A leading business software provider, Baan, has appointed IT Alliance Consulting as a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of its applications for Ireland. The arrangement will see IT Alliance distributing, implementing and supporting a range of Baan applications for Irish companies, including manufacturing, logistics, and financial software. According to IT Alliance this represents Baan's first real attempt to give its direct competitor, SAP, a run for its money in the Irish market place. Baan is one of the world's leading providers of enterprise business software solutions, with more than 3,000 customer systems implemented in 5,000 sites worldwide. IT Alliance Consulting is the latest addition to the IT Alliance group. It now employs 150 people providing IT solutions to Irish companies. Other areas of activity include software development, testing, localisation, and contracting solutions.