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Overwhelmed by Vendor Hype? Head for the Exit Before It’s Too Late
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Frustrated with all the hype and buzzwords that software vendors throw around? You’re not alone. TEC senior copywriter Larry Blitz and managing editor David Clark take a (mostly tongue-in-cheek) look at software providers’ major language crimes. And what you can do about it.
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Women in BI: Are You a “Data Geekette”?
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Recently around the office we’ve been talking about the increasing role of women in most areas of information technology (IT). I’ve had the pleasure to know and work with excellent database administrators (DBAs) and application programmers, as well as IT managers and executives—both women and men. Of course, as a business intelligence (BI) analyst I [...]
Getting a More Exact Picture of, Well, Exact Software Americas – Part 1
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
In the early and mid-2000s, I had a fairly close relationship with Exact Americas (at that time called Exact North America). As a result, there were two in-depth TEC article series on the vendor from 2004 and 2006. At the time of the first series, the avant-garde collaborative Exact e-Synergy platform was introduced to the local [...]
How to Unbalance Your Scorecard to Better Measure Business Performance
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Balanced Scorecard is one of the most popular methodologies for measuring business performance, with a view to enhancing it. First made popular in the early 1990s, this performance management framework was intended as a tool to provide managers with a more complete and “balanced” view of their organization’s performance by including nonfinancial metrics and [...]
New Manufacturing Solution in the Cloud: Exact Macola On Demand
Friday, January 20, 2012
Exact Software has recently released a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) offering in the cloud. Headquartered in the Netherlands and with offices in North America serving 100,000 customers worldwide, Exact offers two global P products (Globe and Synergy), as well as other local products (Macola, MAX and JobBOSS for the Americas, Exact Financials for the [...]
Three Mistakes Organizations Are Making That Kill CRM Collaboration
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Many experts are talking and writing about how collaboration can improve the relationship between a company and its customers, but most of them assume that employees collaborate naturally and are willing to work together for the success of the company.
This is not always the case.
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Analyst Road Show with SYSPRO and UNIT4
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Not as well known as the JRocket Marketing Grape Escape but still highly effective (and entertaining), the analyst road show organized by Judith Rothrock every year in December brings together C-level executives from SYSPRO and UNIT4 and analysts from the most important firms in the field, including Technology Evaluation Centers.
I had briefings with both SYSPRO [...]
One Offering to Watch Unfold in 2012: UNIT4 Business Analytics Apps
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
For me, the third week of December 2011 was a week of revelations of sorts in the realm of enterprise applications. Amid all the IT punditry/buzzword talk throughout the year about cloud computing, analytics, mobility, social, and in-memory, there were two concrete announcements in mid-December from two vendors that gave me pause. Both vendor product announcements [...]
Data Management and Business Performance: Part 1—Data
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Research for one of my projects led me to ask both software vendors and customers about the factors most important to software users in the selection of a business intelligence (BI) solution. Two topics resounded: the use of BI tools to improve data management and business performance management. Consumers are continuously looking for innovative ways [...]
LeveragePoint Adds Value to B2B Pricing – Part 1
Thursday, January 12, 2012
TEC’s in-depth 2011 article not only described the opportunities inherent in the business to business (B2B) pricing software market, but also ascertained that the value of this budding software category has yet to become universally known and appreciated. Sensing the opportunity, LeveragePoint is the latest market newcomer with a fresh approach to deal pricing negotiations.
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Finding the Key to Small Manufacturer’s Profits – Part 2
Friday, January 06, 2012
Part 1 of this blog series discussed the genesis of ProfitKey International, one of the longest-standing enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers for small to midsize discrete manufacturers that has never been merged with another peer product. After the protracted bankruptcy saga of its former parent company, HALO Technology Holdings, ProfitKey was recently bought out by Phoenix Asset [...]
Summarizing PTC’s Decades of Fervent In-House Innovation (and Acquisitions) – Part 4
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Part 1 of this blog series introduced Needham, Massachusetts, United States (US)-based Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC, NASDAQ: PMTC), which is an over $1 billion (USD) large software company that develops, markets, and supports product development software solutions and related services. The article analyzed the company’s genesis from its inception in 1985 until the mid-2000s.
Part 2 then analyzed [...]
Finding the Key to Small Manufacturer’s Profits – Part 1
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
This post starts with a trivia question: Please name the mid-market enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor that has existed the longest in the market with an ERP product that has never been merged with another product? In addition, the vendor and its product offerings have never been covered by TEC and myself. As a hint, the company was [...]
