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- Info
Selima Software
Overview
Selima Software, based in Sheffield, UK, is a specialist in IT
solutions for public sector human resources departments. Starting out
as a payroll software vendor, the company has adapted to the shifting
needs of its customers, and now offers a suite of applications designed
to model complex HR processes and align IT with an organisation’s
specific operational needs.
Business need:
With large numbers of staff to manage, public sector organisations
increasingly need human resources systems to provide more than just
payroll – but many HR and ERP solutions can be complex and risky to
implement, requiring major organisational change.
Solution:
VISION from Selima Software is an integrated solution capable of
modelling HR processes and adapting to fit specific needs. VISION runs
on the Rocket UniVerse database platform, combining high reliability
with minimal maintenance requirements. Selima works with APT Solutions,
an U2 Premier Business Partner, to support the UniVerse
environment.
Benefits:
VISION’s versatile business process modelling functions – combined with
deep-embedded support from Selima – make it easier for public sector
organisations to convert paper-based systems into electronic workflows.
The UniVerse-based solution helps to deliver excellent performance
without constant optimisation, reducing workload for in-house IT
teams.
Case Study
Selima Software, based in Sheffield, UK, is a specialist in IT
solutions for public sector human resources departments. Starting out
as a payroll software vendor, the company has adapted to the shifting
needs of its customers, and now offers a suite of applications designed
to model complex HR processes and align IT with an organisation’s
specific operational needs.
This suite of applications, known as VISION, has proved especially
popular among local authorities, which often have large numbers of
staff and highly complex organisational structures.
“Moving to a new integrated human resources solution or centralised
ERP system can be a risky move for local authorities, because the
implementation tends to be complex and the software is often difficult
to use,” explains Mark Kinnell, Managing Director at Selima Software.
“Such projects can meet resistance from users, who are reluctant to
make drastic changes to their ways of working. By contrast, VISION
provides a powerful business process modelling environment which helps
local authorities implement simple workflows that users can get to
grips with easily – and Selima allocates dedicated consultants to each
implementation to ensure that the transition is managed smoothly.”
VISION provides simple setup wizards to help organisations build new
processes without the need for expensive development work or technical
expertise. A wide range of best-practice processes is also available
out-of-the-box, which can help to accelerate deployment.
Mark Kinnell adds: “The flexibility of the solution means that the
possibilities are almost limitless. For example, VISION can be easily
integrated with solutions such as PremierEnvoy, which manages employee
expenses. One local authority was able to save more than seven per cent
on an annual mileage expenses budget of £4 million by using postcode
analysis to measure the distance between employees’ start points and
destinations.”
Reducing administrative workload
Another advantage of VISION is its technical simplicity – reducing
administrative workload for busy internal IT teams.
“Most HR and ERP systems rely on a relational database platform such
as Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server – platforms that need optimisation
and management in order to deliver good performance,” explains Mark
Kinnell. “This usually means that they need to hire a database
administrator – an additional expense.
“VISION is built on the Rocket UniVerse – a multidimensional
database platform. Compared to a traditional relational database,
UniVerse needs fewer tables, which makes it less complex to manage. In
fact, UniVerse can provide excellent performance on relatively
inexpensive hardware, without the need for extensive optimisation. Our
customers can more or less leave the database to run itself, enabling
them to focus on higher-value tasks.”
Selima Software works closely with APT Solutions
(www.aptsolutions.net), the UK’s master distributor of Rocket UniVerse
and UniData technologies, to ensure that its VISION applications derive
maximal performance from the UniVerse database.
“The APT Solutions team cannot be praised highly enough,” comments
Mark Kinnell. “Their knowledge of the UniVerse technologies is second
to none, and they frequently help us come up with new ways to enhance
the performance of our platform.”
Flexible business process modelling
The VISION application suite is designed to offer a potent
combination of highly efficient, easy-to-manage technological
infrastructure with highly flexible, fully functional business process
modelling capabilities.
“Local authorities across the UK are already benefitting from VISION
and Rocket UniVerse,” concludes Mark Kinnell. “The solution is easy to
implement, can be deployed on relatively low-end hardware, and does not
require too much attention on a day-to-day basis – so it helps to keep
IT operational costs low.
“At the same time, VISION drives efficiencies in HR processes,
eliminating old-fashioned paper-based processes and enshrining best
practice policies within the overall organisational framework. In the
current financial climate, public sector organisations need more than
ever to deliver the best possible value for public money. VISION can
make a significant contribution to meeting that need.”
Products and services used
Rocket products and services that were used in this case study.
