The TEC Blog http://blog.technologyevaluation.com Discussing Enterprise Software and Selection Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:15:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.2.5 en Key SCM Features to Look For (And Major Players to Look Out For) http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/key-scm-features-to-look-for-and-major-players-to-look-out-for/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/key-scm-features-to-look-for-and-major-players-to-look-out-for/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:47:40 +0000 Khudsiya Quadri consonaCPFRdemand planningforecastingInventory managementitlLogilityOrder ProcessingprocurementredprairieReturnssoaSupply chain Collaborationsupply chain managementVMI http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/key-scm-features-to-look-for-and-major-players-to-look-out-for/ Many CFOs, CTOs, supply chain managers, and logistics managers struggle to decide which supply chain management (SCM) software is best-suited to their organizational needs. It doesn’t help that there is an abundance (literally hundreds) of SCM solutions available on the market. Today, I’ll help you understand key SCM modules, and look at some key players with well established SCM solutions. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/key-scm-features-to-look-for-and-major-players-to-look-out-for/feed/ Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits for ERP Users http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/michael-jackson-greatest-hits-for-erp-users/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/michael-jackson-greatest-hits-for-erp-users/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:09:57 +0000 Gabriel Gheorghiu ERPMichael Jackson http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/michael-jackson-greatest-hits-for-erp-users/ … or songs you should listen to while working with an ERP system: (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/michael-jackson-greatest-hits-for-erp-users/feed/ The Wizardry of Business Process Management – Part 4 http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-4/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-4/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:05:12 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic autonomic computingBPMbrebusiness process managementbusiness rulecross sellingcustomer servicedeclarative modelingECMgrcmicrosoft visiomultiple inheritancepegapegarules process commanderpegasystemspro dexprocedural modelingprpcregulatory compliancesmartbpm suitesoa http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-4/ Part 1 of this blog series started a lengthy discussion about the value proposition and parts-and-parcels of business process management (BPM), with an ensuing focus on Pegasystems (also known as Pega) as one of the leading BPM suite providers. Part 2 then analyzed in depth the vendor’s ability to help business users capture (and then realize) business objectives and intent, while Part 3 focused on Pega’s ability to automate programming and execute actual workflows at customer organizations.

This part continues with more of Pega’s value proposition and its “BPM secret sauce” ingredients, such as a so-called “servicing backbone” for service organizations. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/30/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-4/feed/ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in a Nutshell http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/26/enterprise-resource-planning-erp-in-a-nutshell/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/26/enterprise-resource-planning-erp-in-a-nutshell/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:05:49 +0000 Aleksey Osintsev discretedistributionERPetomillminingmixedProcessschoolservices http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/26/enterprise-resource-planning-erp-in-a-nutshell/ In this blog, we want to make readers more familiar with the logic behind our Evaluation Centers on our Web site by categorizing them—and, at the same time, we want to represent our understanding of manufacturing and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems classification in general. We did not reinvent the wheel, but we are one of the few companies offering software selection services that provide all the tools you require to find your way to the right ERP for your business needs. All you have to do is to follow our logic, which starts with very simple business processes; but it can get more and more complex, depending on the type of activity you do. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/26/enterprise-resource-planning-erp-in-a-nutshell/feed/ TEC Product Certification Reports Now Available http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/tec-product-certification-reports-now-available/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/tec-product-certification-reports-now-available/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:11:52 +0000 Josh Chalifour certificationeamERPlmsmeridianposproduct certification reportProntoreport http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/tec-product-certification-reports-now-available/ We’ve begun publishing a new type of report (free download) called a Product Certification Report. These have been in the works for a while so I’m very happy to announce the first two are now available. I’ll post the links below and then explain what these reports are.

