2006 Business Intelligence / Corporate Performance Management Survey

June 2006 from CAmagazine written by Michael Burns - "Our Business Intelligence survey has morphed into a Corporate Performance Management (CPM) survey. Business Intelligence is but one component of CPM. Our attached survey includes the leading Business Intelligence and CPM vendors. You will find analysis for Cognos, DynacTools, Hyperion, Khalix, Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager, OutlookSoft, Panorama, PROPHIX, SAS, TARGIT and Vanguard.

Best show in town

I highly recommend the Vancouver Financial Technology Show on June 7, 2006. I will be there and will present a seminar entitled "Independent Comparison of Accounting and ERP Systems". For more about the seminar and the Vancouver Financial Technology Show, click here.

If you are looking for more in-depth coverage of business solutions, don't miss The National IT Conference and Showcase for Accountants on June 12-13 in Toronto. The conference has excellent speakers and will allow you to get unbiased advice from analysts and your peers. And you can't beat the price at $395 for 2 days. Click here for the conference brochure about this conference and here to register online.

Benchmark production planning and control processes

"This free, 20 point "ABCD checklist" allows you to benchmark your company's production planning and control processes against current best practice... The 20 point checklist does not cover every area of business performance but it is our experience that a company's score on these 20 points give a strong indication about the company's overall business performance."

180 View - We have not used this checklist ourselves or on behalf of a client, but heard good things about it in an online forum. It looks like a good tool to evaluate your business processes. Please let us know what you think.

Microsoft, SAP sing a Duet

May 12, 2006 from Computer Dealer News - "Microsoft and SAP will start selling the software that bridges their key applications next month, promising customers and partners a new era of accessibility to enterprise data. However, while the companies are working together jointly selling and marketing the software, they won't say yet what the price will be.

Called Duet, it allows Microsoft Outlook to be used as a front end to peer into mySAP, the complex enterprise resource management (ERP) application that large companies and governments use to run their operations.

“There are a lot of business processes that anybody in an organization needs to participate in on a day-to-day basis,” said Elizabeth Caley, a senior product manager for Microsoft Canada. “We're trying to take those that are accomplished in SAP and make it so that an end user can do them without a lot of training and support.

Anuj Batra, SAP Canada's national lead for emerging solutions, said the advantages for users will be “superior decision-making because of better synchronization” between mySAP and Office.

One SAP-Microsoft partner already working on an early version of the software is Montreal's Nakisa Inc., whose Web-based application lets users create organization charts and diagrams from SAP data. “For us, (Duet) is an exciting opportunity,” said John Payes, director of Nakisa's Microsoft partnership.

The first release of the software will include four “scenarios,” linking to SAP's budget monitoring aimed mainly at general users covering time management, leave management and organization management functions. Later in the year two value packs will be available for purchase aimed at business managers covering recruitment management, travel management, analytics, purchasing management and sales activity management." For the rest of the article, click here.

180 View - I teach a course at Ryerson University that uses mySAP to demonstrate ERP concepts, and have an appreciation of the deep functionality of the system but also its complexity. It seems to me that Duet is nothing more than windows dressing, and that the vast amount of functionality within mySAP will not be accessible via Outlook.

Evaluating and Selecting a Complete PSA Solution for Billable Services Organizations

Whitepaper from QuickArrow - "Billable Services Organizations can benefit greatly from the use of a Professional Services Automation (PSA) solution. Choosing the correct PSA application is one of the most important decisions a services organization can make; as such, it can also be a daunting challenge. Many factors should be taken into account when comparing PSA solutions - some related to technology and others based on functionality. The goal is to select a solution that is compatible with your business goals and is easy to use."

180 View - Although this article is written by one of the PSA vendors, you will find useful information that is written without the typical marketing spin.

SAP continues NetWeaver focus at Sapphire 2006

May 18, 2006 from Computerworld - "Since introducing its NetWeaver technology stack three years ago, SAP AG has been steadily promoting it as a pervasive part of its applications, despite user confusion over exactly what it is or fears that it's a proprietary technology.

As the core component to SAP's Enterprise Services Architecture (ESA), NetWeaver comprises a set of service-oriented architecture (SOA) technologies, including a portal, business warehouse and other infrastructure applications. It's meant to enable customers to create integrated workflows over various applications. Not surprisingly, at this week's Sapphire 2006 user conference here, SAP made a number of NetWeaver-related announcements.

Among its other initiatives, the company announced a $125 million fund to invest in NetWeaver technologies developed by software companies, as well as a planned rollout of business intelligence (BI) applications and its next-generation product, mySAP ERP 2005, which is heavily reliant on NetWeaver….

