Not to be outdone by Apple and Microsoft, perhaps SAP executives will quickly build several US retail stores to increase the general public's awareness of one of the world's largest software companies. And sell some SAP products too!
More than 10 years and 6,600 customers later NetSuite announced its first profitable quarter.
That sucking sound you've been noticing during this recessionary mess we're all in: That's the sound of CIOs' clout being sucked away.
In 1971, Tom and Louis Borders <a href="http://www.borders.com/online/store/BGIView_bgiabouthistory">opened an 800-square-foot used bookstore</a> in the quintessential college town of Ann Arbor, Mich., and named it Borders Book Shop. Flash forward nearly 40 years, and their namesake book establishment, now expanded to 1,100 stores and 28,000 employees worldwide with a state-of-the-art e-commerce website, is in trouble on a Dickensian scale.
If your current vendor "strategy" regarding ERP, CRM or BI apps is simply saying "No, not at this time," or "Please stop calling me," then you might want to read Forrester's new report, [[xref:www.forrester.com/go?docid=47343|"Five Steps To Building A Recession-Proof Packaged Applications Strategy."]]
Who really wants to hear about ERP and supply chain software and BI apps after a two-week holiday vacation? Not me. Not just yet.
Sharp-eyed and highly caffeinated regulars might have noticed the brand-new employee at the Mercer Island Drive Thru Starbucks in November. The newbie, wearing the standard-issue green apron, was receiving a crash course in just about every function at the 1,800-square-foot store. He took a turn as a barista, manned the drive-thru, handed out samples to customers, took out the trash, and assisted a patron who was trying to connect to the Wi-Fi network. He tinkered with the store's point-of-sale (POS) system. He even did some scheduling.
A worldwide economic recession, volatile energy prices and mistrust of Chinese products are conspiring to end China's reign as the low-cost supplier to the world.
In mid-October, I blogged about an e-mail top SAP executives sent internally that instructed all SAP employees to adhere to the following mandate: "Do not order any new IT equipment at this time." Software was included in the mix. The edict was listed among several other cost-cutting measures.
As corporate budgets have tightened, your company has asked you to choose a maximum of four items to support your work. You will be provided only with these items. Can you get by without a BlackBerry? How much do you really need a desk? Your PC? Take a look at some interesting survey results.
Vinnie Mirchandani has witnessed his fair share of vendor negotiations first-hand—as a consultant to companies in the RFP and vendor-evaluation processes with his firm Deal Architect, as a global outsourcing executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and as a former Gartner analyst. He's helped his clients negotiate enterprise software contracts of US$5 billion and claims to have saved technology buyers millions of dollars over the years.
Just a guess: You've got a disconnected set of ERP software applications spread all over your enterprise. You've probably got a standalone SaaS CRM system for the sales folks. Perhaps you just bought a business intelligence package that's supposed to deliver analytics and reporting data to managers and operations people. (You're working on it now.) Throw in a data warehouse, under marketing's domain, and maybe a supply chain or procurement system, and you know what you've really got? A mess.
Holiday travelers, hang onto your laptops: One is now stolen every 53 seconds. Here are 10 tips to keep your PC and data safe as we enter the busiest travel season of the year.
What exactly is VoIP? Do you need it? How do you go about getting it? This overview of the promise and limitations of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provides the basics needed to get started.
Customer relationship management topics covering definition, systems, software and more.