We actually develop two reports for every software system we certify. One report (examples published at the links above) is written for potential buyers of the product, it’s relevant to someone researching or comparing various software systems for their own selection projects. It should be a useful, independent and unbiased addition to an in-depth evaluation process. Vendors also receive their own copies of the report, with insights that pertain to their product development and competitive landscape.  (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/tec-product-certification-reports-now-available/feed/ Agresso + CODA, VITA + Link (+ CODA 2go): What’s the Sum? – Part 2 http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-%e2%80%93-part-2/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-%e2%80%93-part-2/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:05:13 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic abwAccountingAgressoagresso business worldcfoCODAcoda 2gocoda 2linkcoda dreamcoda financialsERPfinancialsgeneral ledgerlink architectureocrasoaunit 4 agressovita architectureweb servicesXML http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-%e2%80%93-part-2/ Part 1 of this blog series described Unit 4 Agresso’s (or Agresso in further text) dual product strategy following its acquisition of CODA in 2008. The post then went on to analyzing (and reinforcing if you will, given a number of previous blog entries on the same topic) the post-implementation agility capabilities of Agresso Business World (ABW) [evaluate this product].

The blog post attempted to explain how the product’s underlying VITA architecture differs from contemporary service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based architectures. Part 2 of this blog series analyzes the CODA Financials product and its underlying Link  architecture. Contrary to Agresso VITA, CODA Link (a.k.a. CODA 2link) architecture is indeed SOA-based and supports superior connectivity. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/25/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-%e2%80%93-part-2/feed/ The Wizardry of Business Process Management – Part 3 http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/19/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-3/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/19/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:05:24 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic aigalan treflerbambank of americabpaBPMbusiness activity monitoringbusiness agilitybusiness process automationbusiness process managementbusiness rulescitibankCRMcsrcustomer service representativedeclarative rulesfinancial serviceshealthcareInsurancemicrosoft visiopegapegarules process commanderpegasystemssbrskills based routingslasmartbpmsoastpstraight through processingwizard of ozworkflow http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/19/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-3/ Part 1 of this blog series provided a lengthy discussion about business process management’s (BPM’s) necessary parts and parcels, and the software category’s value proposition. At the end of the article, I mentioned my recent attendance of a witty presentation that attempted to explain the essence of BPM via some humor and metaphor of the classic “Wizard of Oz” movie.

Namely, on March 23, 2009, Alan Trefler, Pegasystems’ founder and CEO, gave his luncheon keynote presentation at the Gartner BPM Summit in San Diego. His theme was “Don’t just Survive… Capitalize.” Trefler begun by reminding the audience that in today’s turbulent economy we are all “not in Kansas anymore” and may just need some “ruby slippers” to find our way back home to profitability. If you have 14 minutes to spare, you can re-capture the spirit of the event here.

In the main part of his presentation in Part 2, Trefler maintained that to follow the “Yellow Brick Road,” which will lead any business to Oz (and back to profitability), requires three capabilities in particular, starting with the ability to directly capture business objectives into the BPM system by the business users. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/19/the-wizardry-of-business-process-management-%e2%80%93-part-3/feed/ Agresso + CODA, VITA + Link (+ CODA 2go): What’s the Sum? (Part 1) http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/16/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-part-1/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/16/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-part-1/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:05:03 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic a/rabwAccountingaccounts receivableAgressoagresso business worldAgresso CRMagresso talent managementBLINCCODAcoda 2gocoda 2linkcoda financialsERPfinancialsSaaSsoaunit 4 agressovita architecture http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/16/agresso-vs-coda-vita-vs-link-and-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-%e2%80%93-part-1/ Over the last few years I have produced a number of articles and blog entries on two once-independent and occasionally competing products: Agresso Business World (ABW) and CODA Financials. Since early 2008, these two products and their related owner companies have become siblings within the Unit 4 Agresso parent.

Unit 4 Agresso is a Netherlands-based business software company that has grown since its inception in 1980 in great part via several mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The company offers a number of regional products for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) that are deployed mainly in the Benelux region. In addition, the vendor offers local business applications that are sold in Norway, Sweden, the UK, Germany, and Spain.

However, most of Unit 4 Agresso’s revenue is still derived from the Agresso Business World (ABW) product line. ABW [evaluate this product] is a non-manufacturing enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite targeted at upper midsize service-centric enterprises, and Unit 4 Agresso acquired it in August 2000 through a merger with the former Norwegian ERP vendor Agresso.

