Delicious/jonerp

HRM Analytics — Dashboards, Cockpits And Mission Control - by @infullbloomus

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:18:34 +0000

Naomi on HRM analytics....good stuff "All too often, efforts to infuse HRM decision-making and shape the design of HRM programs/policies/practices/etc. with analytics begin with the obvious and easily measured rather than with the important and necessary to measure aspects of our business. Yes, it’s helpful to know how many “paychecks” were “cut” in a cycle (forgive me for using the lingo of your youth — in mine it was still pay envelopes filled with cash), but it’s a lot more important to driving business outcomes to know if our scarce compensation dollars are eliciting the desired behavioral results."

.@fscavo on NetSuite Manufacturing and Multi-books - JD-OD video w/ @dahowlett

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:11:39 +0000

Enjoyed posting this one.. "While attending the NetSuite SuiteWorld 2013 conference in San Jose, CA, Dennis sat down with Frank Scavo, CEO of Computer Economics, to talk about NetSuite’s attempts to meet manufacturers’ needs in a cloud ERP solution. They also riff on NetSuite’s multi-books solution, which brings new international accounting capabilities. But what are the cost/benefit tradeoffs?"

Salesforce.com Shares Slide Despite Revenue Growth - by @dhenschen

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:03:31 +0000

Wall Street = fickle. I think Salesforce is on track... "Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff takes the long view while Wall Street reacts to a lower-than-expected outlook."

The real SAP / Sapphire story - by @brianssommer

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:59:03 +0000

Brian always comes through. "Whether you attended last week's Sapphire event or not, you might have missed the real story there - the story SAP should have communicated. There was lots of talk about HANA, analytics and the cloud but why should customers care and care now? Here's the rest of the story you should have heard....."

SAP AG - Shareholder/Analyst Call Transcript - From Seeking Alpha

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:37:15 +0000

Here's the transcript of today's call....

All change at SAP - by @dahowlett

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:12:49 +0000

Dennis on the case....

News: SAP to Accelerate Innovation for Cloud and SAP HANA Through One Unified Development Organization

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:06:20 +0000

big changes - Lars out.

How to Know Your IT Project is Headed for Disaster

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:08:14 +0000

a practical guide to avoiding project failure. Nothing groundbreaking but all the keys are on here.

Live from SAPPHIRE on BI4 - podcast by @dslayered

jonerp — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:04:53 +0000

the guys taped a live one. :) With special guests...

Five lesser-known web browsers worth trying

jonerp — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:45:10 +0000

give these a shot instead of IE :)

HP CEO Whitman Keeps Calm, Carries On - by @dhenschen

jonerp — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:42:23 +0000

Doug digs into the HP numbers... "HP had few positive figures to report during a conference call with financial analysts on Wednesday, but one key figure, non-GAAP earnings, rose 11%. The 87 cents earned per share exceeded the high end of HP's 80- to 82-cent forecast and was a sign that the company's "fix and rebuild" plan is working, said CEO Meg Whitman."

CIOs need to rethink their roles, MIT symposium panelists say - by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:39:44 +0000

Yep - not just alignment, a total rethink is in order...."By now, it's become a tired old tech industry bromide: CIOs need to be business-savvy. But while that sentiment remains true, technology trends, generational shifts in the workforce and changing demands from end users are forcing CIOs to go further and fundamentally rethink their roles, according to members of a panel at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan CIO Symposium on Wednesday."

Salesforce Q1 earnings: in line; $893m revenue - by @editorialiste

jonerp — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:29:13 +0000

A quick look at the Salesforce numbers... "The enterprise software company reports financial results for its fiscal first quarter 2014. Here's a look at the numbers."

Enterprise content marketing fails - by @jonerp

jonerp — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:28:18 +0000

had some fun with this one... "When marketing departments tried out the “content marketing” phrase on me a year ago, I was briefly encouraged. I assumed companies would now step back from polluting the tweetstream with compulsive retweets and hashtag pimping in favor of original content. It didn't happen."

Don't give up on UKOUG - by @debralilley

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:52:49 +0000

Have to love a passionate user advocate... "Twitter is currently full of comments about UKOUG and it is very difficult to explain what I think in 140 characters so I'm writing this blog to try and explain."

