SYSPRO is a 35-year-old software vendor that focuses on selling enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to midsize companies, particularly those in manufacturing and distribution. In manufacturing, SYSPRO supports make, configure and assemble, engineer to order, make to stock and job shop environments. The company attempts to differentiate itself through vertical specialization and its years of ongoing development, which can reduce the need for customization and cut the cost of initial and...
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Topics:
Big Data,
SaaS,
ERP,
Governance,
Human Capital Management,
Office of Finance,
close,
Continuous Accounting,
Analytics,
CIO,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
CFO,
CRM,
CEO
Intacct, a cloud-based ERP vendor focused on midsize companies, recently held its annual user group meeting. Two of its products that were covered in the keynote are worth noting. One, already available, enables companies to manage their order-to-cash process in a continuous fashion, from the time a salesperson begins to engage with a prospect to the time funds are collected. The other is a custom report writer, to be available in the first quarter of 2017, that will provide business users with...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Customer Engagement,
Customer Experience,
ERP,
Human Capital Management,
Marketing,
NetSuite,
Office of Finance,
customer life cycle,
Customer Service,
billing software,
asc 606
The annual Oracle OpenWorld user group meeting provides an opportunity to step back and take a longer view of business, industry and technology trends affecting the company. Last year, after listening to Larry Ellison’s and Mark Hurd’s vision for the future of IT, I wrote that Oracle had to continue shifting its focus to business applications because the accelerating shift to cloud computing would lead corporations to outsource their IT infrastructures, services and security to third parties....
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Topics:
Big Data,
Performance Management,
SaaS,
ERP,
Office of Finance,
Analytics,
Cloud Computing,
PaaS,
Digital Technology
Aria Systems provides companies with software for managing subscription or recurring revenue business models. A recurring revenue business models includes three types of selling and billing structures: a one-time transaction plus a periodic service charge; subscription-based services involving periodic charges; or a contractual relationship that charges periodically for goods and services. Aria’s cloud-based software addresses key requirements of users in the marketing, sales, operations and...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Customer Engagement,
Customer Experience,
ERP,
Marketing,
NetSuite,
Office of Finance,
Recurring Revenue,
customer life cycle,
Customer Performance,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer Service,
Financial Performance,
Business Performance Management (BPM),
Sales Performance Management (SPM),
billing software
Supply and demand chain planning and execution have grown in importance over the past decade as companies have recognized that software can meaningfully enhance their competitiveness and improve their financial performance. Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is an integrated business management process first developed in the 1980s aimed at achieving better alignment and synchronization between the supply chain, production and sales functions. A properly implemented S&OP process routinely...
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Topics:
Planning,
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Supply Chain Performance,
Forecast,
Human Capital,
Mobile Technology,
Supply Chain Planning,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
Sales Performance Management (SPM),
Sales Planning,
Supply Chain,
Demand Chain,
Integrated Business Planning,
SCM Demand Planning,
S&OP
There’s a long history of companies not paying close enough attention to the contractual elements of acquiring software. Today, this extends into the world of cloud computing. Many companies are choosing to acquire software services through cloud-based providers and increasingly rely on access to cloud-based data, as is shown by our forthcoming benchmark research, in which a large majority of participating companies said that having access to data in the cloud is important or very important. As...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Customer Experience,
Governance,
contract,
e-discovery,
Customer Performance,
Operational Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
Business Performance Management (BPM)
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Topics:
SaaS,
Customer Experience,
NetSuite,
Office of Finance,
Recurring Revenue,
Zuora,
Customer Performance,
Operational Performance,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer Service,
Financial Performance,
billing software,
Intacct
Recurring revenue is a term applied to business models that involve three types of selling and billing structures: a one-time transaction plus a periodic service charge; subscription-based services involving periodic charges; or a contractual relationship that charges periodically for goods and services. Telecommunications was the first major industry to use it, but recently the model has gained popularity in others. It is a major trend in information technology as an increasing number of...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Customer Experience,
NetSuite,
Office of Finance,
Recurring Revenue,
Zuora,
Customer Performance,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer Service,
Financial Performance,
billing software,
Intacct
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Salesforce.com,
Supply Chain Performance,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
Kenandy,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
HANA,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation
Like most vendors of on-premises ERP and financial management software, in moving to the cloud Oracle has focused on developing for existing and potential customers the option of multitenant software as a service (SaaS). (I’m using the term “ERP” in its most expansive sense, to include such systems employed by all types of companies for accounting and financial management rather than only systems that are used by manufacturing and distribution companies.) Oracle’s ERP Cloud Service includes ...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Salesforce.com,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
Kenandy,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
HANA,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation
FinancialForce’s 2014 summer release incorporates improvements in mobile and collaboration features and provides enhancements to the planning dimension of its professional services automation (PSA) suite. In the last couple of releases the company emphasized expansion in the functional capabilities of its ERP suite, as I noted, focusing on human capital management and professional services automation as well as some supply chain automation capabilities.