Agresso Nowadays

Thus, for the rest of this blog post, I will use the shorter “Agresso” name to denote the entire company. Agresso completed the CODA acquisition throughout 2008, which now makes it the sixth largest mid-market ERP vendor worldwide according to IDC. In 2008, the company had about US$ 550 million in revenues and 3,500 employees, and was operating in 19 countries in 3 continents around the world. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/16/agresso-coda-vita-link-coda-2go-whats-the-sum-part-1/feed/ Are You Comfortable with Your Shortlist? http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/are-you-comfortable-with-your-shortlist/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/are-you-comfortable-with-your-shortlist/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:38:50 +0000 David Clark reader pollshortlist http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/are-you-comfortable-with-your-shortlist/
If you're currently at the shortlist stage of your software selection project, I'd like to know how you'd characterize your shortlist:
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If you haven’t reached the shortlist stage, you may want to consider doing additional research to uncover vendors and systems that aren’t on your radar. Try TEC’s Smart Shortlist Wizard (free registration required) to find out which enterprise systems match the profile of your business.

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/are-you-comfortable-with-your-shortlist/feed/ Can Technology Make CFO’s and Controller’s Jobs More Strategic? (Part 2) http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/can-technology-make-cfos-and-controller%e2%80%99s-jobs-more-strategic-%e2%80%93-part-2/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/can-technology-make-cfos-and-controller%e2%80%99s-jobs-more-strategic-%e2%80%93-part-2/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:05:20 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic Accountingadpbpobusiness process outsourcingcfocontrollercorefinoERPfinancial managementIntacctmicrosoft sharepointon demand softwareon premise softwareSaaStriple c platform http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/can-technology-make-cfos-and-controller%e2%80%99s-jobs-more-strategic-%e2%80%93-part-2/ Part 1 of this blog series established that by offloading non-essential and non-value-adding routine tasks to third-party business process outsourcing (BPO) specialists, many human resource (HR) and payroll managers are now able to focus more on strategic and more important tasks of managing talent and human capital of the company. The discussion then went into the possible liberation of chief financial officers (CFOs) and controllers from their daily grind mindless chores. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/12/can-technology-make-cfos-and-controller%e2%80%99s-jobs-more-strategic-%e2%80%93-part-2/feed/ Get Your Head Out of the Clouds: Cloud Confusing… I Mean Computing http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/10/get-your-head-out-of-the-clouds-cloud-confusing%e2%80%a6-i-mean-computing/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/10/get-your-head-out-of-the-clouds-cloud-confusing%e2%80%a6-i-mean-computing/#comments Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:31:10 +0000 Neil Stolovitsky Cloud ComputingConferenceibmRational SoftwareSaaSSoftware as a Service http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/10/get-your-head-out-of-the-clouds-cloud-confusing%e2%80%a6-i-mean-computing/ Public Clouds and Hybrid Clouds,
Private Clouds and Fluffy Clouds?

That was the first thought that came to mind after attending this year’s IBM Rational Conference at Orlando’s Walt Disney World. I believe Dr. Danny Sabbah, General Manager of IBM Rational Software, said it best in his keynote presentation to thousands of conference attendees when he stated, “Vision without Execution is Hallucination.” (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/10/get-your-head-out-of-the-clouds-cloud-confusing%e2%80%a6-i-mean-computing/feed/ 13 Things a Customer Can Do to Avoid an ERP Implementation Failure http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/13-things-a-customer-can-do-to-avoid-an-erp-implementation-failure/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/13-things-a-customer-can-do-to-avoid-an-erp-implementation-failure/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:46:19 +0000 Gabriel Gheorghiu auditcustomerDSSeBestMatchERPfailureimplementationsupporttraining http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/13-things-a-customer-can-do-to-avoid-an-erp-implementation-failure/ Have you ever wondered why every time you hear a story about an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation failure, the vendor gets the blame? The customers did everything they could to avoid it, but the vendors either provided inappropriate training and support, or simply a poor quality product.

Frankly, I do not think that an ERP implementation failure can possibly happen without at least some contribution from the customer. As a customer, no matter what the vendor does to influence you during the selection process, the final decision is yours and you have to make sure you make the right one.

