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Ciber, Inc. is helping to lead Infor Global System’s charge to encourage enterprise customers to upgrade their software. Ciber’s VP of sales Tom Heldt said their partnership is focused on helping clients avoid costly data center modifications by offering industry-specific cloud products. Infor’s focus on verticals is key to the company’s cloud efforts, as the software provider has been late to the table and seeks a service-oriented point of differentiation from rivals like SAP SE and Oracle Corp.

Heldt explained that Ciber and Infor craft software products for specific verticals because it means less downtime for the client. When products optimize business processes, companies don’t need to invest in clunky customization. The most recent Infor upgrade, he said, has been a catalyst for clients across industries to switch to cloud.

Ciber was recently named Infor alliance partner of the year.

See Heldt’s entire interview below.