Enterprise software is big business. This becomes evident when you add up the costs of purchasing software licenses, implementing the system, migrating data, training employees, and maintaining the system. If your enterprise system doesn’t meet your expectations, you risk running some of your investment down the drain. Unfortunately, it is quite common for companies to take shortcuts when determining their software needs, which often leads them to acquire a system that doesn’t exactly match their business requirements.

At Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC), we prolifically use the word “evaluation” to describe what we do. After all, it’s an integral part of our company’s name and at the heart of our business model. But what does software evaluation really mean? Why is it so important? And why do we keep making a big fuss about it? The meaning of the word evaluation will largely depend on your business context and needs. Read the rest of this entry »

Vertical integration occurs when two companies in different parts of the supply chain merge to capture a larger share of the market. Such mergers often lead to operational cost reductions, increased entry barriers to competitors, and expansion of core competencies. Vertical integration strategies are a key consideration for organizations looking to expand and control more of the supply chain. For example, consider a shoe manufacturer that merges with (or acquires) a chain of shoe retailers in order to minimize its own costs and adversely affect its competitor’s costs. A more recent example is Microsoft’s foray into the tablet market, with the hopes of dampening Apple’s current stronghold.

Software capabilities, among other things, need to be reassessed whenever any type of merger takes place. Vertical mergers specifically pose a number of challenges owing to widely different business processes that span the vertically integrated firms. Some of these processes will naturally overlap between the two firms, but others will be completely new. Read the rest of this entry »

Since the 2008 economic crisis hit, many firms have been forced to cut back in order to keep their businesses afloat. Enterprise software spending is one area where cutbacks have been most noticeable. But now that the global economy is starting to rebound and information technology (IT) budgets are unfreezing, companies are evaluating upgrade or replacement enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems with added functionality to support their changing business needs.

So which sector is showing the greatest interest in evaluating ERP solutions? Find out after the jump.

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When the economic crisis hit, organizations scurried to find ways to cut back and keep their businesses afloat. Survival was key. Investments and projects of all kinds were put on hold, including upgrading and replacing enterprise software systems. A forecast alert by Gartner showed that enterprise software spending between 2008 and 2009 dropped by 2.6%. No doubt, enterprise software spending is one of the areas in which organizations consciously chose to cut back.

This blog post reviews the impact of the economic crisis on enterprise software buying behavior across a comprehensive list of industries and identifies those industries that suffered the most. Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to announce the launch of TEC’s final software buyer’s guide of the year: Innovations in CRM. Download your copy now.

This buyer’s guide provides in-depth insight from Gabriel Gheorghiu, TEC’s analyst specializing in CRM, about the state of the CRM market, and includes solution overviews, links to CRM resources, customer success stories, and a directory of hundreds of CRM software vendors. The guide aims to educate readers about the CRM space and what vendors are doing to differentiate themselves from the competition through innovations such as cloud computing, social media, and mobile, to name a few. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest addition to Technology Evaluation Centers’ (TEC’s) Web-based software evaluation system, TEC Advisor, is the new Express Software Comparison Report. This report allows you to compare the strengths and weaknesses of enterprise software solutions on a functional module-by-module basis. If you’re an organization in the early stages of your software evaluation process, the “express” report is a good starting point. You’ll get the online report comparing your selected solutions free of charge in just a few minutes.

Here’s how to generate your custom software comparison report in 5 easy steps: Read the rest of this entry »

A software selection project requires a well thought out plan that details what you need from a new or updated solution. The process often begins with careful research and determining and prioritizing your functional and technical software requirements. While doing your homework, you’ll no doubt come in contact with a plethora of vendor white papers and marketing collateral to help you grasp the capabilities of their solutions. However, if you’re looking for impartial, original research about solutions in the marketplace, you will find TEC Certification Reports helpful in narrowing down your search. Read the rest of this entry »

You asked for it, you got it. Based on your feedback, Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) has released its 2012 buyer’s guide calendar, which outlines the planned themes for our popular buyer’s guide series. With more interest and downloads than ever before, the TEC buyer’s guide team is excited to work on next year’s lineup.

In 2012, we will once again be publishing four issues spanning diverse topics in enterprise software. As with past buyer’s guides, these issues will include a wealth of analyst insight, a state of the market analysis, solution overviews, vendor case studies, and a comprehensive technology directory.

Look for our final buyer’s guide of the year, “New Innovations in CRM,” which is slated for publication in November 2011. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at TEC’s quarterly buyer’s guide roster for 2012: Read the rest of this entry »

My recent post Bye-bye Beta announced that TEC Advisor, TEC’s online software evaluation and selection system, exited the beta phase. I highlighted its newest features that pertained to the pre-selection module (i.e., the series of questions prior to evaluation).

Since then, we’ve enhanced the evaluation module of TEC Advisor to allow users to more easily set priorities to functional areas, as well as customize how comparative results are displayed. Here’s a recap of the latest additions. Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to announce that Technology Evaluation Centers’ (TEC’s) online software evaluation and selection system, TEC Advisor, has exited the beta phase and its latest release is now available. Read the rest of this entry »

The high cost of business disruption that accompanies changes to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is a source of frustration for many businesses and organizations. If you decide to upgrade your business software and move to the cloud, will the cloud meet your expectations?

Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is conducting a research study to understand your key challenges and pain points with respect to your current ERP system, as well as your expectations of cloud-based ERP solutions. Please take a few minutes to answer this brief survey and help us measure the expectations you have of your ERP solutions, whether traditional or in the cloud.

To thank you for your time, TEC is offering one-week free access to its software evaluation models and vendor data to participants who complete the survey, as well as access to a report of the results of this survey. Take the survey now.

Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) is conducting a research study on the changing needs of higher education institutions. To better understand the enterprise software needs of these institutions, as well as to determine whether their current systems are equipped to handle their changing requirements, we have developed a short survey.

If you work in higher education, you are encouraged to participate—the survey takes only 2-3 minutes to complete. Please share the link to this survey. All responses will be treated anonymously.

To thank you for your time, TEC is offering one-week free access to its software evaluation models and vendor data to participants who complete the survey, as well as access to a report of the results of this study. Take the survey now.

In perusing Technology Evaluation Centers’ (TEC’s) Vendor Showcase, you’ve likely noticed the TEC logo next to certain software solutions. For those of you new to our Web site, you may not be aware that this represents vendors that have successfully completed the TEC Certification Program. Read the rest of this entry »

Last year, Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC) introduced its Accreditation Program to provide software buyers with insight into the quality of implementation and support services delivered by value-added resellers (VARs), channel partners, implementers, vendors, and consultants. With the end user in mind, we established an in-depth questionnaire that captures the customer’s level of satisfaction for services rendered (service delivery and support, maintenance, project evaluation) and the customer’s overall recommendation. Through a series of customer reference checks, we examine these areas for service providers that participate in TEC’s Accreditation Program. We then write a concise report highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the provider’s services for a particular software type, industry, or business area. Read the rest of this entry »

Web directories are great resources for people looking for a consolidated listing of companies, products, services, and other items. Organized in series of categories and menus, directories can be quite broad, such as the well-known Yahoo! Directory, or more specialized to cater to particular niche audiences like arts & crafts fanatics. Some directories are free, while others are based on a paid subscription-only access. Regardless, the goal of all Web directories is to help users find the source of information they seek. Read the rest of this entry »