Unlike the applications developed for users of Web sites like Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, enterprise applications are usually dull.

But this could change. Infor, a US-based enterprise applications developer, has begun recruiting software designers from art, fashion and theatre houses in order to make business apps aesthetic, making them easy and appealing.

“Beautiful enterprise software does seem like a paradox as business applications are not, historically, beautiful. The user interface (UI), which is how people interact with software, has been designed to make business processes easy and fast, but not beautiful,” Soma Somasundaram, Executive Vice-President, Global Product Development, Infor, told Business Line .

The users of business apps deserve better computer interface as they spend all of their office-time working on these apps on their PCs or smart gadgets.

“But we have a different take as we feel apps it can be beautiful. We’ve created our own in house design studio, Hook & Loop, last year in New York,” he said.

Hiring plans

Infor, with revenues of $2.8 billion, will add 150 employees by the end of 2013, taking the total to 1,450 in India. Its Centre of Excellence at Hyderabad, opened in 2010, employs 1,200, while others work from other places in different responsibilities. It hired 200 in India last year.

“The Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Hyderabad contributed $35million in revenue two years ago and this doubled last year to $67 million (Rs 357 crore). This growth exceeded the 20 per cent growth expected last year. This financial year, the revenues will be around $90 million,” he said.

> kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in

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