He added: "Mingle allows you to follow everything, every business object, every customer, every piece of equipment. If it is a separate platform, no-one has the time to sit there and chat all day."

Phillips said that Mingle will be available on general release over the next three or four months. He also noted that it is 'probably slightly more complicated' to implement, but believes the pay -off is worth it and that organisations won't have to persuade their employees to use it.

He said: "This theory that social platforms at work are a good replacement for email is pretty weak. Mingle isn't a replacement for email, it is just a better way to get your work done because it gives you the full context of information and transparency in your processes.

"Social platforms either add value or they don't, it has to be obvious. If I have to have champions in the business trying to spread the word and convince people to try something that they have no interest in, it's just a waste of money. It really does have to be obvious."

, Phillips has confirmed that he has no plans to develop applications for Microsoft's new Windows 8 Surface tablet, which started shipping this week. He told Computerworld UK that there hasn't been enough demand for Windows on mobile for Infor to justify investing in Microsoft's tablet ecosystem.