Just what NetWeaver is has yet to be fully defined, said Stanley Ezzell, vice president of strategic initiatives at Wellborn Cabinet Inc. The Ashland, Ala.-based based furniture maker has successfully deployed a set of ERP applications through the SAP BusinessOne program, which is tailored to medium-size businesses. Ezzell has done customizations with his R/3 application and doesn't want to lose them if he consolidates his stack on NetWeaver.

"What NetWeaver really means to the R/3 customer, I don't know," he said. Ezzell was also unclear about just what migration path he would have to take to get mySAP ERP 2005 if he wants to migrate."For me to go and say to my company, 'We've spent millions on this, and guess what, we'll spend more millions for that,' I might be calling looking for another job," he said. For now, he plans to hold off making any moves until he has a higher comfort level with SAP's plans.
SAP executives have made it clear they won't force any customers to NetWeaver and have stressed that it's an open, industry-standard-based architecture. For the article, click here

180 View - So you're not alone if you're not really sure what NetWeaver is all about. Most people are not all that interested in the underlying technology. They want to know what it will do for them and at what cost. The announcement of the roll out of business intelligence applications is noteworthy as more and more ERP vendors try to incorporate this technology. The BI vendors will be facing stiff competition, but will have the edge with organizations that have disparate ERP systems.

Oracle Vows Unlimited Support for Acquired Apps

May 11, 2006 from CRM Daily - "Oracle has assured its installed base that there will be no forced marches to Fusion, its next-generation set of applications. At Oracle's Collaborate 2006 user conference, the company announced that it will indefinitely support and upgrade the products it gained through its acquisitions of PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems, as well as its own line of applications. Oracle had previously committed to support the products only through 2013. Jesper Andersen, Oracle's senior vice president of application strategy, said the move was made to ease the fears of users of the older products. "We have 30,000 customers and need to make sure we treat them well [so] they'll stay with Oracle a long time," he said."

180 View - It's taken a while for Oracle to come round but it sounds like Oracle is now listening to its customers. We suspect that there is an ulterior motive too. Oracle's prospects will be reluctant to purchase any of their existing systems with an unknown future.

Infor Buys SSA Global

May 16, 2006 from AMR Research - "This is a bold but risky move by Infor. There has not been a successful consolidator vendor in the software market to date; just look at Geac and Computer Associates...

The combined companies represent $1.6B in revenue. Infor is expected to pay $19.50 a share for SSA, a 25% premium over Friday’s closing numbers. This all-cash deal is expected to close in the next 90 to 100 days, assuming the SEC doesn’t get involved. We expect the 37,000 joint customers of SSA and Infor to receive this news with very mixed emotions. Even though SSA had to incorporate several acquisitions itself, it did a better job of rolling out an architectural platform and communicating its long-term development plans than Infor did. Any new acquisition creates some disruption to the customer base. This acquisition, significant enough to dilute senior management attention, puts at risk development plans and strategies of both customer sets.

The hard work will be the rationalization of a mix of supply chain and ERP products with the combined SSA and Infor. Infor now owns the former BPCS, Baan, Prism, Protean, Infinium, BRAIN, SCT, Lilly, and MAPICS ERP products. In addition, its supply chain products include EXE, NxTrend, daly.commerce, and Mercia. Finally, add to those products an asset management product from Datastream, and you have some product lines that are complementary, but some that are competing and overlapping as well."

180 View - Infor has acquired a hodge podge of systems. Although some of them are highly regarded, questions remain about their future. Unless Infor dispels the concerns, the real winners will be Infor's competitors who pick up new clients unsatisfied with the new owners.

QAD and the Future of the Other Pure Plays

May 11, 2006 from AMR Research and written by Bruce Richardson - "Believe it or not, we are rapidly approaching the three-year anniversary of PeopleSoft’s bid to buy JD Edwards, as well as Oracle’s surprise bid for PeopleSoft. All of that occurred between June 2 and 7, 2003.

But it didn’t stop there, the ERP market consolidation continued after these megadeals. A month later, SSA Global completed the acquisition of Baan, and it added Marcam a year later. It had already acquired Infinium Software (formerly Software2000) and various ERP assets from Computer Associates. Last November, Golden Gate Capital bought Geac and merged it in with Infor Global Solutions.

Geac and Infor had been active participants in the race to consolidate the ERP market, too. Past Geac ERP acquisitions included Dun & Bradstreet Software and JBA. Of the two, though, Infor (formerly Agilisys) had been far more aggressive. Its ERP stable included Infor Business Solutions (a German ERP vendor and the source of its new name), Lilly Software, and MAPICS. As you may recall, MAPICS had previously acquired Frontstep (formerly Symix) and Pivotpoint.

