The ‘X’ Factor

Thanks to its top-class products and services, Focus Softnet rose from a regional IT company to a multinational business solutions provide. Its products not only include state-of-the-art technology but are also feature-rich built through extensive research, says Ali Hyder, Group CEO, Focus Softnet

Please highlight your Middle East footprint and how you’ve established yourself as a reliable ERP software provider in the region?

Established in 1992, Focus Softnet consistently develops products that are user-friendly, flexible, and adapted to the requirements of your business, built using up-to-date, feature-rich, state-of-the-art technologies. This proactivity is what makes our company a reliable ERP software provider in the region. Our company focuses on continuous R&D and teamwork to stay ahead of the challenges of today’s competitive business environment by providing innovative, custom-built IT solutions.

With close to 30 years of experience and multi-domain expertise, Focus Softnet’s consulting services and skills are backed by deep insight and knowledge of the industry, proving to be a trustworthy ERP software provider in the Middle East and beyond. Focus Softnet has now evolved into a multinational organization with 27 offices in 17 countries across Asia, Middle East, Africa and North America.

You are celebrating your 25th anniversary this year with the launch of Focus X at GITEX. What value proposition are you offering your customers with this?

Twenty-five years is a significant milestone, and we wanted to ensure that we launch an ERP software that will allow businesses today to thrive in the current digital landscape. Focus X’s ERP capabilities are extensive because it enables organizations to operate with ease and flexibility. The software simplifies and automates a vast range of tasks for almost every function in an organization with unmatched speed, and it is directly available on your mobile device, too. Featuring in-memory computing, advanced AI through Artificially Intelligent and Futuristic Applications (AIFA), and predictive data-analysis and forecasting, Focus X empowers organizations as it allows users to communicate with ERP and ask it to perform tasks when needed. And if you need something specific, you can just ask AIFA – from a report, document, or data, with a single verbal command, AIFA’s VUI (Voice User Interface) will have it prepared in no time.

Additionally, Focus X incorporates banking right within the application. Businesses can now initiate real-time transactions, and automatically reconcile their bank statements with entries in the accounting ledger, a simple, yet secure process.

Focus X is based on AI technology and given the risk with automated platforms, how safe is Focus X for its consumers?

AI is now one of the most relevant and prominent technologies in the digital stratosphere, and multiple industries are adopting it into their systems to keep up with digital transformation and flourish. Focus X maintains the privacy of both organizations and individuals by building frameworks to control security and information access between, and granted across different departments.

What kind of ERP and CRM solutions are in demand by businesses today, and how are you meeting those demands?

Within ERP and CRM solutions, the following elements are steadily gaining prominence and will continue to be in demand over the next 3 to 5 years: Artificial Intelligence – an integrated AI would support an organization’s interaction with its stakeholders, from customers to vendors to employees, and receive critical information for decision making. Most CRM and ERP software are now either providing or gearing towards releasing AI embedded applications. Hybrid Cloud – almost all CRM/ERPs will be sold as an out-of-box product without a long deployment time as most of the ERPs will be offered as vertical-readysolutions. ERP and CRM as a platform – according to Gartner, the future of ERP and CRM software will be more of a composable platform system. This will allow organizations to plug-in or integrate various components as required, without having to go through a long and costly deployment phase. Focus X addresses most of the above-mentioned features with integrated AI modules, and provides seamless integration with multiple plug and play modules, offered on-premise and on cloud license.