Part I of this blog topic introduced SYSPRO and its traditional vertical solutions. It also analyzed the vendor’s PragmaVision strategy to provide to pragmatic (yet visionary) technology buyers’ need.

Towards the end of offering proven technology to pragmatists, SYSPRO’s fully-integrated solution suite [evaluate this product] connects to disparate systems via Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) technologies. All the above-mentioned modules are based on standard Extensible Markup Language (XML) formats for information exchange, and Web service technologies for enhanced interoperability between disparate systems and for collaborative commerce. SYSPRO’s thoughtful approach to adopting new technology, such as Web services and SOA platforms, again reflects the desires of its sensible buyers, who are driven by business needs rather than by the latest headlines. Read the rest of this entry »

As managing editor for TEC’s white paper site, I receive a wide variety of reader comments, ranging from lost password requests to queries about white papers on particular (sometimes very particular) subjects.

The other day I received this e-mail, titled “Meaningless White Papers”:

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I’m writing today from the HIMSS convention in Orlando, Florida, where I’m looking to see what new technologies are available to the health care industry to facilitate patient care and communication between patients and doctors.A few interesting presentations of note thus far:

• Enjoyable EHR interfaces: Improved quality, cost and acceptance through user-friendly EHR interface hosted by Paul Schadler, MD, Co-Medical Director Health Center
• Planning, Realizing and Measuring EMR Benefits: Lessons from Early Adopters, hosted by Patricia Johnston VP Texas Health Resources (THR) Information Services, and Douglas Thompson, Director FCG
• Painful but Necessary EMR: an Enterprise-wide Shot in the arm for Standardization, hosted by Holly Miller Information Officer University and Lynne King EHR Project Director

Today I’d like to discuss guidelines to follow before selecting an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, a few months after Part I of this blog post was published, which focused on Deltek’s pre-New Mountain Capital private equity investment era, the time has finally come for us to analyze why being again publicly traded should (or should not) work better for Deltek this time. If one is to judge merely by the most recent financial figures, it would appear to be working well, but my focus here is on some lingering “softer” issues too.

So, when the new management team took the helm at Deltek in mid 2005, it realized that many good things had happened over the previous two decades at the company, but that one can never be too complacent. Indeed, room for improvements existed in many regards, or at least  some challenges could always be turned into opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last posting I wrote about the functions of project management. When I considered alternatives to MS Project, I started thinking about the functions of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) software and concluded that they were similar in many respects. Read the rest of this entry »

Organizations are constantly looking for ways to maintain their competitive advantage and increase sales while lowering costs. Analytics helps organizations identify whether they are getting the most out of their resources. Is the money they spend going to good use? Are they proactively identifying ways to cut costs while maximizing resources? Read the rest of this entry »

Telephony. Sounds harmless enough.

First, a definition from Merriam-Webster: “the use or operation of an apparatus (as a telephone) for transmission of sounds as electrical signals between widely removed points.”

Gotcha. I’m with you. Me hear pretty, oll korrect.

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In a previous blog post, I wrote about the Project Manager’s role and some of the constraints that affect the daily life of a PM, namely: scope, time, and cost. This post will focus on some of the tools a PM uses on a day-to-day basis (and why), and some of the limiting factors that these tools present. In order to understand the use of PM tools it is essential to have an understanding of the PM’s role in the area of software deployment strategy, and the techniques used to realize the PM’s objectives. Read the rest of this entry »

I never thought I’d ever make an analogy such as this, but as we head into spring (the season of change—and love in bloom), I figured, “what the heck”…

When you really think about it, selecting ERP software does have many similarities to planning a wedding—right down to the uncertainty of whether or not you’ve chosen the right solution or, in the case of your wedding, partner to spend a lifetime with. While I’m hoping that your marriage lasts longer than your software solution does, I’m also hoping that the solution you’ll choose will last your business well into the future.

Now let’s get to planning that ERP software selection shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe just for the sake of change (or some fun), let me start this blog post as a quiz question. It could go like this:

Can anyone name the mid-market incumbent manufacturing and distribution-oriented enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor that has a global presence (through regional territory distribution centers and a global reseller network in the United States [US], Canada, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australia and the United Kingdom [UK]), an install base of 12,000 companies in over 60 countries, and the channel consisting of a few hundred value added resellers (VARs) that contribute to about 85 percent of its revenues?

As some helping tips, the privately-held vendor was incorporated in 1978 in South Africa, and has since grown organically (with no major acquisitions thus far) to about $60 million in revenues. Well, for those (rare few I suspect) that have guessed we are talking here about SYSPRO, may I boldly suggest an audition for the “Jeopardy” (or like) quiz show?

In any case, for nearly 30 years, SYSPRO has been offering a broad range of extended-ERP solutions for small and mid-sized manufacturing and distribution organizations (the sweet spot being the companies with US$10 million to US$250 million in revenues).

I believe that SYSPRO has survived largely unscathed through all the mayhem and carnage in its market via the right combination of product and technologies, plus a successful “partner-dominant” go-to-market strategy that can (and should) be leveraged more aggressively going forward. Read the rest of this entry »

The competitive environment that both Manufacturers and Distributors alike have experienced in recent years in the era of Globalization, Currency Fluctuation, and Market Pressures has given rise to the business impetus to run a leaner operation to remain competitive. These issues have trickled down to the IT department. IT Professionals are at times facing an enormous obstacle. They are expected to align the organization’s IT infrastructure with the strategic and operational components of the Business to improve upon Service Delivery. Read the rest of this entry »

Part I of this blog topic  introduced Epicor Software and its traditional vertical solutions. It also analyzed Epicor’s forays into the attractive retail sector via the CRS acquisition two years ago. Designed for integration and scalability, the  Epicor/CRS Retail Suite can support a wide variety of retail enterprises’ requirements.

These environments range from the rapidly expanding regional retailer requiring point-of-sale (POS), store operations and merchandising, to the large, global retailer requiring central management, visibility and control over hundreds or thousands of distributed stores and outlets.

Epicor/CRS  customers include leading retailers such as Aéropostale, American Eagle Outfitters, Ann Taylor, Cache, Chico’s, Coach, Eileen Fisher, Factory Connection, Foot Locker, GNC, J.Crew, Stage Stores, Trans World Entertainment, Tuesday Morning, Inc., Yankee Candle Company and Zumiez, among others. The retail division employs more than 360 employees based in Newburgh, New York, the United States (US), with regional offices in Seattle, Washington, US and Bracknell, the United Kingdom (UK). Read the rest of this entry »