I recently attended the SAP Active Global Support (AGS) Analyst Summit in Costa Mesa, California, along with a member of TEC’s software selection services team. At the November event, attendees were presented with the AGS Strategy for 2012 and in-depth reviews of SAP’s customer support offerings.  There were a number of different themes presented by the members of AGS, but the theme that really caught our attention is SAP’s commitment to moving from reactive to proactive customer support.

In this article I am going to give some background on SAP’s current support offerings, highlight SAP’s Solution Manager as the company’s technology support enabler, and summarize the SAP support offerings. The article will also take a look at the possibility for predictive customer support that SAP may be able to provide in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

I am pleased to announce that Glovia International’s G2 enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is now TEC Certified and available for online evaluation of ERP for discrete manufacturing solutions in TEC’s ERP Evaluation Center.

Glovia has more than 30 years of experience developing its solution to meet the needs of discrete manufacturers. And, based on the data evaluated by Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC), G2 is one of the more robust discrete manufacturing solutions on the market. G2 supports multiple currencies, languages, and locations.

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I am pleased to announce that Sunrise Technologies’ Apparel & Footwear Template (AFT) for Microsoft Dynamics AX is now TEC Certified, and available for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for fashion industries in TEC’s ERP Evaluation Center.

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Epicor software has announced that the Crescent Electric Company selected the Epicor Eclipse wholesale distribution enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to “advance operations to the next level of excellence,” said Martin Burbridge, president and CEO of Crescent Electric. Read the rest of this entry »

TEC is pleased to announce that DEACOM Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution by Deacom, Inc. is now TEC Certified, and available as part of the online evaluation of ERP solutions in the Process Manufacturing (ERP) Evaluation Center. Read the rest of this entry »

Centrify has introduced a new Windows Azure cloud-based offering for identity management—Centrify DirectControl for SaaS. The product goes beyond identity management solutions and provides comprehensive unified identity services across an organization’s mobile, cloud, and data center infrastructures. The product leverages existing Microsoft Active Directory investments and allows a company to extend the management across a broad range of systems, mobile devices, and applications. Read the rest of this entry »

RevTrax, a provider of an ominchannel promotions platform with the same name, announced the launch of RevTrax OpenShare, which will tie social coupon issuance and sharing to the point of sale. OpenShare allows marketers to deliver social coupons via any digital channel and track the usage to the in-store sale. Read the rest of this entry »

Columbia University in the City of New York, in partnership with the City, announced the launch of the new Institute for Data Sciences and Engineering. The new institute within the school of engineering has been created to address the challenges of big data. The institute will initially focus on five key sectors: smart cities, new media, health analytics, financial analytics, and cybersecuirty. Read the rest of this entry »

TEC is pleased to announce that K8 by Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) is now TEC Certified for evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) for distribution.

TEC Certification is designed to help organizations evaluate enterprise software solutions so they can make more informed buying decisions. For a product to be certified, the vendor must complete a detailed research questionnaire and deliver a formal product demonstration to show our analysts the product’s support for a specific set of real-world business processes. Read the rest of this entry »

Lozeau, a retail company providing cameras, video cameras, accessories, and services, recently selected Commsoft to meet its enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs. Commsoft was chosen from among ten vendors of viable solutions during a selection process headed by TEC’s selection services group.

Lozeau looked to the expertise of TEC’s team for assistance throughout the software selection process and in the vendor contract negotiations. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a lot of hype about companies moving to the cloud, but are they actually doing it? Cloud adoption is not as rapid as some providers might lead you to think, but TEC data shows that interest in cloud computing is picking up.

The 2012 TEC Market Survey Report for Discrete Manufacturing shows that cloud computing has moved beyond the early adopter phase and is now moving into the early majority phase of the technology adoption lifecycle. The question now is not “if”, but when and how information technology (IT) organizations will adopt cloud computing technologies.

If you’re thinking about a cloud deployment, there are a few things you should know. There’s also an easy way your organization can test a cloud deployment before committing to a larger cloud initiative. Read the rest of this entry »

As Superstorm Sandy battered the east coast of the US, Epicor announced a new System Backup & Recovery solution.  The solution is designed for small and midsize businesses that require an alternative to costly and complex backup and recovery solutions. The solution is available to Epicor ERP, Epicor Vantage, and Epicor Vista customers running Microsoft SQL Server. Read the rest of this entry »

Pronto Software, provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) software, announced signing a new contract with Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation (HFE). HFE is the largest family-owned theme park in the United States. The Pronto solutions will be rolled out across HFE’s portfolio of entertainment, tourism, and hospitality properties, replacing legacy retail and inventory systems. Read the rest of this entry »

At the end of part III of this series, the software selection team at MegaResistCap had turned in their software selection votes to the company’s executive operating committee. Jim, director of information technology (IT), was anxiously awaiting the voting result, which was now being announced by Francois, the company’s chief legal counsel. Francois wasn’t one to mince words, and got right to the point: Read the rest of this entry »

Workday, Inc., was enthusiastically greeted by investors on its first day of trading with the stock jumping 74 percent. Workday was founded in 2005 by David Duffield and Aneel Bhusri following Oracle’s hostile takeover of PeopleSoft. Staying true to these human capital management (HCM) and financial roots, Duffield and Bhusri have built the PeopleSoft of the new millennium and investors have rewarded them richly for their focus and vision. Read the rest of this entry »