Lalemant is migrating its business-critical Anchr applications to the Oracle Cloud

Lalemant uses Anchr's custom-built Port application to administratively track its core activities. Anchr's Port Software is built entirely on the Oracle Stack (Oracle DB and Oracle Forms) and is linked to Anchr's accounting package Finance Software.

Like Lalemant itself, Anchr's Port Software also has a long history. The application went live as early as 1998. The environment in which both systems operate is fully managed by Anchr, says the IT manager at Lalemant. “Over the years, both solutions have continuously evolved technically alongside the latest versions of Oracle. Functionally, several modifications and expansions have been made to Anchr's Port Software at Lalemant's request. Additionally, Lalemant has regularly carried out a functional upgrade of Anchr's accounting package Finance Software.”

In 2022, Lalemant moved the headquarters to a new location with the aim of accommodating a minimum amount of hardware and migrating workloads to the cloud as much as possible. "The question quickly arose as to whether we should also switch to a new software package," says Lalemant's IT manager. "But we are still satisfied with the current package. The impact on users has always been a starting point; they are used to working with Anchr's Port Software. They can continue to do so, and in the meantime, we can further optimise the package together with Anchr."

Lalemant's cloud-first strategy fits perfectly with the vision and future of Anchr's Finance Software, as Anchr offers the updated accounting software from the Oracle Cloud. "Initially, we will connect the 'old' Anchr's Port Software to the new Anchr's Finance Software," says Björn Vergaelen, CTO at Anchr. "In a subsequent phase, we will migrate the old Anchr's Port Software to Oracle APEX to be fully cloud-native."

One of the arguments for Lalemant to move to the cloud is the complete outsourcing of responsibilities. “It is in the interest of both parties that the management is handled by Anchr, our IT partner who ultimately has the expertise in-house,” says the IT manager of Lalemant. The SaaS cost model in the cloud – based on the number of users – is considerably more cost-effective than the previous licensing model. Additionally, Lalemant does not have to worry about matters such as backups and a power contingency. The software is also available via a secure VPN connection that end-users can access from various locations.

The first steps in the migration process have now been taken. The preliminary research has started to clarify the exact scope of the migration and to design the blueprint for the technical setup. One challenge is connecting Anchr's Port Software to Anchr's new Finance Software. The IT manager of Lalemant: “Over the years, a lot has been rewritten in Anchr's Port Software. We will evaluate which modules we want to keep using or perhaps need to set up differently. After the first demos, we have noticed that we will leap forward: web-based and with a user-friendly interface. We are still working a lot locally and on paper. That will be the next challenge: to engage employees in our further automation.

Once the preliminary investigation has been completed and the design for the final solution has been determined, Anchr will set up the (cloud) environment for it. After training the users and completing the testing phase, the system will go live. “Technically, we are fully confident. The biggest change will be for the users. To train them correctly and help them adapt to the new way of working, the necessary time is allocated.”

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