Eccentex Corporation provides dynamic case management (DCM), a.k.a. adaptive case management, software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions using its multitenant cloud-based AppBase platform as a service (PaaS). DCM solutions should support what the evolving knowledge worker needs and allow organizations to optimize case outcomes, improve customer services, and mitigate risk.

Eccentex recently announced the launch of AppBase 5.0, which includes user-friendly creation tools and templates or frameworks (referred to as AppTemplates) for quick delivery of case management systems by business analysts and line-of-business personnel (rather than IT staff). The vendor is hereby trying to redefine the fundamental processes and user interfaces of the modern knowledge worker. Read the rest of this entry »

Often I get asked the question why people refer to an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system as a true “enterprise resource planning” solution if it doesn’t entail human resources management (HRM)—after all, every organization needs to manage its people, its products and services, and its finances. It seems that open source manufacturing and distribution ERP provider xTuple aims to offer true ERP, having recently announced a new technology integration partnership with a popular open source HRM software, OrangeHRM. Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent press release, Rimini Street boldly declared the end of full-price software maintenance. The vocal and upbeat third-party software maintenance provider for various popular SAP and Oracle enterprise systems believes that a tipping point has finally been reached in the market for annual maintenance (certainly, the public cloud enterprise software providers have long been preaching even the outright elimination of maintenance expenses in their deployment model, but the focus here is on on-premises software).

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E2open’s recent win at Yanfeng Visteon introduced the E2open Collaboration Center as part of E2Open Business Network (EBN). This command center-like module consists of E2open products and services that provide real-time dashboard visibility for various partners on the network into demand and supply changes. It also provides access to analytics to assess the operational and financial impact of changes, and it offers decision support to preempt issues or resolve problems (see TEC article for more details).

According to Descartes Systems Group CEO Art Mesher in his recent thought leadership blog post, E2open is one of a new breed of companies that have risen to tame the fleeting nature of business relationships and their supporting IT systems in various communities:

These companies are characterized by continuous investment in systems that foster network communities and authenticated community participation with credentials, leading to creation of “trust federations” or what is dubbed “Entrusts.”  Read the rest of this entry »

The popularity of cloud computing does not necessarily absolve cloud solutions from developing vertical industry focus. Thus, NetSuite and eWinery Solutions, a provider of direct-to-consumer (DTC) software and systems for the wine industry, have just formed a partnership to develop and offer an industry-specific cloud software solution. VinSuite will target wineries to help them compete at both the local and international levels.

The wine industry is increasingly competitive, with more than 8,000 wineries, 100,000 wine brands, and  100,000 wine retailers in the US, and new developments every week in Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. It is truly a global business, but the software systems used to run these businesses are fragmented—typically a winery has to use multiple disparate legacy systems, creating inefficiency and high IT costs.

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Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Electronics, a joint-venture of Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Trim Systems and Visteon Corporation, has selected E2open to transform its supply chain collaboration program. E2open is a California-based provider of cloud-based, on-demand software solutions enabling enterprises to procure, manufacture, sell, and distribute products more efficiently through collaborative execution across global trading networks.

Brand owners use E2open solutions to gain visibility into and control over their trading networks through the near real-time information, integrated business processes, and analytics that E2open provides. Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps the best examples of continuing innovation in the existing Oracle ERP product lines were some announcements at the Oracle JD Edwards Partner Summit 2013. The event took place January 28 to February 1, 2013, in Broomfield, Colorado, with more than 600 partner attendees from 31 countries. Oracle announced the launch of Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Health and Safety Incident Management solution, to help organizations reduce or eliminate costly health and safety incidents. The solution manages the business processes associated with recording, tracking, reporting, and analyzing a health and safety incident. With 250 million occupational accidents reportedly occurring worldwide each year, health and safety should be a concern for all organizations.

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QAD Inc. continues to gain new customers via its relatively autonomous divisions, such as Precision Software for transportation management, and the recently acquired DynaSys for supply chain management (SCM) and CEBOS for quality management. QAD expects all of those products to carry their own weight and continue to sell to non-QAD enterprise resource planning (ERP) customers (in addition to cross-selling to QAD ERP customers).

Most recently, DynaSys, a division that provides solutions for demand and supply chain planning, announced that the RAJA Group has implemented DynaSys n.SKEP Retail Planning to help its growth strategy. The European distributor of packaging, business supplies, and consumables deployed DynaSys n.SKEP Retail Planning “Ready To Plan” (RTP) solution as part of its plan to upgrade its IT systems.

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There’s a great future in composite materials, the next generation of lighter, stronger, safer, and more energy-efficient materials.

After Siemens PLM Software acquired Vistagy more than a year ago, Autodesk yesterday announced that it has completed the acquisition of Firehole Technologies (do business as Firehole Composites), a privately held software company based in Laramie, Wyoming, that specializes in design and analysis software for composite materials. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read the rest of this entry »

Sage North America yesterday announced the results of its mobile device survey, which recently polled 490 small and midsize businesses (SMBs) in the United States. The Sage SMB Survey on Mobile Devices showed that employees accessed work-related information when they were not in the office most commonly using laptops (80 percent) and smartphones (81 percent), followed by tablets (57 percent).

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Back in November 2012, Intuit launched an Intuit Pay pilot project for the United Kingdom. The company has since learned a lot, improved the product, and announced that Intuit Pay is generally available, giving anyone who sells products or services in the UK a reasonably easy and low-cost way to accept credit and debit card payments, whether in person or over the phone.

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Time and again it’s been shown that a sharp industry focus can help lesser known and smaller enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors remain relevant amid cutthroat competition. One such smaller vendor is VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.), a provider of ERP software in IBM’s ecosystem, which recently announced that Colonial Grocers has selected its S2K for Food software to improve inventory management processes, increase productivity and service levels, and gain insights and feedback from its vast customer and product data.

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One of the lesser talked about business divisions of Kronos Inc. is Montreal, Canada–based AD OPT, a provider of crew planning optimization solutions for the airline industry, which Kronos acquired in 2004. The company has been in this space for more than 25 years and its core focus is to deliver customized solutions for the tricky task of flight crew planning and scheduling for airlines whose aim is to increase operational efficiency.

Most recently, transavia.com, a Netherlands-based airline with services to leisure destinations as an independent part of the Air France-KLM group, selected the Altitude Rostering Footprint Generator application from Kronos AD OPT. The solution is expected to more fairly distribute work based on pre-defined equalization criteria and creating optimal monthly schedules for cockpit crew members.

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Per Intuit’s most recent Small Business Employment Index, the employment rate is gradually improving. Intuit and LinkedIn have agreed to host the first “Hire Smart” event for small businesses looking to hire their first employees. This free event at Intuit’s HQ in Mountain View, California, is slated for April 27, 2013.

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Right on the heels of enhancing its aspenONE umbrella platform, AspenTech has announced the acquisition of pipeline scheduling system (PSS) and dock scheduling system (DSS) software from Refining Advantage, Inc. PSS allows pipeline companies, refineries, and terminals with pipelines to optimize their pipeline schedules, and thus potentially improve profitability and safety. DSS is used by refineries and terminals to schedule their docks, which should help them save on demurrage costs incurred from delays in on-loading and off-loading cargo.

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