Here’s a list of things a customer should consider before selecting an ERP—both during the implementation and even long after. I have selected 13, because ERP selection and implementation has nothing to do with luck.

(more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/13-things-a-customer-can-do-to-avoid-an-erp-implementation-failure/feed/ To SaaS or Not, Is That a Question? – SaaSy Discussions (Part IIc) http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/to-saas-or-not-is-that-a-question-%e2%80%93-saasy-discussions-part-iic/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/to-saas-or-not-is-that-a-question-%e2%80%93-saasy-discussions-part-iic/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:05:41 +0000 P.J. Jakovljevic amazon ec2AppExchangebluelockCloud ComputingCODAcoda 2goForce.comgogridhostingmossoon demandopsourceoracle crm on demandpaaspeer1platform as a servicerackspaceSaaSsagelivesalesforce.comscio consultingthe planetwebcomwebcom responsabilitywebsource cpqxactly http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/to-saas-or-not-is-that-a-question-%e2%80%93-saasy-discussions-part-iic/ The first part (Part II) of this blog series described the opportunities for software as a service (SaaS) or on-demand applications, especially in the current difficult economic milieu. Part II and Part IIa then analyzed the top five SaaS assumptions (misconceptions) recently outlined by Gartner.

Part IIa and Part IIb also analyzed the major technical considerations that any vendor has to go through before it can embark on delivering a SaaS offering. This final part will will conclude with the Internet hosting service considerations as well as with key success factors (KSFs) for SaaS providers. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/09/to-saas-or-not-is-that-a-question-%e2%80%93-saasy-discussions-part-iic/feed/ Application Software Outsourcing: Buyers Are Seeking More Expertise from Providers http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/05/application-software-outsourcing-buyers-are-seeking-for-more-expertise-from-providers/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/05/application-software-outsourcing-buyers-are-seeking-for-more-expertise-from-providers/#comments Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:20:31 +0000 Kurt Chen Application Softwareoutsourcingoutsourcing buyeroutsourcing providerprovider selectionsoftwareTECTechnology Evaluation Centers http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/05/application-software-outsourcing-buyers-are-seeking-for-more-expertise-from-providers/ In a previous blog post, based on TEC’s outsourcing selection criteria, I summarized 6 types of experiences that a buyer should consider when choosing the best provider for application software outsourcing projects. Since then, my interest has been raised to the level of taking a further look into outsourcing buyers’ requirements for their potential providers’ expertise in a real selection process. Thanks to TEC’s Outsourcing Evaluation Center, users are able to identify their high-level requirements, run outsourcing service comparisons, and receive a short list of qualified providers. I was also able to look at the statistics of these high-level requirements and found out something that might be interesting for both outsourcing buyers and providers. (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/05/application-software-outsourcing-buyers-are-seeking-for-more-expertise-from-providers/feed/ To Have or Not to Have Supply Chain Software: Can the Riddle Be Solved? http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/04/to-have-or-not-to-have-supply-chain-software-can-the-riddle-be-solved/ http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/04/to-have-or-not-to-have-supply-chain-software-can-the-riddle-be-solved/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:26:44 +0000 Khudsiya Quadri Cost cuttingCost reducingforecastingincentive managementInventory managementlogisticsOrder managementprocurementreturn managmentSCMSCM softwaresupply chain managementsupply chain planning http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/04/to-have-or-not-to-have-supply-chain-software-can-the-riddle-be-solved/ In a previous blog post, I discussed two approaches to bringing down the overall cost of your supply chain (by using either cost-cutting or -reducing methods). Another blog was about bringing cost down by using better or best inventory management processes and practices. As we have already discussed the methods, processes, and practices, let’s look now at some of the technological aspects of reducing cost.

The first question that comes to mind is: will supply chain software help reduce the cost of the supply chain? So the riddle is to have or not to have supply chain software within your organization…? (more…)

Share This ]]> http://blog.technologyevaluation.com/blog/2009/06/04/to-have-or-not-to-have-supply-chain-software-can-the-riddle-be-solved/feed/