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1. |
What
is Tax Mantra®? |
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Tax
Mantra is a futuristic Tax Solution that can be used
to process taxes, licenses and permits. It comprises
of components that are tightly integrated to form a
complete solution. The Tax Mantra solution has been
created with a vision to enable agencies to easily configure
and customize tax processing requirements to provide
improved taxpayer services and increase revenues while
managing periodic business changes. The in-depth understanding
of integrated tax system requirements based on our experiences
from several implementations across cities, counties
and states, has gone to make Tax Mantra a robust and
scalable solution. |
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2. |
Are
there any customers that have implemented Tax Mantra? |
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Tax
Mantra has been implemented for City of Tempe, AZ. It
is currently under implementation for the City of Peoria,
AZ, and Jefferson County, AL. |
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3. |
What
is unique about Tax Mantra? |
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Tax
Mantra provides several unique advantages in the functionality
and technology areas: |
Functionality: |
It
is highly configurable and can be customized to needs
as required. It allows building on a base by including
objects as they are developed. |
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Technology
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It
has a 3-tier architecture, which allows for a choice
of platforms, front-ends and back-ends depending on
existing infrastructure and future plans. It also provides
for distributed processing and usage of existing processes. |
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4. |
If
I like Tax Mantra, how do I proceed with getting a more
detailed insight into the capabilities of Tax Mantra? |
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Please
provide your contact information and we will be only
too glad to provide a more detailed demonstration and
discussion for your specific needs in the near future.
(Click for Contact details) |
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5. |
Does
Tata Infotech have ISO, CSM, SEI, or other certifications?
Specify areas and levels. |
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Quality
consciousness ranks the highest at Tata Infotech. Tata
Infotech has an enviable track record in providing outstanding
support to its customers. The highest certification
that Tata Infotech looks forward to is customer loyalty.
Our customers have come back to us for more solutions—a
testimony to the quality that we deliver. At Tata Infotech,
quality in terms of people, technology and software
development processes/ methodologies is very vital.
The table below shows our investment in initiatives
achieving higher levels of quality for its clients.
| Area |
Level |
| ISO |
9001 |
| SEI CMM |
Five
(certified by KPMG) |
| TBEM (Tata Business
Excellency Model) |
Tata
Infotech has adopted the Tata Business Excellence
Model which is based on the lines of the Malcolm
Baldridge model |
Tata
Infotech’s development centers have been certified
for establishing and maintaining a quality system that
fulfills the requirements of SEI CMM Level 5, TBEM and
ISO 9001 standards covering design, development, installation
and support of application and system software, a feat
achieved by very few organizations worldwide. Based
on the Tata Infotech Quality Management System,
Tata Infotech follows processes and standards to provide
an acceptable and conforming application system to the
client. |
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6. |
What
are Components? |
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Components
are pre-tested blocks of functionality comprising of
one or more objects. These can be brought together to
form a complete solution. The pre-tested blocks allow
us to save time when putting a solution together. |
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7. |
What
is Object Oriented Approach? |
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The
Object Oriented approach refers to defining the system
in terms of objects. An object is a containment of data
and procedures. For example, a tax return can be identified
as an object. The line items in a tax return can be
identified as attributes of the object. The actions
on a tax return (such as add, modify) are treated as
functions of the object. |
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8. |
What
is the Internet enabled component of Tax Mantra? |
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The
inherent 3-tier architecture allows us to deploy Tax
Mantra® on a thin client front end. This front
end could even be a browser. The surround component
e~Tax provides the internet capabilities for online
registration application, filing of returns and payment
services to taxpayers |
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9. |
What
is the load balancing method/technology used to ensure
optimum application accessibility under user load? |
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Tax
Mantra® uses the IONA Orbix 2000
load balancing techniques. These are active load, round
robin, and random. Load balancing is configured as per
the anticipated load requirement of an agency. |
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10. |
Describe
the programming language and database used within Tax
Mantra |
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Tax
Mantra solution is database independent; hence, there
is a choice of databases including SQL Server, Sybase,
Oracle and DB2.
