IFS workflows are designed to automate business processes within IFS Cloud software.

Basics:

• A workflow is essentially a sequence of automated steps triggered by a specific event. These events can be user actions or system activities.

Types of workflows:

There are two main categories:

1. User Interaction Workflows: These come into play when a user performs an action that requires additional information. The workflow prompts the user for this data, which can then be used to make decisions within the process or trigger other actions.
2. Validation Workflows: These run behind the scenes to automatically validate data or perform actions based on predefined rules. They can be triggered by various events, such as creating, reading, updating, or deleting data within the system.

Setting up:

Basic steps involved in creating and deploying a workflow:

1. Design the workflow:
   This involves defining the sequence of steps and any decision points (gateways) based on your business logic.
2. Deploy the workflow:
   Once designed, the workflow needs to be deployed within IFS Cloud.
3. Configure the trigger: You need to specify the event that will initiate the workflow.
   This can be:
   • a user action
   • a system event
   • another workflow.

Benefits with workflows:

• Increased Efficiency: Automating repetitive tasks saves time and frees up employees to focus on more strategic work.
• Improved Accuracy: Reduced manual intervention minimizes errors and ensures consistent process execution.
• Enhanced Visibility: Workflows provide a clear picture of the business process, making it easier to track progress and identify bottlenecks.

Configurations differs from customization’s, as they are create inside the application and do have many limitations on what you can do with it. On the other hand configurations are much easier to learn. You do not need to be a experienced developer experienced in writing PL/SQL code. Still you need to have at least some technical understanding in how IFS works.
Even with limitations configurations have you can create quite advance solutions.
Important befits are that it easy to add and remove, including move changes between environment with configuration package.

Configurations allow you to tailor the software to your specific business needs without modifying the core code. This empowers you to optimize functionalities, automate processes, and extend the platform’s capabilities.

Types of Configurations:

• Data Model: You can configure new entities (tables) to store custom data relevant to your business processes.
• Custom Objects: The Custom Objects page lets you manage configurations related to the data model and custom events.
• Custom Pages: IFS Cloud Page Designer enables you to design customized pages for data input, display, and interaction within the application.
• Workflows: These are automated sequences of tasks triggered by specific events to streamline business processes and eliminate manual work.
• Navigation: You can configure the navigation menus within IFS Cloud to provide users with a personalized view and easy access to the functionalities they use most often.

Benefits of Configurations:

• Improved Efficiency: Automating tasks and streamlining processes through configurations saves time and resources.
• Enhanced User Experience: Customized pages and navigation can improve user experience by providing a more intuitive and personalized interface.
• Better Alignment with Business Needs: Configurations allow you to tailor the system to your specific workflows and data requirements.

Deployment and Management:

• The approach to deploying and managing configurations depends on their purpose and complexity.
• Simple configurations can be applied directly within the IFS Cloud administration tools.
• More complex configurations or those intended for broader user adoption might benefit from being implemented and managed through IFS Cloud Build Place. This development environment provides a safe space for testing and version control before deploying configurations to your production system.

IFS Cloud Build Place serves as a critical environment for managing and maintaining your IFS Cloud deployments. Build Place acts as a dedicated workspace for customizing, testing, and deploying updates to your IFS Cloud instance. It provides a safe and isolated environment to experiment with changes without affecting your production environment, which is crucial for maintaining business continuity.

Key functionalities:

• Version Control: Build Place uses Git to allow you to manage different versions of your IFS Cloud configuration and customization’s. This enables you to track changes, revert to previous configurations if needed, and ensure version control throughout the update process.
• Customization and Development: Within Build Place, you can tailor the IFS Cloud application to meet your specific business needs. This can involve creating custom fields, modifying workflows, or integrating with external systems.
• Testing: Build Place provides a platform using Git branches that enable you to perform thorough testing of your customization’s and updates in temporary environments, before deploying them to your production environment. This testing helps identify and fix any potential issues before they impact your live system.
• Deployment Management: Once testing is complete, Build Place facilitates the deployment of approved updates to your production IFS Cloud instance. This deployment process can be streamlined and automated for efficiency.

Benefits of using IFS Cloud Build Place:

• Reduced Risk: Build Place minimizes the risk of introducing errors or disruptions to your production environment by providing a safe testing ground for updates.
• Improved Efficiency: Streamlined version control, development, testing, and deployment processes within Build Place enhance overall efficiency in managing your IFS Cloud instance.
• Greater Control: Build Place empowers you to manage your IFS Cloud environment according to your specific business needs and preferences.

Overall, IFS Cloud Build Place plays a vital role in ensuring a controlled and efficient update process for your IFS Cloud deployments. It offers a secure environment for customization, testing, and version control, ultimately contributing to a more stable and optimized IFS Cloud experience.

About updates

IFS Cloud offers two distinct update mechanisms to keep your system current: service updates and release updates.

Service Updates:

• Bug fixes, security patches, and minor enhancements to existing functionalities within your current IFS Cloud version.
• These updates are delivered every month for 24 months for a release update.
• Applied automatically in the background without any downtime or manual intervention required on your end. This ensures your system remains up-to-date with the latest fixes and improvements.

Release Updates:

• Introduce new features, significant functionality enhancements, and major bug fixes.
• Occur less frequently than service updates, typically on a bi-annual basis.
• Require a more deliberate process involving planning, testing, and deployment through IFS Cloud Build Place and Release Update Studio. This environment allows you to test the update in a safe, isolated space before deploying it to your production environment.