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Volume 3, February 2006 |
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 In this months issue... |
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It's a matter of choice...
Dear Reader,
Why should it be so difficult to get what you want, from where you want it, with good service, at a fair price?
For example, if you decide on the make and model of your new car but, as part of the deal, you are forced to agree on where you can or can’t buy petrol from as well as being told where you must go for all future servicing, maintenance and spare parts, then I’m sure you would quickly decide to go elsewhere. Especially if it was also part of the deal that the warranty on the car maybe invalidated should you ever be brave enough to shop around for spares and maintenance or look for a better price for fuel!
Although on occasion there have been obstacles placed in our way, we will not be deterred, because contrary to the above analogy, at SRO we are committed to provide a real alternative choice - making sure you always get the best possible advice, the highest quality, maximum flexibility, a reliable & prompt service plus a great choice of products - all at the most competitive price. In this way, whatever software you use, or want to use, we make sure it works for you as it should do and not the other way round.
Based on continued demand for our AMOS related value added services, we have now added more services, including; regular advanced-user training courses, some examples of which can be found below and we have started to build databases in the UK again, something Tony & I first started doing together whilst at SpecTec back in the mid 90’s. Although technology may have moved on, we believe fundamentally your database content requirements remain the same, therefore we combine your needs with our AMOS knowledge, SQL database know-how, the latest in OCR technology along with some good old fashioned British marine engineering - I’m sure you will be amazed at what can be achieved.
It has also been a great experience talking with so many other alternative vendors and evaluating their software in order to build our own ‘best-of-breed’ product portfolio. One such vendor is MRO Software, with whom we have just recently signed a worldwide reseller agreement for their Maximo range of products. A NASDAQ listed company and a true leader in the field of asset management software; we very much look forward to working with MRO Software over the coming years and are confident Maximo will prove to be of great interest and a welcome relief for many of our existing & potential clients - more information below, as well a nice photo of Tony!
I look forward to hear from you should you have any comments or enquiries and please don’t forget the SRO Forum, there for you to share information and ideas with many other like-minded people, taking advantage of the best knowledge base available – yourselves! You don’t have to register; it’s completely impartial, free to use and can be found at; http://www.srosolutions.net/forum
Thanks again for taking the time to read SRO Online.
Best Regards,
Steve Driver
Director
SRO Solutions Ltd
"Adding Value to Your Software Investments"
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‘MAXIMO® for Marine & Shipping’ |
  We are pleased to announce the recent signing of our reseller agreement with MRO Software for their Maximo suite of asset management products. MRO Software are investing in SRO as an industry specialist to promote, licence, distribute, implement & support Maximo in the worldwide marine & shipping market.
 For many years the more traditional marine software vendors have been somewhat insulated and protected from most shore-based competition, partly due to the relatively small size of our market but also due to various technical challenges relating to database replication over previously slow & expensive satellite links. However, times have changed and technology with it. Many vessels now have high-speed data connection as standard thus allowing for a more efficient connection between ship and shore and also V-Sat is becoming much more widely available and affordable allowing for more up to date replication technologies to be used.
Maximo provides asset management, work management, materials management and purchasing capabilities to help companies maximize productivity and extend the life of their revenue-generating assets. Comprehensive key performance indicators (KPIs), reporting and analytic capabilities help managers track maintenance activities and identify areas that require improvement.
MRO Software (NASDAQ : MROI) is a global company based in Bedford, Mass. US, with approximately 900 employees, 10,000 customers and more than 300,000 end-users. They are the leading provider of asset and service management solutions that allow customers to manage the complete life cycle of their assets including: maintenance, planning, procurement, deployment, tracking, and retirement.
Download the full press release here and for additional information on MRO Software go to www.mro.com
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Cabis Nominated for Lloyds List Award |
Our partner Cabis Solutions have just recently been nominated and indeed are a finalist for the Lloyds List 2006 Awards, in the category of Innovation Award in recognition for their tailored business-based software solutions for the maritime industry. We wish them good luck at the award ceremony being held in London, on 23rd February 2006.
Additional information on Cabis can be found at www.cabis.co.uk |
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Co-working with James Fisher Mimic has quickly lead to SRO being awarded a new marine project in Malaysia. SRO will supply and implement Maximo 5.2, provide training and, after completion of the project, provide remote technical support from our Manchester offices. This initial success confirms our belief in Maximo and has already started to produce many more similar enquiries both for Maximo & the JF Mimic CBM solution. |
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 As you may already be aware, SeaWave recently acquired Rydex. As a result of this acquisition, ‘SeaWave-Rydex’ has expanded their presence in all major geographic markets and we are pleased to confirm that our partnership agreement for the UK will continue as before with the added bonus of also being able to represent a much wider range of products and services available from Seawave-Rydex.
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Continuing with our commitment to provide a choice of ‘best- of-breed’ products, we are also working closely with other CMMS software vendors, for example Teomaki of Norway and the Softsols Group who develop Agility, the system recently supplied by SRO to Arklow Shipping of Ireland.. Both products are very capable in their own right, each with some unique features therefore opening up a much wider choice in any evaluation and selection process. Both companies invest heavily in R&D as well as being backed by many years of experience and, in the case of Teomaki; it is certainly worth noting that the MD is Mr. Atle Valland, a pioneer of ship management systems and the original founder of AMOS!
www.teomaki.com and www.getagility.co.uk |
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Paul Taylor is now running regular training courses, either in Manchester or onsite, using your software & data to suit your individual needs. Paul began employment with SpecTec Ltd, where he provided technical support & advanced training for their suite of maritime software products.
| Advanced User (3 Days) |
Admin (1 Day) |
Developer (3 Days) |
For users that already have a basic understanding of Amos but who are interested in understanding and implementing the advanced functionality that has been introduced in more recent versions. |
For users who are responsible for the day-to-day administration of an Amos system.
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Suitable for users who would like to customize Amos; modifying existing forms, creating custom templates, and build new reports. |
Course Content -
- Overview of Parameters
(Options and Sharing)
- Using: Budgets,
- CBM,
- Component Types,
- Component Transfer,
- e-Business,
- Factors with Purchasing,
- Functions,
- Graphics,
- Perishable Stock,
- Purchase Contracts,
- Purchase Work Flow,
- Maintenance Work Flow,
- Transport Documents,
- Project Module
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Course Content -
- Installation of Sybase ASA 8 and AMOS Business Suite
- Managing User Access Rights (Users, Groups, etc)
- Configuration of Parameters (Options, Sharing, Number Series, Number Masks, Default Templates, User Defined Fields)
Optional Extra Day -
- Introduction to SQL
- Native Export/Import (Selection Files, Tasks, Troubleshooting)
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Course Content -
- Introduction to SQL
- Installation of Sybase PowerBuilder
- Standard Templates
- Customizationof Exsisting Forms (Requistions, Query, Purchase Order, Transport Document, etc)
- Creation of Custom Reports
- Adding Basic Filters to Custom Reports
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And don't forget :- |
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PAYGO - Pay-As-You-Go remote support various 3rd party applications – no annual fees, just pay for what you need, when you need it, at a fair price.
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Travel & waiting time - we only charge at 50% of the agreed daily rate when our consultants have to travel and we never charge more than 8 hours travel per day regardless of the time in the air.
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UK BT landlines & mobiles - By switching your BT landline & UK mobiles to services provided by our partners at Ecocall Ltd, you can save up to 30% and receive only one single bill for all services in a format to suit you and manage your telecoms costs daily through your own secure access to an online billing system.
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Watch this space for more news in the near future, including; the latest in Database construction techniques, ship-to-shore replication, knowledge management and more...
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