No single system or database contains all the information you need to make a decision.  Information comes to you from many sources and many systems- and the technology that connects it all is called middleware.

The software industry has traditionally struggled with middleware products. They're heavyweight, overly technical, and frequently do not deliver the return on investment businesses demand-that means this vital piece of unifying technology is often beyond the reach of all but the largest organizations, which have high levels of IT staffing.  The worst scenario is that the cost of connecting new or additional systems is so prohibitively expensive, companies choose not to do it- denying users access to the information that would allow them to make better, faster decisions.

Infor ION changes all that.

What it is

Infor ION is a new generation of business middleware that is lighter weight, less technically demanding to implement, and built on open standards. It is designed to meet the needs of the business and the needs of the CIO to contain IT costs.  

But there's more to Infor ION than just easy to use connectivity.   With Infor ION, businesses get common reporting and analysis, workflow, and business monitoring with one, consistent architecture. In addition, Infor ION uses event-driven architecture (EDA), so it can pro-actively push data, work activities, and exception notifications to users.

Users don't need to go to the system to get the information they need�Infor ION makes sure the information comes straight to them. 

What it does

Infor ION includes four powerful services that are easy to install and configure:

ION CONNECT—Get your applications to operate together easily, so you can seamlessly execute business processes; quickly bring new partners and customers onboard; and reuse business functionality so you realize quick ROI.

• Easy set up. Infor applications operate with a standard business language so ION setup is easy. You don't need to do any translation or mapping�two of the biggest integration challenges.
• Easy operations. If you're running a portion of your business in the cloud, ION can exchange data working in a hybrid model. You don't need a second, separate integration stack to maintain it.
• Easy connections. Infor ION includes a library of "connectors" to integrate to third-party applications, so you can quickly integrate non-Infor apps into your system.

ION BUSINESS VAULT—A single, optimized, unbreakable business repository where Infor ION stores enterprise data. This unifying source for all the data that flows through ION makes it a robust platform for reporting, business intelligence, and analytics.

• Up-to-date data. The Business Vault uses an event-driven model for synchronization, so data is synchronized as soon as a transaction occurs in the originating system.
• Easier search. Enterprise search is easier, since data resides in one place�there's no need to index your transactional systems.
• Better reporting. The Business Vault features a master data reference for excellent reporting and integrations scenarios.

ION EVENT MANAGEMENT—Monitor the status of your tasks in relation to promised completion or established service level agreements (SLAs), and automatically receive alerts about exceptions and potential non-compliance.

• You make the rules. ION Event Management detects exceptions based on business rules that you define.  Notifications and alerts can be triggered by Event Management and directed to the appropriate users with ION Workflow. Also, ION can detect exceptions within a single source system. 
• Detect non-events. ION Event Management can also detects non-events�things that should have happened, but didn't—for example, a shipment to an important customer that missed its due date or time. Sales or Operations Management can be immediately alerted, so they can address the business issue.
• Provide better service. ION Event Management can also be used to monitor SLAs, so you meet your performance levels and maintain excellent customer service.

ION WORKFLOW—Direct work activities, events and business documents to any user so you execute business processes quickly and accurately

• Create quickly. Workflow modeling is graphical and based on Business Process Management Notation (BPMN 2.0) standard. This makes it easy to create even complex workflows, and know that they'll work across applications. 
• Automate approvals.  Create simple to more sophisticated workflows to automate document routing and approvals across departments and office locations worldwide. 
• Manage centrally. All tasks and alerts generated by Event Management and Workflow are managed through the Tasklist, which features an Activity Stream- based user interface.  And because ION Tasklist can run stand-alone or in a portal, you can work the way you want to work. We'll be adding support for mobile and tablet devices later, to provide even more flexibility.

What it means

Infor ION introduces a new suite of middleware services that are lightweight, quick to deploy, and that  deliver value to your business.

With Infor ION, get:

• Simple, fast connectivity for all your applications 
• A Business Vault to store optimized data for reporting and analytics
• Event Management and Workflow to detect events and direct activities to support your defined business processes.

It all adds up to putting better information in the hands of your users, faster.