Tax Mantra®
is an n-tiered architecture with the choice of
- Presentation Layer
- Browser, Visual Basic, Power Builder, Visual C++,
etc
- Business Layer -
CORBA enabled C++ components
- Database layer -
Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server, DB2, Informix with ODBC/RDBMS
Native drivers connectivity
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11. |
Will
Tax Mantra support the download and upload capability
with the following: |
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- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Other File Formats
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12. |
Does
Tax Mantra allow the user to customize data input screens/formats
without modifying application source code? |
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Tax
Mantra layered architecture approach offers the flexibility
to customize User Interface without affecting the business
rules existing in the application. |
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13. |
Does
Tax Mantra support full-synchronized recovery? |
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In
case of systems crash, systems (servers) with RAID levels
provide full-synchronized recovery. Also the Tax Mantra®
Business Server is re-deployed to ensure the availability
of the application. |
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14. |
Does
Tax Mantra support transaction level auditing and rollback/recovery
to ensure internal integrity of all transactions? |
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A
two-phase “commit” ensures the integrity
of business transactions across the distributed components
of Tax Mantra®. Target database is configured
to provide transaction level auditing. |
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15. |
How
does Tax Mantra interface with other applications? |
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Tax
Mantra Resources Interface Framework (RIF) allows the
integration of other applications through the XML data
exchange. |
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16. |
Does
Tax Mantra support remote-user functionality? For example
ability of field inspectors to use hand held/laptop
computers for auditing. |
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Tax
Mantra supports Microsoft Excel and Access based import
and export of application data to and from user laptops.
This feature helps remote users to perform off-line
reviews and audits. |
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17. |
What
areas of Tax Mantra provide standard APIs? |
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Tax
Mantra components expose services through CORBA interface
for all components. Any CORBA compliant client can call
these services. Tax Mantra also provides APIs to export
data in the form of XML files for all major functionality.
Any external system can use these XML files. Tax Mantra
also accepts data in the form of XML files. |
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18. |
Explain
the encryption methodology employed for data transfers? |
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SSL
encryption uses various standard encryption technologies.
Web Server will be configured for the required encryption
methodology based on the agency’s subscribed digital
certificates. |
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19. |
Explain
the methods and levels of application access security
provided? |
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Tax
Mantra provides various levels of application security.
Security component of Tax Mantra allows the authorization
of components services for the various levels. These
levels can be defined and configured at the time of
deployment of the application. |
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20. |
What
taxes and licenses does Tax Mantra support currently
and in the future? |
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Tax
Mantra enables implementation of multiple taxes, licenses
and permits. Examples include sales tax, withholding
tax, unemployment Insurance taxes and business licenses.
The component-based approach allows us to include additional
taxes and licenses in a defined manner. |
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21. |
How
can taxes be added in the future? |
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The
existing framework provides for common functionality
such as taxpayer registration, case management, and
correspondence associated with a new tax type. Functionality
that is relevant to a specific tax type (such as liability,
P&I calculation, any tax specific demographic data)
can be configured/customized. |
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22. |
Does
Tax Mantra provide any information analysis tools? |
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Tax
Mantra provides various online query facilities and
customized reports for information analysis. The highly
scalable Tax Mantra DSS surround component provides
the data mining and decision support capabilities to
the agency. Tata Infotech recommends the use of Crystal
Reports for ad-hoc query reporting. |
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23. |
Does
Tax Mantra provide online context sensitive help for
all functions? |
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Tax
Mantra provides online context sensitive help for all
functions. The help is available at screen and field
levels. |
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24. |
Does
Tax Mantra have a batch scheduler for reports and/or
other system processes? |
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Tax
Mantra Scheduler component provides complete batch jobs
scheduling capability for reports and other processes.
These jobs can be scheduled for different time periods. |
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25. |
Does
the system support attaching of associated free form
comments to transactions? |
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Tax
Mantra provides users the option to add comments to
a taxpayer account using the “Notepad” option.
Users can capture any communication with the taxpayer
or any contact person along with the phone number and
the name. Users can add notes for a particular tax/license
type, period or for a particular case. |
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26. |
What
is the methodology to implement Tax Mantra? |
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Tata
Infotech Limited uses propriety Tax Mantra Implementation
Methodology (TMIM) for implementing Tax Mantra®.
Tax
Mantra Implementation Methodology (TMIM) enables implementation
of assessed business requirements using Tax Mantra®
product, based on the gap analysis performed during
Gap Analysis phase. The implementation of requirements
includes:
- Configuration of
Tax Mantra Product based on tax/license type, static
data and business rules specified by the customer,
and
- Customization of
Tax Mantra product based on the specified customer
requirements.
Tax Mantra
methodology provides the approach to implement Tax Mantra
product as a solution for tax agencies. Configuration
being the goal of Tax Mantra, the gap analysis phase
and HLDCM phase are driven based on the product features.
Customers’ requirements are gathered as configurable
parameters. Any feature that is not provided by Tax
Mantra product is documented in gap matrix and HLDCM
as customization/ enhancement. HLDCM document prepared
in HLDCM phase is the Delta HLD of the Tax Mantra that
documents only the changes required to the base Product. |
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27. |
What
are the ongoing support services provided by Tata Infotech,
including hours of operation, procedures, and problem
escalation measures available. |
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Tata
Infotech believes in a long-term partnership with its
customers and constantly strives to provide “customer
delight”. To achieve these goals, Tata Infotech
offers bronze, silver and gold categories of support
for its customers. The details of the support can be
made available on request. |
