Part 2 of this blog series analyzed Microsoft platform parts that are slated for shared use within the Microsoft Dynamics family of products. Particular attention was given to Microsoft SQL Server, SharePoint, and parts of Microsoft .NET Framework.

What About Visualization and User Interface (UI) Technologies?

However, what has somewhat intrigued me is Microsoft’s not-so-vocal touting and promoting of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), although it is an intrinsic part of the .NET Framework. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, the tool has not yet been used within the Dynamics set in earnest, although Lawson Software  and Verticent would be the two independent software vendors (ISV) that I am aware of deploying it. Read the rest of this entry »

No, my intent here is not necessarily to provide a typical analyst alert after attending a vendor’s annual user conference, in this case the QAD Explore 2008 in Orlando, Florida (US) last month. This is not to imply that there was nothing there to write home about either.

Quite the contrary, the multiple-day event was, well, eventful for market observers and hundreds of QAD’s global customers from both an official (announcements, product demos, etc.) and a fun (food, booze & entertainment) viewpoint. While all of the recorded keynote and breakout sessions can be seen here, the event revolved around the following major themes and highlights: Read the rest of this entry »

Part II of this blog topic analyzed Epicor’s forays into the attractive retail sector via the CRS Retail acquisition two years ago. Most recently, with the acquisition of NSB Retail Systems, Epicor has further expanded its functional footprint, market share and geographic presence in the sector. Namely, NSB added over 200 specialty retail logos, thereby more than doubling Epicor’s retail install base.

While many analysts like Gartner, AMR Research or Aberdeen Group have quickly come up with their customary brief alerts, the usual-suspect bloggers have not seemed that interested in this event, with the notable exception of Frank Scavo in his Enterprise Systems Spectator blog post.

I concur with the assertion coming from both Epicor and the above analysts and bloggers that the retail sector is much more promising and with many more “greener pastures” than Epicor’s traditional overcrowded manufacturing and distribution sectors. The retail applications market is indeed large (AMR Research is predicting its size to be over US$10 billion by 2011 from US$8 billion today), growing (at an estimated 7.1 cumulative annual growth rate [CAGR]) and quite fragmented (whereby Top 5 vendors accounted for only 33 percent of the market in 2006, and no vendor currently has over 10 percent market share).

Epicor also cites some favorable trends in the sector, such as that (as with other industries) the adoption of packaged software will become the common technology approach, and that retailers too have become more interested in acquiring an integrated set of applications from a single vendor. Read the rest of this entry »

TEC has just released the second generation of its flagship software comparison tool, eBestMatch, which allows users to compare enterprise software side-by-side, down to the minutest level of detail.

This version (see below to find out how to snag a free trial) provides immediate user responsiveness, giving you the feeling you’re leveraging a slick desktop app rather than a Web page. Read the rest of this entry »