IBM Lotus Notes/Domino applications now also available for web and cloud setups in the Nordic countries

Frankfurt am Main, 23 May 2012 – GROUP Business Software AG (GBS) has joined forces with Finnish IT specialist Sofor Oy to distribute its product range and in particular to modernise IBM Notes/Domino applications. This is the next step in GBS’ drive to increase its presence on the Scandinavian market. Donova AB (Sweden) and Inopi A/S (Denmark) also rank amongst the new Nordic partners to GBS, a leading provider of solutions and services for the IBM Collaboration platform. "We are delighted to be working with GBS, a high renowned and competent partner with expertise in Lotus which has firmly established the company as a leading and innovative force in the IT business," says Jukka-Pekka Sorvisto, CEO of Sofor. He believes that since the Internet and social business have become increasingly important, modernisation offers the ideal starting point for overcoming challenges such as cloud computing and web enabling.

By automatically converting existing IBM Notes/Domino applications into XPages applications, GBS produces the modern infrastructures needed for social business. All applications can then be used in browsers and from the cloud as well as in Notes clients. The GBS method takes companies through the project one step at a time and ensures that no unexpected data changes occur during the process. The high degree of automation produces savings of up to 90 percent compared with manual application modernisation.

IBM believes that the collaboration between GBS and Sofor will deliver major added value for business users in Scandinavia. "The GBS and Sofor collaboration is an example of how tapping into specific synergy effects can make a product even more attractive for the customer. By dovetailing GBS’ modernisation solutions and Sofor’s expertise in smoothly upgrading existing IBM Notes/Domino applications, this will bring the user even more cost-effectiveness and competitiveness,” explains Morten Meier, Nordic Channel & Sales Manager at IBM Collaboration Solutions & Social Business.

Constanze Zarth, COO at GBS, also comments on the expertise of the new distribution partner. “Sofor has more than 20 years of experience in the IT sector and is a proven IBM partner with a local presence. This makes them perfect for driving forwards the success of our modernisation strategy in Scandinavia and assisting Finnish companies in web- and cloud-enabling their applications,” is Zarth’s positive summary of the venture.