Actian Case Studies Unit4 C-Logic's High-Performance Accounting Solution with Actian Zen Database

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	Unit4 C-Logic's High-Performance Accounting Solution with Actian Zen Database Actian

Unit4 C-Logic's High-Performance Accounting Solution with Actian Zen Database

Actian

Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
Applicable Industries	Electrical Grids Finance & Insurance
Applicable Functions	Maintenance
Use Cases	Leasing Finance Automation Material Handling Automation
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services System Integration
Challenge	Unit4 C-Logic, a Bruges-based company, was in search of a high-performance accounting solution that was easy to manage and designed around Belgian accounting rules. The company wanted an embeddable, performance-oriented database that could operate optimally without ongoing administration. The challenge was to find a database that could deliver high performance, extensibility, and scalability without requiring the active involvement of a database administrator (DBA). This was crucial as their target customers were small-to-mid-sized accounting firms, which typically do not have sophisticated (and costly) database administration skills. The company needed a database that could reliably deliver a high-performance experience without the ongoing attention or cost of a DBA. Read More
About Customer	Unit4 C-Logic is a division of Unit4 Business Software. Prior to its acquisition by Unit4, the Bruges-based company was known as C-Logic. Its Venice accounting and invoicing system has been a mainstay for Belgian accountants since 1985. The company was building one of the first standalone accounting packages designed to meet the needs of small and mid-sized Belgian accounting firms. Many of Unit4 C-Logic's clients are firms with only two to three accountants, while others have hundreds of accountants working on a server- or cloud-based instance of Venice. Read More
Solution	The solution came in the form of Actian Zen, a zero-administration, embeddable, nano-footprint database that provides both NoSQL and SQL access to data. Actian Zen consists of four editions—Core, Edge, Enterprise, and Cloud—that support every modern use case from the IoT to field and branch on-premises as well as the cloud. Actian Zen Core can be embedded on single-user or IoT devices and pass data opportunistically to edge servers running Actian Zen Edge for local analysis and processing. All editions of Actian Zen rely on the same data file formats, allowing data to move back and forth without the need for extract, transform, and load (ETL) services that sometimes create performance bottlenecks in a client-server scenario. The database also allows transactions to be executed quickly through the high-performance Btrieve API while modeling and reporting needs benefit from the flexibility and power enabled by the relational SQL interface. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases

Applicable Industries

Electrical Grids

Finance & Insurance

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Use Cases

Leasing Finance Automation

Material Handling Automation

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

System Integration

Challenge

Unit4 C-Logic, a Bruges-based company, was in search of a high-performance accounting solution that was easy to manage and designed around Belgian accounting rules. The company wanted an embeddable, performance-oriented database that could operate optimally without ongoing administration. The challenge was to find a database that could deliver high performance, extensibility, and scalability without requiring the active involvement of a database administrator (DBA). This was crucial as their target customers were small-to-mid-sized accounting firms, which typically do not have sophisticated (and costly) database administration skills. The company needed a database that could reliably deliver a high-performance experience without the ongoing attention or cost of a DBA.

About Customer

Unit4 C-Logic is a division of Unit4 Business Software. Prior to its acquisition by Unit4, the Bruges-based company was known as C-Logic. Its Venice accounting and invoicing system has been a mainstay for Belgian accountants since 1985. The company was building one of the first standalone accounting packages designed to meet the needs of small and mid-sized Belgian accounting firms. Many of Unit4 C-Logic's clients are firms with only two to three accountants, while others have hundreds of accountants working on a server- or cloud-based instance of Venice.

Solution

The solution came in the form of Actian Zen, a zero-administration, embeddable, nano-footprint database that provides both NoSQL and SQL access to data. Actian Zen consists of four editions—Core, Edge, Enterprise, and Cloud—that support every modern use case from the IoT to field and branch on-premises as well as the cloud. Actian Zen Core can be embedded on single-user or IoT devices and pass data opportunistically to edge servers running Actian Zen Edge for local analysis and processing. All editions of Actian Zen rely on the same data file formats, allowing data to move back and forth without the need for extract, transform, and load (ETL) services that sometimes create performance bottlenecks in a client-server scenario. The database also allows transactions to be executed quickly through the high-performance Btrieve API while modeling and reporting needs benefit from the flexibility and power enabled by the relational SQL interface.

Impact #1	The implementation of Actian Zen has resulted in a flexible, responsive solution built around a reliable, high-performance database requiring no tuning or end-user maintenance. The accountants using the Venice system, built around Actian Zen, do not need to perform any database administration to ensure optimal performance of the application. Even among clients who have access to a sophisticated IT team, there is ongoing appreciation for the zero-administration qualities of Actian Zen. The IT team doesn’t need to work on tuning Venice or its underlying database, allowing them to focus their attention on more pressing issues. The extensibility of Actian Zen enables it to remain hidden within Venice yet continuously responsive to customer and developer needs. Over the years, developers at Unit4 C-Logic have written a number of automation routines to facilitate interaction with the Actian Zen database at different times, further enhancing the user experience.

Impact #1

The implementation of Actian Zen has resulted in a flexible, responsive solution built around a reliable, high-performance database requiring no tuning or end-user maintenance. The accountants using the Venice system, built around Actian Zen, do not need to perform any database administration to ensure optimal performance of the application. Even among clients who have access to a sophisticated IT team, there is ongoing appreciation for the zero-administration qualities of Actian Zen. The IT team doesn’t need to work on tuning Venice or its underlying database, allowing them to focus their attention on more pressing issues. The extensibility of Actian Zen enables it to remain hidden within Venice yet continuously responsive to customer and developer needs. Over the years, developers at Unit4 C-Logic have written a number of automation routines to facilitate interaction with the Actian Zen database at different times, further enhancing the user experience.

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Overview

Unit4 C-Logic's High-Performance Accounting Solution with Actian Zen Database

Operational Impact