The shock and awe of the public cloud - by @dealarchitect

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:50:00 +0000

Vinnie attacks fears and misconceptions on the public cloud... "And yet many in the enterprise still talk of public clouds as unreliable and unsafe. Many enterprise vendors claim they need to do better than consumer tech then brag about their data centers which are puny and grossly inefficient compared to new ones at Amazon, Google and others at Microsoft, Switch, Rackspace and elsewhere."

Building a Customer Experience Strategy - by @mfauscette

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:41:58 +0000

A pretty good checklist for starters... "Hopefully this list is useful. CX is not a simple topic, but there are lot's of good examples and case studies that can help you see what other companies have done successfully. Having the mind set to listen, learn and take action though, is your responsibility."

Corsello OnDemand… on talent management, modern marketing and a little bit more - via @pfersht

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:40:44 +0000

Nifty interview with a VERY smart dude.. "I asked Adam Luciano, HfS analyst covering customer experience management, to connect with Jason just to discover how he approaches marketing strategy in today’s environment, and learn a little about Jason’s too…"

With Tumblr Gone, the Last Great Prize Is Pinterest

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:35:43 +0000

from a social perspective, I'd say that's true. "Pinterest has become that rarest of specimens, at least in the consumer/social world: an independent, massively scaling service that not only bestows the “cool” factor that every large company seems to crave but, in Pinterest’s case, offers a huge opportunity .."

Hadoop 2.0: New Big Data Possibilities - by @dhenschen

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:33:23 +0000

Hadoop evolves. "Hadoop 2.0 will move beyond batch processing to support interactive, online and streaming applications. But don't let warnings about YARN tie you up in knots."

On Machiavelli, SAP and Fiori - by @dahowlett

jonerp — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:31:26 +0000

Dennis digs into Fiori..."The launch of SAP Fiori set off plenty of chatter in blogs and Twitter. There was a lot of confusion and discussion around pricing topics. As always with SAP, life is never that simple. There's a lot to understand."

Oracle preps for cloud ‘fiscal cliff’ - by @kennymaciver

jonerp — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:38:02 +0000

Glad to be working with Kenny on diginomica - smart dude. Check out this Oracle piece. "As it has put its cloud-based software on an equal footing with its traditional packaged offerings, Oracle has signaled its readiness to deal with the revenue hiatus that inevitably accompanies a large-scale shift to the cloud model."

Tibco launches integration platform Cloud Bus

jonerp — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:33:33 +0000

Wish SAP would put out something like this. Tibco pulls ahead again... "The category, dubbed iPaaS, uses Tibco's Cloud Bus to integrate software as a service applications along with on-premise software."

HCM No Longer an ERP Afterthought

jonerp — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:31:29 +0000

That's an understatement :) "Human capital management is no longer an also-ran when it comes to ERP purchasing decisions. Increased interest in HCM is leading giants like Oracle and SAP to make changes in their products."

Half of world's companies to embrace BYOD by 2017 - by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:29:31 +0000

not the boldest prediction ever, but :) " About half of the world's companies will adopt bring-your-own-device programs by 2017 and will stop providing computing devices to employees, a new Gartner report predicts"

What Sets The Google Cloud Platform Apart From The Rest - by @alexwilliams

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:18:13 +0000

Alex understands cloud platforms better than most... "There is a misperception about the new Google Cloud Platform that the company put into general availability last week at Google I/O. It’s not a brand new platform. It’s what Google has used for years. It is Google’s foundation. It is what makes Google, Google. And now it’s open for the first time to developers and businesses."

Platforms Everywhere – For All 50 Shades Of Developers - by @vijayasankarv

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:16:44 +0000

Vijay nails is with this phrase: "So essentially , the platform strategy needs to cater to all types of developers . They all serve a useful and important purpose – and need to collaborate to build world class enterprise applications . And if there is one thing I could humbly suggest to my developer buddies – this time around, lets not create a deep division like “technical and functional consultants” in ERP market in the 90s. Lets try to learn a few more things outside our core skill set and interests "

NetSuite Manufacturing Moves on Down the Highway - by @fscavo

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:15:53 +0000

probably the best blog post of the day. "I wrote about NetSuite's manufacturing functionality last year in my post, NetSuite Manufacturing: Right Direction, Long Road Ahead. Returning to this subject one year later, it is encouraging to see the progress that NetSuite has made. At the same time, there will be twists and turns that NetSuite will face in continuing down this highway."

