AST Press Release

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Martin Small Vice President, Business Development Applications Software Technology Corporation, (AST Corporation) 1755 Park Street – Suite 100 Naperville, IL 60563 Toll Free: 888-AST-0002 Fax: 630-778-1179 Email: info@astcorporation.com www.astcorporation.com
DATE: October 16, 2006
HEADLINE: AST Implements Oracle E-Business Suite for Polk County, Florida. County's Legacy Systems Replaced with a Unified, Enterprise-Wide Structure for Finance, Budgeting, Purchasing and Human Resources.
Naperville, IL – Applications Software Technology, a Certified Advantage Partner in the Oracle Partner Network, announces a successful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) go-live at Polk County, one of Florida's largest counties. The launch of the ERP system, running on Oracle Applications, is a major milestone for the County in its continuous quest to respond quickly to the needs of its citizens and businesses, and to efficiently collect data related to people, expenditures, projects, budgets and revenues. Commonly referred by County users by its acronym -- POWER (Polk Oracle Web Enabled Resources) -- the system is a deployment of Oracle E-Business Suite for the Polk County Board of County Commissioners, the governing body of the County, as well as the County's Clerk of Courts, the County's chief financial officer, comptroller and treasurer. This system automates and serves key County business processes including financial management, procurement, inventory management, project and grants management, human resources management and payroll management. The County's previous system, Governmental Accounting Financial Reporting System (GAFRS), had been in use since 1987, was outdated and limited the ability of managers to access needed data across departments. The County had an urgent need for a well-functioning information platform to improve business insights and management efficiency, as well as mitigate various risks. After three months of deliberation and comparison, Polk County chose Oracle as its applications provider and chose AST to provide full implementation services. The first phase of the project was launched in November 2005, with the target go-live date met on schedule. With the new ERP system, the County's staff has more time to analyze information, quickly generate real-time reports and develop solutions to problems. With Oracle E-Business Suite, the County will have timely access of synchronized financial information and benefit from deep insight into the accounts, budgets, inventories, transactions, and costs across all departments. The County staff can spend more time on critical interaction with data, with confidence that their processes and analyses are based on data shared by the rest of the County. "Paper-based processes have become obsolete; our new system eliminates inefficiencies inherent in those old processes and will give County staff more time to analyze critical data," said Mr. Richard M. Weiss, Clerk and Accountant to the Board of County Commissioners. "We will be able to view a comprehensive picture of our competence and effectiveness across all County departments." "One of my main goals as County manager is to give our staff the best tools available to do their jobs as efficiently as possible. The Oracle system allows each of our departments to have access to real-time, accurate information," said Mr. Michael Herr, County Manager. "In addition, duplication of effort, a problem under our former system, will become a thing of the past thanks to the ability of the new system to provide comprehensive, global data to all users. One of the hallmarks of the Oracle system is its ability to provide the Board of Commissioners timely information needed to make good business decisions." "Automation of business systems can dramatically improve the way local government functions," said Mark Johnson, Oracle Public Sector Senior Vice President. "By integrating their business processes with Oracle E-Business Suite, Polk County officials have opened the doorway to greater efficiency and improved service that will benefit employees, citizens and local businesses." Through the combined efforts of AST and County staff, this extensive implementation was achieved on a tight timeline. "The team, along with consultants from AST Corporation, gave 110% to ensure the smooth conversion to the new system," said Mr. Weiss. "The project has been aggressively in process for 11 months and has been implemented on time and under budget." About Polk County Polk County, Florida, one of Florida’s largest county’s strategically located in the center of the peninsula, is known as the phosphate, water skiing and citrus capital of the world. With a rapidly growing population, Polk County has also become one of Florida’s leading manufacturing and distribution hubs with its central location and highway connections. Polk County has become a priority location for national and international business. About AST Corporation Established in 1995, Applications Software Technology (AST) Corporation is an Oracle Certified Advantage Partner, an Oracle University training and delivery partner, and a certified Oracle On-Demand implementation provider. AST offers professional consulting services to Oracle Applications users and serves industry-leading organizations in manufacturing, transportation, insurance, retailing, telecommunications and the public sector. Clients look to AST Corporation for assistance in business process redesign, project management, systems integration, systems administration and training. For more information about AST Corporation please visit our web site at www.astcorporation.com.