On 12 July the drug manufacturer requested a halt to trading of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and said the release of its annual results would be delayed.
The company said it needed to resolve a number of issues relating to a "complex changeover" in IT systems but said the new systems were working smoothly.
In a subsequent statement issued last Friday, API said the move completed in March involved migrating from "an outdated mainframe system and associated financial package to a fully integrated ERP system".
Today, a spokesperson for API told ZDNet Australia that the ERP system was Movex, although he declined to comment further on the technical nature of API's difficulties. Intentia merged with Lawson Software in April to form a new software company under the Lawson name.
He also declined to reveal the nature of the "specialist IT resources" which API said on Friday it had brought in to resolve the issue.
In the Friday statement API said the investment regulator had allowed an extension, with API's annual results now due by or on 14 August. API said at this time a detailed explanation of the IT disaster would also be provided.
API said the IT problems had not affected its ability to service its customers.
Did the outdated mainframe system chug along for years without a problem?
Did an academic or other know-it-all(s) argue long and hard for the mainframe to be retired?
Did the individual(s) who instigated the project receive a big bonus and leave well before the house of cards he/she/they built began collapsing?
Is it the dinosaur mainframers who are trying to get the mudpile back into the horse or did they have the good sense to abandon API to its fate after API abandoned them?
Yet again the mainframe shows why it will always be the superior platform for corporate computing. With VMWARE on Linux LPAR's, the future of an MVS or DOS/VSE mainframe's future is assured and very interesting indeed. What a pity API followed the fashion of the day.