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Salesforce.com,
Social Media,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Consulting,
distribution,
PSA,
Unit4,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Professional Services Automation,
SCM
It’s widely agreed that cloud computing is a major technology innovation. Many companies use cloud-based systems for specific business functions such as customer service, sales, marketing, finance and human resources. More generally, however, analytics and business intelligence (BI) have not migrated to the cloud as quickly. But now cloud-based data and analytics products are becoming more common. This trend is most popular among technology companies, small and midsize businesses, and...
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Topics:
Big Data,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Social Media,
Governance,
Statistics,
cloud analytics,
IT Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Data Integration,
Financial Performance,
Internet of Things,
Location Intelligence,
Operational Intelligence,
Workforce Performance,
Risk & Compliance (GRC),
cloud business intelligence
Like other vendors of cloud-based ERP software, NetSuite offers the key benefits of software as a service (SaaS): a smaller upfront investment, faster time to value and potentially lower operating costs. Beyond that NetSuite’s essential point of competitive differentiation from is broad functionality beyond financial management, including capabilities for customer relationship management (CRM), professional services automation (PSA) and human capital management (HCM). These components make it...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Social Media,
Customer Experience,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
communications,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
PSA,
Sage Software,
UI,
Unit4,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
CRM,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Social,
Financial Performance Management,
FPM,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation,
Workday Collaboration
The keynote theme at this year’s Sapphire conference in Orlando was Simple. Top executives from SAP, a software company associated with complexity, stated and restated that its future direction is to simplify all aspects of its products and the ways customers interact with them and the company itself. SAP’s longstanding and commendable aspiration to thoroughness in its software will be giving way to an emphasis on elegance in its engineering. This objective is more than admirable – SAP’s future...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Salesforce.com,
Supply Chain Performance,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
Kenandy,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Financial Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
HANA,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation
Epicor used its recent user group conference to explain its strategic direction and product roadmap. The company is the result of multiple mergers of business software corporations over the past 15 years; its target customers are midsize companies and midsize divisions of larger organizations. Its most significant products are Epicor (ERP software aimed mainly at manufacturing and distribution companies) and Activant Solutions (software for small and midsize retailers, including a point-of-sale...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Supply Chain Performance,
Customer Experience,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
communications,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
Epicor,
Sage Software,
UI,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
Social,
Financial Performance Management,
FPM,
Plex
From my perspective, Infor’s strategy to accelerate revenue growth is to offer companies more innovation and a lower and more predictable cost of ownership than its rivals in the business software market; its products include the major categories of ERP, human resources and financial performance management. It aims to innovate by focusing on improving the user experience and to lower costs by redesigning its software architecture. The innovation stems from a fresh approach to designing...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Supply Chain Performance,
Customer Experience,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
Sage Software,
UI,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Information Management,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
Financial Performance Management,
FPM,
Plex
There’s a growing realization that the multitenant approach to the cloud isn’t the only option that companies should weigh in deciding between deploying software on-premises and in the cloud. That some people describe the multitenancy approach as “the real cloud” reflects the contentious nature of some technical debates, especially those that occur early in the evolution of a new technology. Multitenancy does have advantages that confer cost savings, and these have been important in the first...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales,
Salesforce.com,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Planview,
Concur,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Tagetik,
Workday,
Plex
At its recent 2014 analyst day Ceridian showed the progress it has made on its Ceridian and Dayforce human capital management (HCM) platform since last year’s launch of its broader HCM portfolio. Ceridian’s overall HCM business, which the company says had revenue of $950 million in 2013 and now has more than 100,000 customers, consists largely of payroll-related products and services such as tax filing and payroll cards, but also benefits, human resources and workforce management products.
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Topics:
Mobile,
SaaS,
Social Media,
HCM,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Workforce Performance,
Ceridian,
Document Management,
HR,
Talent Management
Information technologists are fond of predictions in which the next big thing quickly and entirely renders the existing thing so completely obsolete that only troglodytes would cling to such outmoded technology. While this vision of IT progress may satisfy the egos of technologists, it rarely reflects reality. Mainframes didn’t disappear, for example. Although they long ago lost their dominant position, many remain key parts of corporate computing infrastructures. The IT landscape is a hybrid...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
SaaS,
Sales,
Salesforce.com,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Financial Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation
At Oracle’s recent cloud computing analyst summit in sunny Palm Springs, the company’s executive team insisted that it sees clear skies for its efforts in cloud computing. The summit was led by senior executive Thomas Kurian, who runs the entire product organization and reports directly to CEO Larry Ellison. He affirmed that Oracle intends to offer the full range of cloud computing – public, private and hybrid models – to its customers and partners. As one of the world’s largest software...
