"WorkACE is a Web 2.0 based SaaS solution that offers a whole online business environment". A Review by PCQuest Jan, 2008

" WorkACE is a SaaS based Business Process Management (BPM) system with collaboration from QXSystems. The company calls it an e-working facility. The system has features such as Groupware, KMS, Business Process Management, Business Ecosystem management, Supply chain management, eSupport and Collaboration, which includes Webmail, Chat, WorkFlow Management, etc. And with all these BPM features, the system can easily work even as a small scale ERP solution for SMBs. The company sells the system in two forms. One is the SaaS model where one doesn't even need to bother about the deployment and management of the system. The other model is where applications are actually deployed in ones premises as an Intranet. This option is suitable for those who are paranoid about their security and don't want their company data to sit on someone else's network or over the Internet.

Prerequisites and Deployment

The prerequisites for the WorkACE SaaS model are very less. Basically, you require an Internet connection. Even a dial up will work (we tried it out on dial up and it performed pretty responsibly). You will then require an OS (could be either of Windows, Linux or MAC) that supports Mozilla Firefox browser. Firefox is a must for the system to work because first, the officially supported browser for WorkACE is Firefox and second, when we tried it out with IE 6, it didn't even let us login. This means you would require Firefox to be installed on all machines to run WorkACE.

This can actually be a drawback for the system in some cases. Being a browser based SaaS model application, it has great usability on thin clients. An organization can save on deployment costs by replacing all workstations where WorkACE is going to be used, with thin clients. However, most thin clients don't support app installation and come with either IE or some other browser instead of FireFox. In such a case the system might not even work.

If you choose the SaaS model (which we have reviewed this time), then deployment is just a matter of minutes. All you have to do is purchase WorkACE for users whom you want to give access to the system. Once deployed, you have to create Divisions (essentially a business unit) and Departments in the system, according to your business needs.

The system makes this process simpler by creating the common departments automatically, the moment you create a new Division. Around eleven departments such as HR, R&D, IT Systems, Sales, Marketing, Purchase, etc are auto created. As soon as customization as per your business needs is over, start using the software.

Pricing and Purchase

The SaaS model of WorkACE can be purchased from http://workace.com and costs you around USD9.95 per user per month, which comes to around Rs 400. Along with this you can get licenses for 5 to unlimited number of users, unlimited eFacility, 150MB storage space per user and 1GB data transfer per user per month. The system uses Google to checkout online transactions and takes around 15 minutes to register.

However, the price of the Enterprise Edition, which is essentially a premises installation, is not disclosed. You can write to ghq@qxsystems.com for more information."

Download scanned copy from : http://www.qxsystems.com/docs/WorkACE.com_Jan_2008_PCQuest.pdf

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WorkACE.com launched on 24 March 2007 12:00 noon SGT

Date : Saturday 24th of March 2007 at 12.00pm SGT (9:30am in Chennai India)

Good Morning Friends!

On behalf of the whole team of QXSysters, clients and supporters, I thank you all for making this moment unforgettable.

With the soft/technical launch of WorkACE.com along with releasing the latest version of WorkACE v 2.5; we have created history.

Less than 5 companies in the whole world have reached this level of online service for a SaaS + Web2.0 solution not to talk about what WorkACE as an application has to offer its users.

There are so many layers of technology on top of each other and side-by-side that we can only know after more testing that it all works without problems. As an example I can tell you, that we have built a state-of-the-art computer cluster to run the whole service on, which is fully scalable to 100’s of thousands of active users by just adding more hardware to it. It is also built to be highly available so it’s a very sophisticated piece of engineering indeed. This together with the complete SaaS delivery model was built by our own team in Chennai.

I am sure that, with all your support, WorkACE.com will further mature in the next 6-8 weeks to the next revolution in the ICT world so that we can start a full scale and global marketing campaign. Our only aim is to make WorkACE into the leading brand in the Virtual Working/eWorking Category.

Wishing all Success!!

~ Johan M Karlstedt
Chairman & CEO
QXSystems™

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Abstract from Mr. Tharman Shamugaratnam 2nd Finance Minister - Budget Statement 2007
"Johan M Karlstedt relocated from Finland to the US for several years, before deciding to set up home in Singapore — both for his company and his family. The company that he founded, QXSystems, creates virtual offices for businesses. As he puts it, with the Internet, it does not matter if you are in a small country. QXSystems now owns five companies around the world, and is headquartered in Singapore."

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Living in Singapore.. The Real Thing - An article in ScandAsia Feb 2007
Johan M Karlstedt is building the virtual working communities that he believes will be the norm in the future. As an example of virtual living, Johan Karlstadt's four children though staying in Singapore, are being schooled in a US school. One does not necessarily have to be in a particular set location to work or study in it.

Johan M Karlstedt's company, QXSystems provides software for virtual working communities and is built on the QXS philosophy about building success in individuals, groups and organizations, developed also by the interesting Finnish businessman.

With a background in engineering, Johan founded his first company in Finland, Coolex® Oy, a successful air-conditioning and cooling equipment manufacturer. After selling his company in 1998, Johan and his family relocated to the United States for several years before moving to Singapore a year ago.

