Page 121 - A Life - my Live - my path

11. HORIZON Consulting

After leaving the IBS group on May 8, 1995, Synon-2
continued to operate, but our strategic focus shifted more
and more towards services, and in particular the
development of "customized" applications in the Microsoft
environment.
In this context, we were put in touch with a group of some
thirty companies managing social housing in the Brussels-
Capital Region.
This group was determined to develop its own accounting
management solution. This choice was in itself very
surprising, since companies generally use classic solutions
for their accounting and require "customized" developments
for applications linked to their "businesses".
When I asked why, the answer was very simple. They had
invested in an accounting solution from the German
company Mannesmann, which discontinued support. They
had then invested in a solution from the American company
Digital Equipment, which also stopped support. Following
these two setbacks in the space of 5 years, they decided to
develop their own accounting system.
At the first meeting, the chairman explained their
requirements, pointing out that they had a budget of 20
MFB 104 (500.000 €). I, in turn, explained that we always start

with a pre-study, and that at the end of this, I would be able
to give him all the details of the project. At the end of the
pre-study, we had all the information we needed to issue an

104 Millions of Belgian francs.
109