Swiss blockchain firm in deal to disrupt SA`s ERP systems

Source: Vsoft, 05/11/2018

The integration of blockchain technology with ERP is a hot trend
pursued by major vendors and developers.
Swiss-based blockchain company SophiaTX has entered an exclusive
partnership with emerging South African tech firm ArkTree, looking
to disrupt the local enterprise resource planning (ERP) market.
As SophiaTX`s sole value-added reseller in SA, ArkTree will bring
blockchain to the ERP domain, which is quickly gaining traction as
a conduit to digital disruption worldwide.
ArkTree specialises in management accounting solutions in SAP,
making use of the Material Ledgers advanced actual costing
functionality which encompasses detailed product costing,
including the analysis between standard and actual cost at a cost
component (lower than material) level.
The company says inter-divisional transfer pricing and group
costing are also available and the integration of other modules,
starting from procurement and master data and ending with
consolidations and analytics, all form part of this niche
template.
The integration of blockchain technology with ERP, customer
relationship management and supply chain management business
software is a hot trend pursued by major vendors and blockchain-
oriented solution developers.
IBM has indicated it is working with organisations to develop new
business applications for blockchain. IBM`s Oracle Enterprise
applications team is working to integrate blockchain solutions
with Oracle ERP cloud, to take advantage of the open network it
provides.
Oracle also recently rolled out a service that allows
organisations to build blockchain networks to drive more secure
and efficient transactions, and track goods through supply chains
on a global scale.
In September last year, SophiaTX announced the first open source
platform to primarily integrate blockchain technology with SAP
software, used by 87% of global businesses and 98% of the top 100
most-valued brands.
`The experience in enterprise-grade information systems, combined
with the ability to show clients how systems can be integrated
with appropriate blockchain solutions to enhance the business
value chain, offers these two companies a solid foundation in
their partnership decision,` says Sean Martin, MD of ArkTree.
He explains the fact that the blockchain phenomenon is relatively
new and unfamiliar leads it to scrutiny and resistance from the
public. He attributes this to inadequate public knowledge about
what blockchain is and how to unleash its full potential to
transform and elevate the business world and beyond.
According to Martin, the security of blockchain lies in the sheer
decentralisation of the infrastructure, which allows for the
storing of encrypted data across a wide network of computers
simultaneously.
The information stored in a blockchain can, therefore, not be
altered, he notes, adding that in all its simplicity, such a safe
and transparent platform is perfectly suited for tracing the
movement of an asset across the value chain.
Martin also highlights the impact that blockchain will have. As a
potential base for a secure peer-to-peer transaction platform, he
says blockchain will play a crucial role in future business.
`Blockchain`s transparency, stemming from the inability to alter
data in the network, will lead to the reduction of fraud, while
its simplicity will ultimately yield improved automation as well
as more cost-effective data collection across the world.`
As a digital distributed ledger, he points out the technology is
made for multiple industries within the supply chain, including
agriculture, food, pharmaceuticals, beverages, retail, real
estate, mining, and many other business value chains where
traceability across complex supply chain networks is a high
priority.
`SophiaTX will bring a direct impact on the bottom line in a
relatively short period of time for all businesses that seek
better collaboration, exchange of information across industries,
and an increase in competitiveness. SophiaTX is aimed at extending
business applications such as SAP and also the integration of
disruptive technologies such as IOT sensors, AI, robotics and
several others,` says Jaroslav Kacina, CEO of SophiaTX.
`Our partnership will deliver scalable enterprise-grade blockchain
solutions with service and performance required by businesses.
Additionally, the solution offers appropriate levels of
compliance; SophiaTX works jointly with the `big four` advisory
and audit firms to achieve required security standards and ISO
certifications,` adds Kacina.