Smart Software Announces SFCloud: Flexible SaaS Demand Forecasting Implementation

In a move that broadens the market for its flagship product, SmartForecasts, Smart Software, Inc. announced SFCloud. SFCloud is a full-featured version of SmartForecasts now available as a software-as-a-service solution. It gives organizations more flexibility in how they deploy SmartForecasts in widely dispersed organizations. The inaugural version of SFCloud features SmartForecasts 9.0.

The SaaS model makes powerful demand planning capabilities available to large and small companies, eliminating much of the complexity associated with sophisticated enterprise applications. With SFCloud, Smart Software installs upgrades and fixes automatically, manages the infrastructure for the customer, and provides much more rigorous security than most company IT organizations are able to deliver.

Companies that prefer a ‘pay as you go’ operating expenditure over the capital purchase of a perpetual license will appreciate the financial flexibility SFCloud affords. While all the functionality of SmartForecasts is available with SFCloud, customers can choose to use the features that they need, for the number of users they need, when they need them. Pricing for the software as a service option is based on the features selected and the number of simultaneous users.

“SFCloud is a significant move for us as we continue to add value to our customers’ demand planning operations,” said Nelson Hartunian, president and CEO of Smart Software. “It gives customers additional implementation options, and opens a market for us with new customers needing a robust enterprise-class demand forecasting solution, accurate intermittent demand forecasting, and more, but don’t have the budget or infrastructure to implement it.”

SFCloud helps demand planners handle large data sets, sales seasonality, promotions, new and aging products, multi-dimensional hierarchies, bills of materials, and intermittently demanded service parts and capital goods items. It also provides inventory managers with accurate estimates of the optimal inventory and safety stock required to meet future orders and achieve desired service levels. SFCloud integrates with virtually any ERP or supply chain planning system including solutions from SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, Sage and Epicor.