Infra

2005 Consensus Software Awards

Product Description

infraEnterprise is a packaged application that enables organisations to deploy comprehensive service management processes – including Incident and Problem, Change, Configuration (Asset) and Service Level Management – entirely across the Web, with a minimum investment in infrastructure.

infraEnterprise provides:

• a lower total cost of ownership, through simplified, rapid rollout and upgrade of a 100% Web solution

• ease of integration with third party applications via .NET and Web Services, eradicating the prohibitive costs formerly associated with enterprise integration projects

• efficiency savings from standardising service management processes based on industry best practice standards, across the enterprise.

• reduced service desk workload and increased customer retention by empowering customers to log enquiries and solve problems online.

Infra has developed infraEnterprise specifically for the global enterprise market, focusing on the business requirements of this market and selecting and developing the most appropriate technologies to meet them. Infra’s focus was on developing a product that could be:

• rolled out and upgraded at zero cost (no client-end installs other than a Web browser are required)

• be easily customised to assist rapid implementation (built on html)

• deliver a comprehensive level of functionality without compromising the user experience (to achieve this, Infra developed a multi-document interface that simulates a Windows environment - a unique element in browser based design).

Innovation

infraEnterprise was one of the first in the service management industry to be built on an entirely web-based architecture. That architecture remains a core differentiator from the products of Infra’s competitors. This has given Infra a first to market advantage, and enabled Infra to offer a viable solution in client environments where other vendors have not been able to. An example is the Macedon Ranges Shire Council in Victoria, where Infra was the only vendor offering a technology that would enable the Council to run a fully featured customer request system to each of its widespread offices in a rural region, without having to invest heavily in additional infrastructure. On the basis of this project, Infra was named as a finalist in the AIIA 2004 iAwards.

(See http://www.infra.com.au/SuccessStories/MacedonShireRangesCouncil.asp) 

Specific technical innovations within the product include:

• Enhanced user experience. infraEnterprise has overcome the interface restrictions normally associated with browser applications with the infraEnterprise ‘Wrapper’ technology, The technology is a unique element in browser based development and has been the foundation for producing a rich user experience that includes a multiple document interface.

• Server component design to meet the 24 x 7 day access requirements of dispersed support operations. infraEnterprise’s server based architecture combines a number of significant innovations that key stability, scalability and redundancy criteria.

infraEnterprise has been built from the ground up to deliver zero cost deployment and zero cost upgrading.

Performance

infraEnterprise has passed rigorous independent testing by Veritest Inc. in the USA, enabling certification for Windows Server, and leading to Infra Corporation becoming Australia’s first Microsoft Gold Partner for Software Products. infraEnterprise has additionally been certified as .NET Connected by Veritest. The Veritest certifications guarantee the robustness of the infraEnterprise technology and an overall smoother deployment for Infra’s clients.

At a process level, infraEnterprise has been verified at an enhanced level to support the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library), by ITIL specialists Pink Elephant.

Since its release, infraEnterprise has been rolled out to a majority of Infra’s client base as well as successfully implemented in major new sites in Australia and internationally. Client support for the product has been strong – for example, UnisysWest, a subsidiary of Unisys, agreed to speak at a series of seminars in 2004, describing their implementation of infraEnterprise to support IT change management in a demanding multi-client environment. For another client – the operator of one of the world’s largest oil and gas condensate fields – the speed and ease with which infraEnterprise has been installed (to manage all IT issues), has set a benchmark for software implementations across the company. (See www.infra.com.au/SuccessStories for client experiences of infraEnterprise.)

Potential

Infra has built a substantial client base in Australia, including major organisations in the government and private sectors. As infraEnterprise has been designed specifically for global / enterprise organisations, however, we see the international markets – particularly the US – as the primary areas for future growth. Based on Infra’s success to date in building a presence in the US, and ability to attract clients of the calibre of Adobe Systems, we are confident that the product has huge potential in this market.

Infra is similarly expanding its client base in the UK and European markets, having achieved a 60% increase in revenue in the region since infraEnterprise was launched there in 2004. An independent report recently prepared by the UK Help Desk Institute (HDI) has described infraEnterprise as an “ideal global service desk solution”. According to HDI’s report, “The genuine thinness of the application allows for great scalability and the provision for global support and use within distributed or locked down environments”.

Infra Corporation has received recognition under the Australian Commonwealth Government Endorsed Supplier Arrangement (ESA), assisting the company’s entry into government organisations. To quality for the ESA, Infra was required to demonstrate a record of successful deliveries, financial viability, and a role in stimulating the development of the Australian IT industry.

Infra was included in analyst firm Gartner’s 2003 “Magic Quadrant” report (2004 report not yet released), which identifies the firms that Gartner considers to be major vendors in the enterprise IT Service Desk market. Infra’s inclusion, alongside competitors such as HP, Computer Associates and FrontRange is a formal recognition of Infra’s growing presence and reputation in international markets. The report notes that in an otherwise stagnant market in which “most vendors experienced flat or negative growth”, Infra had achieved double-digit sales growth during the preceding two years.

Other information the judges should know

Website: www.infra.com.au

Infra Corporation was established in 1991, and has developed an international client base varying from multinationals to small dynamic service providers. infraEnterprise has been installed in all the major business sectors, including Finance, Government, Manufacturing, Technology and Public Utilities.

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