“Everything you see about the US on TV is true,” says Johan, “The drugs, the shootings, the corruption, the attitudes…you can’t really be highly productive there.” In 2005, the family had enough and decided that perhaps it would be best to leave the US and head to Asia for some exploration, one of the reasons being that Johan was also developing software with his partners in India. He noted that many of his friends kept talking about Singapore and how organized and nice it was. There were also many horror stories about the state being clinical and how one could get thrown into jail for chewing gum so it was a place he had mixed feelings about. Their first impression of Asia was Bangkok where they stayed for a month, then Singapore. The family had their doubts about Singapore; it was the rainy season. The darkness and gloom was anything but inviting. It was two weeks before the weather improved and the family explored the rest of sunny Singapore, falling in love with the country. They subsequently postponed their Hong Kong trip and stayed in Singapore for several months.

“What I discovered and love about Singapore is that unlike the United States, you don’t have to constantly keep watching your children,” says Johan, “It’s not because I don’t trust my children, I did not trust the people.” “It took a while for my children to get used to the freedom,” adds Johan, “My wife Liisa and I actually had to tell them to ‘Go out! Do something on your own!’” From January to March 2006, the Karlstedts returned to the United States, packed everything up and moved to Singapore permanently.

Formulating Work and Life
Johan’s main line of work involves him creating international online working communities, allowing for workspace mobility that defies physical limitations of an office. His company, QXSystems founded by Johan in 1998 aims to introduce the concept of working virtually, literally.

As Johan explained, the knowledge age with the use of the Internet would be the next revolutionary era after the agricultural and industrial periods. The basis of his theory of the online epoch is founded on the US’s success with the invention of the steam engine in Europe and the subsequent innovations such as steam trains and railroads. No longer was the sea an obstacle nor the only choice in delivering products, other variables and people. The option of land transportation was undoubtedly a turning point in the growth of America. At each rest stop, cities were built and the communities grew into the present state of America.

In a similar fashion, the Internet is helping to bring communities together, the only difference being that while the railroad network was able to bring American communities together, the Internet is bringing the world together as one large community.

This can be seen true in the success of online communities such as YouTube and MySpace, where people from all over the world gather together online to communicate. According to Alexa Internet – a subsidiary off Amazon.com that provides information on web traffic, MySpace is currently the world's fourth most popular English-language website and the sixth most popular website in any language.

WorkACE is QXSystem’s software that enables the creation of a virtual working environment. The software development started in 2000 with Johan examining existing software. Most of them were developed based on the assumption that the company’s staff physically works in only one location.

The software developed by QXSystems is highly innovative. Information is organized into virtual structures translating the physical working environment into a highly efficient virtual format. As an example of virtual living, Johan’s four children though staying in Singapore, are being schooled in a US school. It seems that one does not necessarily have to be in a particular set location to work or study in it.

Although having such a great innovation on hand, Johan has slight difficulty introducing this concept to Asia, especially Singapore. The biggest difference between the Americans and Singaporeans, as noted by Johan is that Singaporeans are not risk-takers the way Americans are; an attribute that works great for them.

“Americans understand that you have to lose a couple of times before you win. Singaporeans are so afraid of losing that they don’t win.” He says, “It’s a pity because Singaporeans have so much potential but they want to play safe.

Johan also adds that both him and 40% of Americans work from home, a fact that most of the Singaporeans he has met with are uncomfortable with.

“When Singaporeans ask me where I work from and I say home, they are often confused.” he laughs.

A Blueprint of the Future
Johan believes that the virtual working environment will create a surge in the professional world within a couple of years. He also feels that the coming internet work era holds tremendous amount of opportunities for Singapore. With the Internet, who needs the physical size of the US?

A comprehensive Software-as-a-Service version for SME’s will launch early this year at WorkACE.com. QXSystems also aims to donate USD 100 million to charitable organizations worldwide in the form of free soft wear and hosting services. This will be a tremendous boost to the efficiency of these organizations helping them to deliver more aid to where it is needed. At the end of the day, even with the skepticism he has faced in Singapore about his work, Johan can’t complain much about life here.

“I am actually planning to become a Permanent Resident here,” beams Johan, “Really, you Singaporeans do not know how lucky you are!”

Created 2007-02-06 Courtesy ScandAsia

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QXSystems launched WorkACE 2.0 on 10th March 2005
Last update : 15th Mar 2005 13.20 IST

QXSystems™ offers a unique collaborative Virtual Working Community platform for managing enterprise business processes centrally, in one easily accessible place - online. The company was founded by Mr. Johan M. Karlstedt, a visionary who invented the QXS philosophy, which is radically changing the perception of many business leaders about running and building Knowledge Age businesses. QXSystems™ practices the QXS™ philosophy which can improve the success factor of any company on a continuous basis.

QXSystems™ launched WorkACE 2.0 on 10th March 2005 at Hotel Taj Coromandel in Chennai. "WorkACE™ has been developed & will continuously be innovated further keeping in view the needs of the customers in mind" said Mr. Johan. M Karlstedt, Chairman QXSystems™. WorkACE™ interfaces easily with other enterprise applications offering a lower cost & greater flexibility. It is developed by using the powerful QXS™ philosophy and is a tool that enables you to gain unlimited access to business information on demand in your Value Chain Community. With this unique integrated Online Working Platform, you can securely, easily and instantly access the information you need anywhere & anytime. WorkACE™ has built-in and integrated working tools like Intranet, Groupware, KM, CRM, PM, SCM, eHR, webMail, eSupport etc. Special customer requests and stand-alone in-house developed client applications can easily and cost effectively be added on to the WorkACE™ platform as new integrated modules. "We see many opportunities to leverage the strength of virtual business models and to create a brand identity as good as WorkACE™ which will redefine the way future business will be conducted by the companies around the globe" said CEO, Asia Pacific. He further said that I am personally very excited to be a part of this very great concept.

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