The new digital customer journey: Cross-channel, mobile, social, self-service, and engaged - by @dhinchcliffe

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:12:56 +0000

Dion with some practical advice for digital customers...

SAP Vows Hana Is Ready To Run ERP - by @dhenschen

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:11:16 +0000

Doug continues to up his game, this is a nice piece. "You get the feeling that SAP was bound and determined to announce at this week's Sapphire Conference that its core Business Suite applications are ready to run on the Hana in-memory database platform. But for some the question is, just how ready is "ready?""

Tableau IPO shows strong interest in BI - by @dahowlett

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:09:49 +0000

Tableau may not be a huge company but their IPO shows why they matter. Dennis on the case. "Last Friday, Tableau (who? we'll get to that) debuted on NASDAQ at a whopping 64 percent premium to its placing offer price of $31/share. That 'pop' valued the company at an eye watering $2."

11 Tips for Deploying ERP Applications

jonerp — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:08:40 +0000

For some this is review, but it's a solid list nonetheles... "As companies become increasingly complex, finding an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that meets all needs may be as likely as finding a unicorn. Indeed, in today's global mobile environment, organizations are looking for an ERP system that does more than integrate with a legacy system."

Face/Off – SuiteWorld vs Sapphire Now - by @dahowlett

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:14:01 +0000

Dennis hits on the comparison of the two shows, a bit of an edge to NetSuite in his view.... "This week has seen diginomica team members in Orlando for SAPPHIRE Now and San Jose for NetSuite SuiteWorld. I was in San Jose at the SuiteWorld event but had contact with colleagues over in Orlando. Which was better?"

Understanding the HANA Enterprise Cloud: An initial whiteboard - by @rhirsch

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:12:26 +0000

Dick goes deep on this one :) "During the press conference last week where the HANA Enterprise Cloud (I’m taking the liberty of abbreviating it as HEC) was announced, there was a heated discussion on Twitter about the new offering and how it fit into the overall SAP Cloud strategy:"

Seven traits of effective programmers

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:09:54 +0000

A pretty good list...agree with the entrepreneurial self-starter angle...get involved with the business. "In order to be an effective programmer, you need to possess a combination of traits that allow your skill, experience, and knowledge to produce working code. There are some technically skilled developers who will never be effective because they lack the other traits needed. Here are seven traits that are necessary to become a great programmer."

With I/O Speech, Larry Page Reminds Us Why Google Rules Tech

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:07:57 +0000

Google a force to be reckoned with one way or the other... "As Google CEO Larry Page spoke Wednesday, his froggy voice not only grew stronger, the impression grew stronger that this is the man, and Google the company, that is leading technology today."

The Evolution of Enterprise Software: An overview - by @charlesmclellan

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:06:05 +0000

pretty good hook, and meaty piece: "At the risk of over-generalising, traditional enterprise software suffers from the following main disadvantages:"

SAP builds out HANA platform and ecosystem = by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:03:42 +0000

Chris with a good summary of the Enteprrise Cloud and some potential for partners to build on it... "Anyone remotely within the orbit of SAP lately knows that its number-one focus is the HANA in-memory database and development platform. At this week's Sapphire conference in Orlando, the vendor sought to show the progress it is making in both building out HANA's capabilities as well as attracting developers and partners to HANA."

SAP Customers May Overspend By 25% - by @dhenschen

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:18:54 +0000

Single instance or at least instance simplification is certainly the way to go, as this survey backs up.. "SAP customers running multiple instances and versions of the vendor's software could save 25% by switching to a single-instance approach, according to HCL. That's a pitch worthy of a gecko with an English accent, but getting there takes a heck of a lot more than a 15-minute phone call."

