Oracle currently lags behind Amazon and Microsoft as a cloud infrastructure service provider. But Oracle is about to get a big boost as its NetSuite unit begins a three-phase transition from its own data centers to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) worldwide. This post outlines the benefits, not only to Oracle, but to NetSuite and ultimately to NetSuite’s customers, making it a true win-win-win.
Just as social networking and smartphones took hold first in the consumer world and then moved into business, we can also expect artificial intelligence to begin to move into business applications in a natural way. Nearly every large, and many of the smaller, business software providers are moving in this direction. This post provides three examples of enterprise software providers embedding artificial intelligence in their products, giving organizations a way to benefit without having to invest large sums to develop their own AI systems
A real change management program is not something soft or nebulous. After years of research and real-world experiences, change management professionals have developed many methods and tools that can make change management as tangible and practical as project management. This post describes one such tool.
In some enterprise software selection projects, clients are tempted to skip the Request for Information (RFI) stage and go straight to a Request for Proposal (RFP). This is a mistake and often the result of not fully understanding the value of a well-written RFI. This post discusses the difference between an RFI and an RFP and the benefits of developing a simple RFI early in the vendor selection process.
Developing an IT strategy for some organizations can be difficult because of the presence of a legacy system. Legacy systems that are old, out-of-date, and difficult to maintain are a huge obstacle to innovation. As a result, business leaders become increasingly frustrated by their inability to roll out new mobile apps, connect with customers, analyze business performance, or become a digital business.
Today, there is no manufacturing cloud ERP provider with the size or scale of Salesforce.com or Workday. Contrary to popular belief, this is not because the opportunity is small. Manufacturing still comprises a large percentage of US companies and is an enormous opportunity for cloud ERP. This post outlines the challenges that cloud ERP providers face and what it will take for them to dominate the market for manufacturing systems.
Choosing the wrong system will lead to almost certain failure. But choosing the wrong implementation team can also kill project success, even if the right system is chosen. And, contrary to popular believe, many times your software vendor’s professional services team is not the best choice for implementation services. This post outlines the reasons why.
One of the most rapidly growing new entrants to the ERP market is Acumatica. In this post we identify three characteristics of Acumatica that are somewhat novel in the ERP world: its OEM strategy, industry editions, and multiple deployment options. Although Acumatica may be unnecessarily limiting itself to small companies, we think buyers may want to give it a look.
Small business doesn’t always mean simple business. Like larger companies, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) need to reach new markets, develop new products, satisfy customers, and control costs. The main difference is that SMBs need to do these things with fewer resources. In recent years, software vendors have announced new products to address the challenges facing small businesses. This post outlines two of them.
Human Capital Management (HCM) is turning out to be fertile ground for providers to develop use cases for data science. The recent HR Technology conference provided an excellent opportunity for us to learn about the offerings of six HCM providers that are embedding data science in their products and services. We conclude with ideas for future use cases that go beyond managing employee attrition and other early applications.