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What to ask before saying yes to SaaS, cloud computing

Here is a very informative article on the issues surrounding SAAS deployment. The one thing they didn’t mention is that a traditional purchase hits the capital budget, a SAAS deployment hits operating capital. Here is the snippet:

Not surprisingly, SaaS vendors have decided there’s no time like the present to make a full court sales press. In a down economy with slashed IT budgets, when there’s no tolerance for 18-month software implementations and the price tags of on-premise software from Oracle and maintenance fees for SAP applications are not falling, software-as-a-service and cloud computing offerings become more attractive options for businesses. Read More here…

A Bundled Report on the ERM Software & Application Management Services Market: Providing a Detailed Market Analysis With Forecasts to 2010

DUBLIN, Ireland, Oct 31, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Research and Markets ( http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7ec7b3/erm_software_app) has announced the addition of the “ERM Software & Application Management Services Market 2007-2010 – Bundled Report” report to their offering.
Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) applications integrate content value chain and business support processes providing insight into critical business data. Stiff competition and rising costs are forcing companies to realign their processes, resources, financials etc, obtain a single view of spending levels and maximize usage of people and assets ensuring positive return on investment.
The SMB segment is expected to account for significant share of the ERM market, over the period 2008-2010. With the advent of on-demand or the SaaS (Software as a Service) model of ERP and other ERM applications, it has become affordable for a large number of companies. Further, the vendors have acquired the expertise and initiated channel programs to tap this segment. Continue reading A Bundled Report on the ERM Software & Application Management Services Market: Providing a Detailed Market Analysis With Forecasts to 2010

The Future of Enterprise Software

The software industry seems to be confronting large-scale challenges as new models, including on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS), are having an increasingly disruptive impact on the traditional, licensed software models. Use of SaaS is gaining ground with business process and applications professionals to outsource their key processes. According to Gartner, 25% of all software will be deployed with the SaaS model by 2011. Deutsche Bank predicts 50% by 2013. Does the SaaS model spell the end for the traditional perpetual license model in software? If so, will the established software vendors weather the transition? What are the implications for software innovation, the VC community and the entrepreneurs? Will the end customers have more bargaining power over the vendors or less going forward? What can the IT organization expect in quality and service of software? Join Marc Benioff, founder, chairman & CEO of salesforce.com, the world’s leading independent SaaS provider, and Hasso Plattner, co-founder, ex-CEO and chairman of SAP, the world’s largest business software company, as they face off on the future of enterprise software. Moderated by Quentin Hardy of Forbes. Churchill Club Great Debate on The Future of Enterprise Software ()04/03/08) with Marc Benioff, Hasso Plattner, Quentin Hardy

Watch more Enterprise Software Videos here

Green ERP?

With the drive to being more environmentally responsible, corporate management is (or will be) setting initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. While moving towards Green and reducing the carbon footprint, the question becomes, how do we manage this? Should ERP be modified to include the tracking of carbon emissions?

ERP systems are essentially large accounting systems that capture oodles of data and summarize it in a report to management. Traditionally, they are focused on financial, operational, human resources, and other resource data reporting. It would seem that the next logical step would be to begin tracking and reporting on carbon footprint data. It is surprising though that major ERP vendors have not yet announced this sort of system module or functionality.

[ReviewAZON asin=”0470393742″ display=”inlinepost”]With efforts in reducing the carbon footprint focused on the data center, such as reducing power consumption of the server farms, management may be missing the point. FedEx, for example, has reduced fuel bills by up to 30 per cent through better route planning for its trucks. That justifies a lot of server power.

Without the tracking of this sort of key data, management may be focused in the wrong direction. With proper information and analysis, companies can make better decisions and reduce emissions where it gives the most added value. It seems that an ERP system would be perfect in tracking, analyzing and notifying management on the results of their green strategic initiatives.

What do you think?

You’ve ‘done’ ERP, now get the value

Here is a good article just released.

You’ve ‘done’ ERP, now get the value

By – Kevin Clarke, HansaWorld SA country manager

So you’ve made the decision to invest in an enterprise resource planning solution. You know you’re getting some software that drives proven, best practice business processes, and you’ve gone through the perhaps painful process of having the software implemented, configured and fine-tuned. Happy days are here, right? Not necessarily. You need to be sure you don’t suffer from user regression as well as the possibility of your shiny, integrated new ERP system becoming little more than a glorified accounting system.

Probably one of the biggest challenges with any ERP deployment is that of user acceptance. While training must surely have been an integral part of the project, it is important to remember it should not end with the conclusion of the project. When the consultants have packed up and left the building and the ERP system is humming nicely in the background, a new danger lurks, which might adversely affect the value you get from your ERP solution.

Read the entire article here…

ERP as a Service

Software as a Service (SAAS) is growing significantly in the CRM space, but it has yet to take off in the ERP market.

Gartner predicts that at least one-third of business application software spending will be on service subscriptions rather than on product licenses by 2012. The analyst firm also predicts that by 2010, 30% of new software purchases in the Asia-Pacific will be delivered via an application utility or Software as a Service (SaaS) model.

The following article looks at ERP as a Service (SaaS applied to ERP) and weighs the two sides of the coin. (Note: the article is from India, so it has a South Asia slant to it, but it is still very informative)

http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20080721/market02.shtml

Tags: ERP, ERP as a Service, SAAS

Top 7 ERP Implementation Analogies

ERP implementations are difficult. That is a given. But, during an ERP implementation people always use analogies to describe how difficult the process will be. Here are some of our favorites. Please comment and add to the list of interesting, strange, humorous or bizarre analogies you have heard:

1. The implementation will be like open heart surgery while the patient is still alive and working.

2. An ERP implementation is like the corporate equivalent of a brain transplant.

3. I think of ERP implementations like mountain climbing: No two are the same, Some principles are universal: Gravity makes you fall no matter what mountain you climb. Some approaches are either wrong or very risky.

4. ERP is like my marriage…In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health…

5. ERP implementation is like a warfare, make it quick and fast, don’t drag too long. The soldier’s morale is the key.

6. ERP implementation is like a soccer team, where the coach, physiotherapist and substitutes have roles that are equal to those of the players themselves. (… in explaining the role of top management.)

And our favorite …

7. An ERP implementation is like a 9 month root canal.

Do you know of any more?

8 Steps to successful ERP Change Management

All implementation project managers must focus on people, processes and technology. It is the people aspect that is often the most complicated. Any enterprise software endeavor creates a wave of resistance. The difference between success and failure is determined by how you manage the change process.

There are many methods, but one useful method is the Kotter Change Management Methodology. This method was developed and documented by John Kotter, a noteable professor at the Harvard Business School. According to Mr. Kotter, the Eight Steps to a successful change are:

1. Create a Sense of Urgency
2. Pull Together the Guiding Team
3. Decide What you will do
4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in
5. Empower others to act
6. Produce Short-term wins
7. Don’t let up
8. Create a New Culture

His latest book, shown here uses a fable to illustrate how to manage change is a wonderful book that gives the high-level understanding of change management. Using a penguin colony in Antarctica as the setting, the author uses this analogy to any change occurring with groups of people. It is worth a read, but more importantly it is worth your project team reading and discussing together. Using the eight steps outlined above, with a cohesive understanding of how change affects teams, together you can undertake any enterprise software rollout.

Be sure to read John Kotter’s other books on Leading Change.