Software:
UniVerse
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"We needed a database that could handle intricate datasets, process numerous complex transactions per second and support thousands of concurrent user sessions. A traditional relational database would have needed hundreds of tables and indexes to store the data – requiring investment in expensive top-end hardware to achieve the necessary performance. Since we are competing with companies like Google, which have enormous development resources at their disposal, it is crucial for us to be able to respond quickly to our customers' changing needs. We estimate that UniData enables us to bring new services to market two or three times faster than would be possible with a different database, so it gives us a major competitive advantage."
Justin Morshead, AdPrecision
"It not only works perfectly, but the system went from concept to live in less than a month. The speed was really impressive, but what is equally impressive is how well it works. We have had no problems at all, and from day one it functioned as we had planned."
Roger Walther, Alpmobil
"The UniVerse database gives us the ability to build new applications that can easily be deployed quickly and efficiently."
Doug Leupen, President & CEO, Entrinsik
"The business requirements at Danny's Automotive involved a high volume of data transaction processing coupled with a quick turnaround time on management reports. The dynamics of the Techfinity Software and Rocket U2 database software allowed us to achieve and maintain that correct balance, with the robustness of the U2 database ensuring a 99% uptime, another critical requirement."
Renier Smit, Financial Manager, Danny's Automotive
"What we are doing is truly unique in the financial world. We are so singular in our structure that our costs are almost incomprehensible to the industry. Our key differentiator is that we can execute all of our work much faster and much cheaper than any of our competitors, which would not be possible without UniVerse as the backbone of all of our integrated operations."
Robert Goldberg, President & CEO, e3m Investments
We needed a database solution that was robust enough to meet the corporate initiative for data security, and UniVerse offered the functionality we needed."
Dennis Smith, Financial & Administrative Controller, Johnson Matthey
"We've built our solutions on UniVerse from the very beginning, and we've never regretted that early decision. Rocket's powerful database delivers the speed, flexibility, and range of capabilities we needed to deliver a solution that handles documents, files, and video and audio records in one efficient, cost-effective package. A traditional relational database could never have handled these diverse types of media as quickly and inexpensively as UniVerse can."
Dave DeYoung, 1mage
"We needed a database that was ODBC compliant and that is where UniVerse came into the picture… Being able to store multiple pieces of information in one field is very efficient. People are amazed at the speed and responsiveness of a MultiValue database."
Matt Anfrejco, Owner, Polaris Information Systems
"One of the key reasons is that the Rocket U2 database is the fastest database in the police world. We can look at 100,000 records in a few seconds – in contrast, SQL takes a lot longer. Using SQL would cripple our investigations because it's so slow. That's one of the major reasons we use Hitech Systems. It's also incredibly easy to transfer data, so our systems are able to communicate seamlessly with each other."
Detective Lieutenant Wayne Hoss, San Mateo Police Department
"VISION is built on the Rocket UniVerse – a multidimensional database platform. Compared to a traditional relational database, UniVerse needs fewer tables, which makes it less complex to manage. In fact, UniVerse can provide excellent performance on relatively inexpensive hardware, without the need for extensive optimisation. Our customers can more or less leave the database to run itself, enabling them to focus on higher-value tasks.
Mark Kinnell, Managing Director, Selima Software
UniData is designed to offer very high levels of performance, even on comparatively low-end hardware – which makes it ideal for not-for-profit organisations operating with a tight IT budget". "In addition, UniData is designed to be embedded into applications such as Stratum, reducing the need for database administration and making life easier for non-technical users. The platform is so stable and reliable that the Society of Authors does not need to employ its own IT staff."
Nick Osborn, APT Solutions account manager
"We've also been able to build new features and functions over the years without having to tear down and rebuild our technology infrastructure. As an example, we integrate with PDA-based platforms so our chauffeurs can have the most accurate, up-to-date information such as a flight delay or cancellation. We also use Satnav data to provide the best possible service."
Darren Allsop, CIO, Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services
"Our UniData MultiValue database has been a game-changer for us. We have been using UniData for many years and have always been able to use it to rapidly implement complex business rules against large databases. Our competition, even with much larger IT budgets, struggle to roll out systems that are as functionally rich as ours is."
Ron McKinney, VP or Information Systems, Land Title
"Healthcare supply distributors play a critical role in the industry and are not immune to the challenges of reducing the dost of care for patients. With Rocket U2 technology and support, we've been able to deliver MDS as an affordable service, helping distributors to better manage their costs, become more efficient, and meet the level of service their customers demand."
Dave Fertig, VP of Technical Services, They Systems House, Inc.
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