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Topics:
Big Data,
Database,
Microsoft,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Social Media,
Software as a Service,
Supply Chain Performance,
Middleware,
Oracle Cloud,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
IBM,
Information Applications,
Information Management,
Oracle,
Workforce Performance,
Database as a Service,
Verizon
Convergence is the Microsoft Dynamics business software user group’s meeting. Dynamics’ core applications are mainly in the accounting and ERP category, descendants of products Microsoft acquired: Great Plains (now GP), Solomon (SL), Navision (NAV) and Damgaard’s Axapta (AX), to which Microsoft has added its own CRM application. It has been more than a decade since the acquisitions of Great Plains (which itself had already purchased Solomon Software), and Navision, Damgaard and the software...
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Topics:
Microsoft,
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Salesforce.com,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Consulting,
distribution,
Dynamics AX,
Dynamics GP,
Dynamics NAV Dynamics SL,
PSA,
Sage Software,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
CFO,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Infor,
Workday,
Plex,
Professional Services Automation
FinancialForce recently introduced FinancialForce ERP, a family of cloud-based software designed to support a variety of customer-centric businesses such as professional services organizations or companies that specialize in business and industrial distribution. Many of these types of businesses are midsize or small (having 50 to 1,000 employees) and can benefit from the integration of FinancialForce’s accounting, professional services automation, human capital management (HCM) and supply chain...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Salesforce.com,
Supply Chain Performance,
ERP,
HCM,
Human Capital,
Office of Finance,
Consulting,
distribution,
PSA,
Unit4,
Operational Performance,
Analytics,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
FinancialForce,
HR,
Professional Services Automation,
SCM
I recently started a series of blog posts on what CEOs (and for that matter, all senior corporate executives) need to know about IT. The first covered the high-level issues. As I noted there, it’s not necessary for a CEO of a company to be able to write Java code or master the intricacies of an ERP or sales compensation application. However, CEOs must grasp the basics of IT just as they must understand basic corporate finance, the production process and – at least at a high level – the...
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Topics:
Big Data,
Mobile,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Social Media,
Supply Chain Performance,
Customer,
ERP,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Complex Event Processing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
In-memory,
Information Management,
Workforce Performance,
CFO,
CEO,
PaaS
Our benchmark research into retail analytics suggests that only 34 percent of retail companies are satisfied with the process they currently use to create analytics. That’s 10 percent fewer businesses satisfied than we found for all industries combined. The dissatisfaction is being driven by underperforming technology that cannot keep up with the dramatic changes that are occurring in the retail industry. Retail analytics lag those in the broader business world, with 71 percent still using...
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Topics:
Big Data,
Retail Analytics,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Social Media,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Collaboration,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Collaboration,
Operational Intelligence
Salesforce.com’s recent Dreamforce user conference got me wondering about how far the market for cloud-based software has come. To answer that question, I looked to our own research. For the past several years Ventana Research has routinely asked participants in its benchmark research what preference, if any, they have for deploying software they use to support the activity we are benchmarking. The choices we offer are on-premises, software as a service (SaaS – that is, in the cloud), hosted on...
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Topics:
SaaS,
Sales,
Sales Performance,
Salesforce.com,
Supply Chain Performance,
Operational Performance,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance,
Software
This has been the year of the cloud for MicroStrategy. After ignoring early competition from cloud-based business intelligence (BI) providers, the company has jumped on the cloud BI bandwagon. At MicroStrategy Worldearly this year it announced a program called Cloud Intelligence and this summer introduced MicroStrategy Cloud, a complete BI platform with the option of using either IBM Netezza or ParAccel as the database and Informatica as the data integration environment. Now the company has...
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Topics:
MicroStrategy,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Software as a Service,
Supply Chain Performance,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Visualization,
Workforce Performance
PivotLink introduced version 5 of its Business Intelligence (BI) product, which it delivers in the cloud computing environment and available through software as a service (SaaS) at its user conference. Demonstrating one of the unique benefits of providing it a SaaS approach, PivotLink did not require any of the attendees to request a download, get a new license file or do any type of software upgrade to receive the new version. It had already been done for them. One purpose of the conference...
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Topics:
Retail Analytics,
SaaS,
Sales Performance,
Supply Chain Performance,
Operational Performance,
Business Analytics,
Business Intelligence,
Business Performance,
Cloud Computing,
Customer & Contact Center,
Financial Performance,
Workforce Performance