who have bought into hyprocrisy because they have the uncanny ability of selling it as well.

       So why the confidence in Mr. Bernard Yu? I've known the guy for the past nine years and I can say that Mr. Yu is not perfect, he's not even close to being perfect. He has his ups and downs, made some wrong decisions in his life both professional and personal. His experience humbled him and made him swallow his pride. But even at the lowest point of his life, he has maintained his integrity by accepting and admitting his mistakes and failures and by remembering his friends and collegues with a simple "Hello". That my dear readers is a man with character.

       Let me just say that the world of I.T. is changing very fast. The big will not beat the small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow, the humbles beating the arrogants, and sincerity beating the superficials. To Mr. Bernard Yu, welcome back and congratulations!!!

       The dragon has indeed returned.

       Am logging off for now. God Bless us all!!!

Tel: (632) 8 843-2191

Fax: (632) 843-2755

E-mail: sales@infomaninc.com