NuViewHR Product Suite 4.15 SP 2 Gets Certified
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Nuview Systems recently updated the request for information (RFI) to reflect the changes to the level of support to the latest version of its product NuViewHR Product Suite 4.15 SP 2. Following an onsite demonstration and product overview by NuView Systems’ director of sales engineering, David Park, and vice president of sales, Lloyd Lambert, I [...]
Vistagy Joins the Siemens PLM Family of Products
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Siemens recently closed the acquisition of Vistagy, incorporating it into Siemens PLM Software. Vistagy is a provider of specialized engineering solutions including applications for design and manufacture of advanced composite materials.
Composite materials are made of two or more constituent materials that when mixed retain distinct properties. The composite is generally designed to achieve a specific [...]
Progress Software Rounds Out its RPM Offering with Corticon Buy
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS), a software solutions and platforms provider that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive, is ending 2011 on quite a positive note. Not long after its partner and user conference Progress Revolution 2011 this fall (see TEC’s exhaustive report on the multiday event), the company first picked its new CEO in Autodesk’s former top [...]
3 Big Trends in Data Visualization
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us
to notice what we never expected to see.
—John W. Tukey. Exploratory Data Analysis. 1977.
Data visualization is core to business intelligence (BI), as it’s the means by which data is communicated to the user. Results, alerts suggestions, or even more controlled guidance—all of these elements are [...]
Working with Smaller ERP Vendors: The Pros and the Cons
Thursday, December 15, 2011
During briefings with small ERP vendors, I often hear the argument that they are more flexible and can better respond to their customers’ needs than larger vendors. The ultimate example: “You can even talk to the CEO if you need to.”
But would you want to? Bypassing the usual workflows and calling the CEO (this actually [...]
Ariba Smart Invoicing: Worth Checking Out
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sure, to most of us accounting sounds as exciting as watching paint dry, but no business can survive without properly managing its financial means. Especially in these days of scarce cash, processing invoices faster and more accurately by the accounts payable (A/P) or billing department is critical so that the accounts receivable (A/R) folks can get their cash faster. [...]
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Research and Updates
SAP HANA—One Technology to Watch in 2012 (and Beyond)
Did you know that SAP HANA is much more than a high-speed analytic appliance? TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic reveals how HANA is a universal database that will enable companies to analyze large volumes of operational and transactional information in real time, from virtually any data source, and that will eventually deliver an entirely new class of applications that will change the way people think, work, plan, and operate.
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SYSPRO—Taking a Quantum Leap or Simply Becoming Smarter?
What do Einstein’s theory of relativity and quantum theory have to do with SYSPRO? TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic explains, as he discusses how SYSPRO has applied these famous physics theories to produce a ‘simply smarter’ ERP system and comprehensive ERP framework for effective material, cash, as well as collaborative management for small to midsized manufacturers and distributors in today’s dynamic environment.
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Two Vendor Execs Discuss the Current B2B Pricing Market (and its Future)
Why are some companies still managing their prices with spreadsheets—and leaving their single most important profit lever to such inadequate if not harmful practices? TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic finds out and sits down with two vendor execs to see how B2B pricing software allows companies to detect profit anomalies and take rapid pricing actions, increasing their revenues and profits and gaining business agility.
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A Product Note: Attensity and the Voice of the Customer
Attensity has found a way to truly capture the voice of the customer with its new breed of customer experience management (CEM) solutions. TEC analyst Jorge García looks at how Attensity’s CEM products can help organizations analyze customer conversations across multiple channels, extract actionable data and insights, and route conversations for rapid and effective response, improving their customers’ experience and loyalty.
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Time Tracking and Attendance Primer: Beyond the Clock
Punch clocks, clock card machines, Bundy clocks, time recorders. Most organizations are opting for newer methods to track their employees’ time and attendance. Today’s time tracking technology is not just about capturing hours—it’s about where those hours are allocated and how productive they are. TEC analyst Sherry Fox reviews some of the key features of current time tracking software and highlights some popular vendors.
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BI Maturity and Software Selection Perspectives
While new technology trends are invading the business intelligence (BI) space, technology shifts and hype do not necessarily equate to the ability to exploit the best tools for enhancing business performance. To select a best-fit BI solution, an organization needs to be able to realistically assess the maturity of its BI infrastructure. This allows them to discover where they are, what their BI requirements are, and how to determine the best BI solution or strategy. Download the full report now.
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Changing Trends in Regional Government Enterprise Solution Requirements
Download this report for in-depth analysis of the software priorities for regional and local governments, based on TEC software selection project data. Key issues include factors related to change, cloud computing, transparency and accountability, and collaboration and shared services. Also in this report: analysis of interviews with governmental clients of UNIT4, located in various areas of Western Europe and the US.
