Unit4


UNIT4 N.V.
Private
Industry Information technology, software
Founded 1980
Headquarters Sliedrecht, Netherlands
Key people
 Chris Ouwinga (founder and chairman),[1] José Duarte (chief executive officer),[1] Stephan Sieber (executive vice president strategy and operations),[1] Goncalo Leitao (executive vice president global services),[1] Ivo Totev (executive vice president global marketing),[1] Paul Vogel (executive vice president global sales),[1] Jeremy Roche (president and chief executive officer FinancialForce.com),[1] Wendy Aendekerk (executive vice president global human resources),[1]
Products ERP and accounting software
Revenue €490.5 million (2013)[2]
Number of employees
 4,156 (FTE, end 2013)[2]
Website www.unit4.com

UNIT4 N.V. is a Dutch software company that provides enterprise software applications and related professional services, similar to SAP, Oracle and other leading ERP-systems, in order to support businesses and organizations of all sizes, globally. Headquartered in Sliedrecht, Netherlands, it has subsidiaries and offices in 26 countries across Europe, North America, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa and it works with local partners to complete its global coverage.[3] The company has been ranked by IDC as a top-six mid-market ERP software player globally.[4] The company’s best-known products are the Agresso ERP suite and the Coda accounting software. It is also the major shareholder of FinancialForce.com,[5] the Cloud Applications company based in San Francisco, California.

History

Founding and aims

The company was founded, as Unit Four International, in 1980,[3] with the (then) quite novel aim of developing platform-independent, standard application software, to offer useful tools and functions that could be used by any employee and that would be based around the business processes of the customer – instead of requiring new or adapted business processes, dictated by the design of the software.

Growth and flotation

The company’s initial geographic focus was on the Benelux region but following a period of accelerating growth in the 1990s and its public listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in 1998,[3] it embarked on a strategy of expansion. Early acquisitions included companies such as Acoso, Omegon, X-International and Digis.[3]

International expansion

In 2000, Unit4 merged with the Norwegian ERP software house Agresso Group ASA[6] and the company name was changed to Unit4Agresso. In 2008, it purchased the UK-listed accounting software company, CODA.[7] In 2010 it bought Polish software company Teta.[8] In August 2011 it expanded its Asia-Pacific operations further with the acquisition of HR Software provider PROSOFT.[8]

Rebranding

In 2010, Unit4Agresso rebranded, changing its main company name to Unit4 and rebranding its subsidiary operations around the world to incorporate the Unit4 name[9] Nowadays, Unit4 has subsidiaries and offices in 26 countries across Europe, North-America, Asia-Pacific and Africa, as well as sales activities in several other countries.

Software

Availability

Unit4 develops, sells and supports a range of business software titles, which can be delivered as a traditional on-premises deployment or via the cloud in a choice of Software as a Service (SaaS) models.[10]

A number of its products are long-established brands and available worldwide, such as the Agresso[11] ERP suite and the Coda [12] financial management software. In addition, the company offers other software solutions of various types, which are available from one or more of its subsidiaries, depending on each product’s relevance and suitability for use in a given country.

International products

The software offers a choice of deployment methods:[13] a smart-client (i.e. Windows-based client) and a platform-independent “Self Service” client that runs via a web browser. It comprises a number of core modules, which include:[13] Financials, Planning & Budgeting, Human Resources & Payroll, Project Costing & Billing, Procurement, Business Process Automation, Field Service Team Management, etc. and supports a range of technologies[14] that allow integration with third-party/legacy systems through various formats, including XML. It also allows for data warehousing and data retrieval through an integrated suite of desktop reporting tools, including "Excelerator", which provides users the ability to run queries though Microsoft Excel and returns the data set within the Excel application.[14]
The software offers a choice of deployment methods:[15] an open client/server[16] edition, supported on a matrix of operating system and database server combinations; a platform-independent browser-based client; and as a web service to embed the software as the finance engine within any other application suite. It comprises a number of core financial management modules,[17] which include: Accounting, Spend Management, Budgeting, Consolidation & Treasury management, Process & Control Automation, and Reporting & Analysis. So as to co-exist and integrate with other business systems, the product’s Link[18] system architecture has been designed to support a range of technologies that enable integration with third-party/legacy systems, through various formats, including XML and web services.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "UNIT4 Management Team". Unit4. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Annual Report 2013" (PDF). Unit4.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Annual Report 2009". Unit4. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Press release: "Unit 4 Agresso #6 on IDC's global mid-market ERP ranking"". Unit4. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  5. ↑ "Press release: "UNIT4 Agresso creates new company with minority investment from salesforce.com"". Unit4. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Company news: "Unit 4 will offer NOK 20.56 per Agresso share"". NYSE Euronext. 29 Dec 2000. Retrieved 22 Oct 2010.
  7. ↑ "Press release: "CODA offer declared unconditional in all respects"". Unit4. 26 Feb 2008. Retrieved 20 Oct 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Press release: "UNIT4 complets acquisition of Teta"". Unit4. 29 Nov 2010. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Press release: Unit4 Agresso rebrands to consolidate its position as one of the biggest global software firms". Unit4. 28 Jan 2010. Retrieved 1 Mar 2010.
  10. ↑ "The 5 differences for cloud success". Unit4. 15 Jul 2014.
  11. ↑ "Example trademark registration Agresso: serial no. 74223687". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  12. ↑ "Example trademark registration Coda: serial No. 73763098". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Enterprise Resource Planning for Organizations that Embrace Change". Unit4. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "White paper: "ABW – ERP with no expiry date"". Unit4. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  15. ↑ "Supported Platforms & Languages". Unit4. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  16. ↑ "PC Mag encyclopedia". Ziff Davis, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  17. ↑ "Products – Coda Financials Overview". Unit4. Retrieved 29 October 2010.

External links