Prophecy UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Adelaide, South Australia-based Computer Software Packages Pty Ltd, has announced version 1.5 of its financial and business management software. It consists of 19 modules and is based on Ingres Corp’s 6.4 fourth generation language relational database management system. Prophecy works in close partnership with Ingres, and some 75% of sites have Ingres software development licences. The software runs under all Unix and VMS environments, and new features include multi-currency facilities, integrated budget management, invoice registration, and a purchase requisition system. Version 1.0 was launched in January 1990, and Prophecy now boasts 500 sites worldwide, 30 of which are in the UK. Despite its low profile, the Sheffield-based company says its major competitor worldwide is Oracle Corp with its Financials package.
Universities
Prophecy sells exclusively through distributors, the three UK ones being Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire-based Radius Computer Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Radius Plc, Hull; CACI Ltd, the London-based subsidiary of CACI International Inc, Washington; and Datatab Ltd, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Major customers comprise large companies, the public sector and utilities, retail, banking and financial institutions. Current UK installations include Powergen, Dowty, Hambros Bank, and Butterly Brick of the Hanson Group, and average contract values range from ?50,000 to ?750,000, depending on the number of users and the number of modules employed. In addition, Prophecy has won a ?1m contract with nine universities, including Oxford, Salford and Glasgow. The installation of the financial management software will take 18 months, and the company expects another six institutions to follow suit within the next six months. Version 2.0 of Prophecy, with an Ingres-based graphical user interface and new executive information system module, is to be released in the early part to the middle of 1993.
