The many ways that Linkway® CONNECT can help your business.
Find out more by following the links below:
- Windows Report Writing
- Data Warehousing
- Updating Image Databases
- Information Management
- New Application Front-Ends
- Web Applications
- Optimising MPE Licenses
- Legacy System Integration
- Linkway® User Stories
- FREE EVALUATION - Download Linkway® Today!
Windows Report Writing. Top
User-defined reporting is a relatively modern concept within the corporate IT environment. Where, in the past, users re-entered data into local PC applications, such as spreadsheets and word-processing documents, now enterprise data can be provided in a secure and controlled manner to any user through Linkway® CONNECT. The pressures on highly skilled IT professionals are eased measurably releasing much needed resource back to key IT development issues.
Some of the most commonly used products are:
- Crystal Reports
- Microsoft Access Report Writer
- Impromptu Report Writer
- Esperant
- Excel
- Lotus 1-2-3
Data Warehousing. Top
Historically, this has proved to be the first usage of a Windows interface to the HP e3000. Data Warehousing can typically involve complex interrogation of data and it often demands to be totally interactive with live data. Data Warehousing Reports (see Windows Report Writing above) can deliver standard reports and formats but major data browsers often seek a far more dynamic interface to live corporate data. The CSL Windows Interface to HP e3000, Linkway® CONNECT, provides all the facilities necessary to create a truly interactive Data Warehousing or Data Mining environment.
Some of the most commonly used products are:
- Brio
- Microsoft Access
- Business Objects
- Forrest & Trees
Updating Image Databases. Top
Having access to data satisfies only one half of the needs of most organisations. Producing interactive reports, such as inventory-taking documentation demands a facility for updating and amending of records. This is where traditional data warehousing methods fall short of the real needs of the enterprise. The LINKWAY™ CONNECT; Windows interface to HP 3000 databases provides security controlled write facilities to allow updates to be made to Image Databases.
Information Management. Top
Ensuring that solutions map successfully to corporate needs is a major role for the IT Strategist. The areas of consideration include ease-of-use, security of access, multi-lingual and multi-currency needs, support availability, manageability of Server processes, etc. The design criteria for Linkway® CONNECT ensures that you will have the best Windows for HP e3000 tool available anywhere in the Hewlett-Packard HP e3000 world.
See Windows Report Writing See Data Warehousing
New Application Front-Ends. Top
One of the main perceptions of end-users is that the HP e3000 applications are out-of-date and no longer serve the business need. Surveys continually reveal that the applications are, in fact, ideally suited to their needs but appear too old-fashioned. By using Linkway®, organisations can now create their ideal Windows front-end, incorporating Drop-down menus and all the other niceties of PC applications.
Some of the most commonly used products are:
- Visual Basic
- Delphi
- MS Access Forms
- Cognos Axiant
- Amazon web server
- MS Active Server Pages
- Cold Fusion active web server
Web Applications. Top
Internet technologies are at the forefront of management thinking when reviewing corporate IT strategies. Despite the fastest Database Server in the enterprise being the HP e3000, it is often overlooked in Internet review processes. Linkway® CONNECT provides standards based access to Image databases and the standards applied mean that full use of Internet technologies can be made of your HP e3000 Server.
See e-Services See CSL Application Service Provider
Optimising MPE Licenses. Top
Many organisations question the need for very large MPE User Licenses to serve a host of users who need only read access to the main corporate databases. Through the provision of a front-end driven application, either in traditional client/server or with Internet technologies, many organisations have been able to significantly reduce the number of concurrent sessions required on the HP e3000. The same process has also allowed many traditional non-users to have the added bonus of access to live production information.
Legacy System Integration. Top
The proliferation of departmental and desktop office solutions has created a void between traditional centralised computing environments and the end-user. Often, only minimal maintenance is done on HP e3000 systems. Legacy systems have important roles to play in the IT strategy of the enterprise and Linkway® CONNECT is the key to providing simple windows-based interfaces to data on your HP e3000. HP e3000 systems occasionally become applications redundant yet still retain vast volumes of critical archive data that can rarely be incorporated into proprietary replacement software applications. Linkway® CONNECT provides a common windows interface across all platforms that allows the user easy access to data on all corporate platforms.
Linkway® User Stories. Top
These stories are linked to HP's case studies on ODBC.
Front End to ManMan Running on HP e3000
Intranet Front End to ManMan Running on HP e3000.
At the Horsham (UK) Manufacturing facility of Applied Materials, after installing LINKWAY CONNECT, an ODBC driver for HP e3000 Image databases, it became possible to develop an Intranet front end for ManMan capable of not only Reporting but incorporating all the Transaction and day to day business processing functionality. Using Amazon, a web based development environment, an Intranet environment was built specifically to front end ManMan running on the HP e3000.
The Amazon applications run on an NT4 server, communicate with databases using SQL and LINKWAY CONNECT, and serve up HTML and Java to the clients' browser.
Within nine months, much of the Manufacturing reporting functionality, some of the Manufacturing transaction/maintenance functionality, General Ledger Reporting and some entirely new systems have been developed in this environment.
The technical skills used in this development have been:
- HTML coding
- Java applet - design and coding
- Amazon Business Rules application design and development
- SQL construction
- Image database - design and creation
- Creation of the DBE environments for all the ManMan databases and Extension databases
Enhanced Reporting and Data Extraction.
Developing in the Intranet environment, here at Applied Materials' Horsham Manufacturing facility, it has been possible to greatly enhance the functionality of ManMan, the legacy system. For example, a screen was developed to display a Bill of Materials in a Tree/Tab view style. The exploded BOM is represented by the Tree view, with each node (expandable/collapsible) representing an assembly. The user is able click on any assembly and the Components, Work Orders, Purchase Orders and Order Demand information is all available in the Tab view. Further development for this screen is planned which will enable the user to click on a any item (say, a Purchase order number) in the tab view which will then throw up another window with all the detailed information of that Purchase Order.
General Ledger Interface
Applied Materials Corporate implemented a new system to analyse and produce financial reports on all the subsidiaries. Previously, the local general ledger data had been extracted via Omniview into Excel spreadsheets and then rolled up into the old system. A new configurable interface system was developed in the Intranet environment, which produced the files ready for upload directly from the ManMan general ledger. The old process would take about 45 minutes per file and often failed. The new interface produced the files in around 2 minutes and to date has never failed. The added bonus, upon the introduction of this system, was that we no longer needed Omniview, which meant a saving a several thousand pounds per annum on the MIS budget.
Sequencing of Material to the Cell Build Process
The Cell assembly process takes place over four days and the aim of this system was to sequence the delivery of the material to the cell on the day it was required. This was done by assigning a sequence number to each part on a work order and modifying the stores pick reports to use this sequence number. An extension Image database was designed and built to work alongside the standard ManMan databases in order to store all the sequencing information. All the transaction processing, maintenance and reporting functionality was developed in the Intranet environment previously described. The main benefit of this system was to stop the Cell build area being 'choked' with material.
FREE EVALUATION - Download Linkway® Today! Top
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