Let’s not leave out the recent Lawson-Intentia marriage, the CDC Software purchase of Ross Systems, or any of the past ERP buys by Microsoft, Epicor, IFS, or Sage Group. Who’s next?

This week I attended the QAD Explore 2006 conference in Denver. The highlight for me was the chance to have a series of candid conversations with Pam and Karl Lopker, the wife-and-husband team that run the company. Since Pam founded QAD in 1979, the company has grown to a $225M company, with more than 5,500 licensed sites (more than 8,000 total plants).
Given the size of its installed base and strength across six core verticals (automotive, consumer goods, electronics, food and beverage, industrial products, and life sciences), QAD makes a very attractive acquisition target. Indeed, before PeopleSoft bought JD Edwards, former PeopleSoft executives told me they had their eyes on QAD until the Lopkers put the “Not for Sale” sign up.
I asked the Lopkers about their intentions to join the growing ERP Aggregators club. While they average one acquisition or purchase each quarter, these are usually around intellectual property. They expressed no interest in buying or merging with another ERP vendor, as they don’t see the need to just get bigger.

When positioning against SSA Global, Infor, Oracle, and others, QAD has a compelling message in its core verticals: every dollar you spend with us on licenses and maintenance goes right back into improving and enhancing one ERP system. The company also pledges that it won’t be funding a move into the very low end or high end of the ERP space, nor does it have plans to move beyond the current core verticals. So far, the story appears to be resonating. Last year, 30% of revenue came from first-time customers.

If anything, the Lopkers are making bigger bets on their own products, and aggressively looking to buy, OEM, or partner to round out their products. R&D spending will be up this year to at least 16% of revenue. When asked to list his top three R&D priorities, Mr. Lopker said accelerating the development of the new eB3.0 release (QAD is moving closer to having the world-class financials it has needed), the integration of the Microsoft .NET user interface, and the continued development of the production planning products. The latter is helping to push QAD even deeper into manufacturing.

When I asked the Lopkers about their top growth priorities, they both responded with the same answer: emerging countries, especially China and India. QAD is ramping up the hiring of developers and services people in both countries. Clearly, there is a huge sales opportunity here, too, as multinationals accelerate the opening of new manufacturing sites across Asia.

180 View - On the one hand, we see huge companies getting even bigger through consolidation. On the other hand, we see a relatively small company able to survive and thrive in the midst of the ERP giants. Our explanation for the success of QAD and other smaller ERP developers is as follows.

1. ERP systems are not a commodity at least with respect to operational functionality (distribution, manufacturing...). By focusing on a specific vertical, smaller ERP vendors can compete effectively partly because of functionality tailored to the needs of the vertical and party because the employees of the smaller ERP vendor are often extremely knowledgeable about the vertical.
2. Some people would prefer to be a big fish in a small pond. In other words, some companies prefer to work with smaller ERP vendors where they believe they will have a bigger influence and be able to speak directly to the owners.
3. Small companies have less resources to invest in R&D, but they also don't have the same baggage as the big vendors that need to worry about all the systems they have acquired. Smaller companies can be more nimble in adapting to new technology.
   
   

Fastest Internet Ever Coming Your Way

May 27, 2006 from CIO Today - "Someday, we might conquer the vast distances of space and visit the stars. But right now, on this planet, we are on the verge of eliminating distance itself. And the vehicle for eliminating distance is the next generation of the medium you are now using: the Internet.

The current Net has little to impede you as you search for information. If you want to find the exact height of the Eiffel Tower, for example, and also see a small video or a photo of it, you can, within seconds. But if you want to have a live conversation with someone standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, at night, as if they were on the other side of a clear window -- with the tower shimmering in more realistic detail than you can absorb -- you have two choices. You can either fly there right now, or you can use a PC hooked into the next-generation Internet.

That's right: An Internet that leaves the current Internet in the dust is within reach. Some lucky individuals have already seen the possibilities thanks to the next-gen Net's major research network, a consortium of more than 300 universities, research labs, government agencies, and corporations called Internet2.

In 2005, at a conference in San Diego, a team from the University of Washington showed two high-definition screens. On one screen were small head shots of seven people, stacked in a "Hollywood Squares"-style grid. On the other was a single head shot of a different person, who was talking. All of the people were in different physical locations, meeting together live via uncompressed high-definition video transmitted over Internet2.

"It was a lot different from what we have been calling a 'videoconference,'" says Michael Wellings, engineering director for streaming media and broadcast at UW. "Some of the people held up sheets of paper to the camera, for the others to see on their screen, and the writing on the papers could be read," he remembers. "It was literally like seeing someone else on the other side of a glass window."

180 View - And you thought that that web conferencing is neat now.