Enterprise mobile apps go hybrid - by @philww

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:17:29 +0000

Phil picks up on directions for enterprise mobile apps, using Salesforce.com as an example. "Mobile apps are all the rage in the enterprise these days, and the race is on to give employees cool apps they can use on their hip new touchscreen devices. But as in the early days of any new technology, it should be no surprise if the first wave of apps disappoints due to a lack of experience and skills among enterprise developers in a novel environment"

How Cloud Computing Changes Enterprise IT Economics - via @dbmoore

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:14:31 +0000

Dennis finds some cool stuff I would have missed, and on a regular basis too... :) "After a recent speaking engagement, in which I focused on creating a hybrid cloud computing strategy, an attendee approached me with a question. "How," he asked, "can I show that our storage is less expensive than AWS?""

Evolution of the SAP #HANA Cloud Platform - by @aiazkazi

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:11:44 +0000

Aiaz explains the platform piece of SAP HANA Cloud that was not covered in detail in last week's announcement,

Putting Big Data To Work For SMBs - by @lauriemccabe

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 06:43:26 +0000

Laurie is on the ball with SME content. "n my previous post, Is Big Data Relevant for SMBs?, I looked at the underlying trends driving the buzz around big data, and why big data is relevant for SMBs. I also discussed why “big” is a relative term–relative to the amount of information that your organization needs to sift through to find the insights you need, when you need them, and the widening performance gap between businesses that can find the right needles in the data haystack, and those that can’t."

Why E-Mail Newsletters Won’t Die

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 06:36:45 +0000

Truth. "E-mail newsletters are very good at forming habits and getting readers to take action, like buy a product or click on a news story. That's why they've proven to be the cockroach of internet media: fragile individually but basically indestructible .."

SAP Hana and “The Killer App” Problem - by @vijayasankarv

jonerp — Sat, 11 May 2013 06:33:36 +0000

I'm torn on the killer app issue. I agree with Vijay that an open platform is the most important thing. "Ever since SAP announced Hana , I and many others have wondered about what would be the set of killer apps that would come out and wow us. While several apps have come out , and hundreds of others are in the works at SAP and its ecosystem, this question has not quite gone away. Next week is SAPPHIRENOW in Orlando, and I have already been asked a lot by a number of people about what killers apps will be demonstrated there."

Sapphire Now 2013 – the discerning preview - diginomica - by @jonerp

jonerp — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:48:03 +0000

Had a bit of fun with this one :)

Today is my last day at Gartner. - by @Vendorprisey

jonerp — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:46:39 +0000

A big coup for SuccessFactor getting Thomas, have much respect for him.

1Q13 Performance for Trident Capital’s SaaS Portfolio; In-Line Quarter for the Enterprise - by @esimoudis

jonerp — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:47:06 +0000

The @esimoudis SaaS analysis is always interesting... "This was a mostly in-line quarter for our SaaS portfolio companies, very much along the lines of what we have gotten used to seeing every 1Q. It started slower than our adtech and enterprise SaaS companies would have preferred but ultimately ended on the right note"

Teradata gets into the in-memory biz to take on SAP’s HANA - via @dbmoore

jonerp — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:32:09 +0000

Like I said, speed is going to be a commodity. "Speed is the driving factory behind the in-memory analytics push that spans everyone from classic Teradata rivals like SAP and Oracle to startups such as MemSQL. Estimates vary as to the exact speed difference between data access in RAM versus hard disk, but Teradata is claiming RAM is 3,000 times faster. The speed difference between RAM and solid-state drives or flash memory is smaller, although still significant."

SAP unveils HANA Enterprise Cloud service - by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Thu, 09 May 2013 05:29:47 +0000

Not sure this couldn't have waited till next week, but it is a natural step forward.

Is Cloud-based ERP Inevitable?

jonerp — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:05:12 +0000

In a word, yes - but not pervasively - also expect some nuance based on company size, industry.. "ERP has not been as quick as other enterprise applications to move to the cloud. But that doesn't mean it won't get there, say industry watchers."

Sorting out Microsoft's Dynamics CRM revenue - by @ldignan

jonerp — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:03:36 +0000

Dignan chimes in on Ray Wang's post...something fishy here...."Microsoft's CRM revenue appears to be growing at a 26 percent clip for a 2012 grand total of $1.13 billion according to Gartner, but the numbers may not be what they appear."

Tableau Software expects IPO to raise up to $215.3 mln - via @dbmoore

jonerp — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:53 +0000

Tableau not messin' around...