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MODX Web Content Management: Vendor Profile
Open source vendor MODX provides a modern, highly flexible, Web standards–compliant Web content management (WCM) framework. TEC’s Director of Knowledge Services Josh Chalifour profiles MODX—its background, business practices, revenue streams, and community. MODX’s WCM systems, Evolution and Revolution, are being used for a significant quantity of sites around the world. Find out more in this report.
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How to Improve the Efficiency of Software Development for Cloud-based Environments
Download this report for insight into a new class of online technology innovations that fosters quick development of new cloud-based software and modernization of business-critical legacy systems. Also featured in this report: essential guidelines from Technology Evaluation Centers for overcoming the challenges of software development, and a detailed checklist for vetting a system’s ability to adapt to good software development practices.
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Managing Change in the Higher Education Sector
Higher education institutions are turning to software to help them deal with financial, organizational, and regulatory change. TEC surveyed higher education professionals to find out whether their software systems were able to address their most pressing challenges. We also assessed a vendor that emphasizes the change management capabilities of its software—UNIT4—to determine how well it supports change management challenges. Download this report for full results and analysis.
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Solarsoft for Manufacturing: Uniq PLC
When food manufacturer Unigate (now Uniq plc) embarked on a multi-million–pound plan to update the manufacturing and financial systems at its factories in the United Kingdom, it needed a system that would provide flexibility in production without loss of efficiency. The company chose Solarsoft’s Tropos ERP, which was particularly strong on recipe management—the core of Uniq’s business. Read about Uniq’s benefits with Tropos.
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Solarsoft for Manufacturing: Turtle Wax Ltd
When Turtle Wax Ltd (TWL), a leading supplier of car-care products from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, decided to start selling its products directly, not only did the company need to develop its own direct sales channels, but also the back-office infrastructure to support the change. See how Tropos ERP helped TWL achieve this goal and realize key benefits, including reduced packaging stocks and easier to add extra production.
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Solarsoft for Manufacturing: Morrison Bowmore
When whisky distiller Morrison Bowmore saw that its old information technology (IT) system could no longer cope with its rapidly expanding business, it knew it had to future-proof its business and replace the system with a mix of packaged and bespoke software. See how Tropos ERP, Tropos Whisky Workbench, and Tropos Active helped the company improve the management of its blending and bottling processes, among other benefits.
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Solarsoft for Manufacturing: Gala Coffee & Tea
Gala Coffee & Tea, a growing business in the coffee and tea processing, packing, and distribution field, needed systems that would help them operate more efficiently and improve customer service levels. Read the case study and see how Tropos ERP helped bring Gala Coffee & Tea both direct and indirect benefits to the business, including faster information processing, improved production yields, and better customer service.
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Solarsoft for Manufacturing: Fox's Confectionery
When Fox’s Confectionery was bought out from Northern Foods, it needed to rescale its information technology (IT) system. It selected Solarsoft to provide equivalent functionality, but without massive support infrastructure. See how Solarsoft’s Tropos ERP solution helped the company to rationalize its business processes, improve information access, reduce cost of ownership, and support an independent growing business.
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Top Five Obstacles Companies Face—and How to Overcome Them: Tips for Small Businesses and Midsize Companies
To realize a competitive advantage, small-business leaders must address five common obstacles: inefficient operations, inability to support rapid growth or new markets, disjointed business processes, lack of visibility into daily operations, and limited resources. Read this white paper to learn how to overcoming these challenges and gain valuable insights into your business.
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Enhancing Governance, Risk, and Compliance through Effective Risk Management
Embedding governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management into all business process has become imperative. Companies need to adopt a holistic view when it comes to reducing and managing risks, and ensure better access risk management. This paper discusses the need for companies to take a proactive approach towards access risk management.
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Controlling Access Risk: Increase Visibility, Reduce the Time and Cost of Compliance
Managing end-user access to critical enterprise resources as part of an organization's IT governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) initiative helps companies to control access risk, provide real-time visibility for multiple stakeholders, and streamline regulatory compliance. This research shows that the leading performers in controlling access risk also realize tangible financial benefits.
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Export Operations & Compliance Benchmark Report: Going Global with Regulatory Reform
This second annual benchmark study covers U.S. export operations and compliance. The survey covered export regulatory reform, operations management practices, organizational structure, compliance policies, and export management technology. This year’s study looks at the impact of going global with export control reform.
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From Idea to Delivery: Take a Holistic, End-to-End Approach to Bringing Products to Market
The longstanding silos within organizations may be ready for busting, and the right IT strategy can facilitate the collaboration needed to break them down, even extending to suppliers, customers, and partners, integrating all processes from idea to delivery. This paper features an interview with SAP’s heads of solution marketing for product lifecycle management and for supply chain management about the idea-to-delivery concept.
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