UNIT4 Business Software Meets the New Global Demands of a Competitive Non-Profit Sector in North America

VICTORIA, British Columbia and IRVING, Texas, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

UNIT4 Business Software (http://www.unit4software.com), the North American subsidiary of UNIT4, the world's leading provider of business software for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™), is meeting increased demand among non-profit organizations that are focused on achieving transparency and accountability to meet the new global demands of a competitive non-profit economy. As non-profits expand and evolve they are operating their organizations as tightly-run, often international businesses in a sector that is becoming more competitive.

UNIT4 Business Software has enjoyed increasing momentum in this sector in the last six months, particularly in North America, signing large non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as ACDI/VOCA, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), as well as research facilities such as TRIUMF in an agreement worth more than $1 million. UNIT4 has also seen success with European non-profits and NGOs including ZonMw and the Innovation Institute of the Ministry of Health in the Benelux, as well as a leading national charity in the UK.

"All these organizations have one thing in common and that's the desire to deliver the accountability and transparency of a public company and to be more competitive," says Ton Dobbe, VP of Product Management at UNIT4. "Warren Buffet has alluded to this in how he chooses which organizations to donate to - those who operate as businesses earn his money because they're operating on a business level. That's what our software allows non-profits and NGOs to do."

Agresso Business World is particularly appealing to Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™) because it is designed for complex organizational structures that change frequently while still delivering total accountability and transparency. It is known among non-profits for its post-implementation agility that allows end users to respond swiftly and cost-effectively to changing funding levels and new funding structures, regulatory reporting requirements, and reorganization and restructuring without customers having to rely on costly external consultants.

UNIT4's non-profit customers around the world share many of the same characteristics and are experiencing significant benefits:

"As a research center almost every project we undertake is, by definition, something that hasn't been done before; we needed an agile business tool that could let us easily cope with new situations. New partnerships can present unique tax and reporting requirements and we wanted to be able to manage these changes ourselves. The Agresso solution will not only modernize our business functions, it will allow us to be self-sufficient in the future." - Nigel Lockyer, director of TRIUMF

"With nearly 100 programs in more than 40 countries worldwide, we looked for an agile tool that would be able to meet the needs of our operations overseas as well as at home. We sought functionally rich software that could grow with us to meet the evolving and dynamic needs of our organization into the future." - Matt Renaud, chief financial officer, ACDI/VOCA.

"Agresso has allowed IAVI to integrate multiple global human resource data sources, enhancing our organization's effectiveness, efficiency and execution through streamlined processes and improved reporting capability.Before Agresso, determining our turnover rate and headcount took weeks - now it takes seconds using the software's Excelerator report." - Joseph Abbondandolo, director of reward management and HRIS at the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

"IPM's legacy ERP could not fulfill its multi-currency requirements or business requirements, leading to our search for Agresso Business World and its inherent flexibility to change as IPM's business requirements change.  As well, the UNIT4 team has been a tremendous resource during our planning and design phases, using their unique approach to knowledge transfer that keeps IPM from being hostage to expensive consultants. Agresso will give will give IPM the ability to generate accurate information when it's needed - something our disparate former systems could never do." -

Richard Machanoff, director of information systems and technology for the International Partnership of Microbicides (IPM).

"The global implementation of Agresso has allowed us to be true to one of our five core values which is Accountability - we take personal responsibility for using our resources efficiently, achieving measurable results, and being accountable to supporters, partners and, most of all, children. Agresso helps us demonstrate to our donors where money has been spent and continuously improve the frontline services we provide to children across the world as requirements change." - Pam Innes, Director of IPU Transition, Save the Children

"Agresso is revolutionising the way the British Red Cross manages its financial information and reporting. We are simplifying our processes, reducing paperwork and pushing down administration costs and by better managing the vital funds that are raised we can be more effective"  - Carol O'Neill, Deputy Director of Finance, British Red Cross.

With around 120 customers in the non-profit sector, including eight of the top 50 UK non-profit organizations and a number of well-known global not-for-profit organizations, UNIT4 thoroughly understands this vertical and provides solutions that directly address the challenges it faces. UNIT4 software provides these organizations with the agility to operate efficiently and with low ongoing cost of ownership enabling them to turn a far higher percentage of grants/funding into services that help the people who need it the most. As unique as non-profit customers are, they do share a common characteristic with all UNIT4 customers: the need to respond to frequent change and the desire to embrace it.

About UNIT4 Business Software

UNIT4 Business Software in North America (http://www.unit4software.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UNIT4, a $576 million enterprise resource planning (ERP) company and a top six mid-market ERP software player globally. UNIT4 Business Software's leading ERP product for organizations living in change, Agresso Business World, is widely acknowledged as the business software solution that delivers the lowest Total Cost of Change. The software's unique VITA™ architecture allows for ongoing, post-implementation changes by business users, without the external IT costs typical of disparate systems. 

Over 3,000 companies and organizations in 100 countries deploy Agresso Business World for both operational support and strategic management. The company's role-based, Web Services and Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled solutions include Financial Management, Human Resources and Payroll, Procurement Management, Project Costing and Billing, Reporting and Analytics, Business Process Automation, and Field Services and Asset Maintenance. 

The names of actual companies or products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Agresso, Agresso Business World, BLINC and VITA are registered trademarks of UNIT4 Business Software.

Media contact:

Sarah Milner
Marketing & Communications Manager, UNIT4 Business Software
P: +1-250-704-4484
C: +1-250-516-2137
E: [email protected]
Twitter: @UNIT4SoftwareNA

SOURCE UNIT4 Business Software