Monday’s Musings: The Controversy Surrounding Gartner’s CRM Market Share Analysis - by @rwang0

jonerp — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:35:55 +0000

Ray's Monday's Musings is more like a Monday stormfront today :0

Fireside Chat - Enterprise PaaS with Open Source - event replay via @krishnan with @dberkholz

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:05:33 +0000

very cool... for Passheads like me

Making an Impact on Facebook: Buy Attention, or Earn It? | Webinar Replay

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:54:58 +0000

Facebook - always a riddle. Webinar replay to your aide. "57% of all social media advertising dollars are invested with Facebook. But if you’re only using Facebook to advertise, you’re missing much of the value of the world’s largest social network. On the other hand, if you simply use a free profile page, you may be missing opportunities. And if you’re not measuring everything, then why even bother?"

Salesforce Communities: Portal Killers? - by @dheschen

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:47:52 +0000

not sure Salesforce.com has killed the portal but we'll see where the customer/community focus leads... "Salesforce.com on Thursday announced Salesforce Communities, a capability aimed at helping organizations engage with businesses and consumers through branded, social- and mobile-enabled online experiences."

Big Data, Big Opportunities for DBAs

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:46:13 +0000

Not sure DBAs are at the core of this but it's not bad times for DBAs either, that's for sure :) "In the age of Big Data, data professionals are more visible to the organization than ever, and they are seen as the critical resource they always were," she said. "A few years ago, executives only noticed the database when it stopped working. Now they are looking at the database and they think of all the information it holds as an opportunity: How can we get more value out of the information we have here? What other information can we collect to support our decision making? How can we use data to enhance our products?"

SAP Launches Free Online Training for HANA, Other New Technologies - by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:39:42 +0000

Gotta say this is pretty cool.

10 Breakthrough Technologies 2013 | MIT Technology Review

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:36:51 +0000

This was interesting and you can drill into each...

A Responsible Programmer

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:21:02 +0000

I thought this was solid overview of programming the right way, let's see what the geeks think. "In the last few years I have been asked to help savor several web projects gone bad. The quality of the projects, code, environment, documentation, and morale has been low. To know what I think is right in situations like this, I started asking myself the question, "What would a responsible programmer do?"."

Nobody Really Likes Google Glass

jonerp — Sat, 04 May 2013 21:19:55 +0000

I'm good with being a Google Glass hater. "Much of these things can be fixed over time by Google. These are hardware and software tweaks. But even when these things are fixed, we still haven't heard a single compelling use case for Glass."

Infor’s Challenges: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? - by @josheac

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:59:18 +0000

very solid reporting here by Josh. "The trick will be to turn that second look into a buying decision in favor of Infor. Incumbency has its own ROI, I’ve learned in my years of watching the enterprise software market, and Infor obviously has the incumbents’ advantage in its own customer base. If it can leverage that advantage, and keep adding new customers — Infor reported 3000 new customers in the last year – then this will be one of the great comeback stories in enterprise software. And one well worth waiting for."

The size of open-source communities and its impact upon activity, licensing, and hosting

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:57:26 +0000

came out a few days prior, but this was excellent by Donnis of Redmonk. "Common (mis?)conception states that development practices, standards, and cultures vary broadly depending on the size of an open-source community"

Is there value in enterprise gamification? Part Three - by @mfauscette

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:51:18 +0000

enjoying Michael's practical views on gamification in this series...

Is Big Data Relevant for SMBs? - by @lauriemccabe

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:49:51 +0000

The answer is a qualified yes, but most SMBs IMO do not have a good handle on their existing data.. ."There’s little doubt that “big data” is the latest “big thing” in the IT industry. But for many small and medium business (SMB) decision-makers, big data is a somewhat fuzzy term. Ask any number of them what big data means, and you’re likely to get different definitions. Making matters worse, the “big” in big data, along with endless discussions of petabytes and zettabytes, make many SMBs skeptical that big data is relevant for their businesses."

.@Infor's Duncan Angove Talks Big Themes at #Inforum2013

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:43:57 +0000

Enjoyed writing this one up, Infor is a company to watch for sure. "Speaking with Dennis at the recent Inforum 2013 in Orlando with Jon behind the camera, Duncan explains that two factors have driven Infor to its current position: First, they have a purpose-built ERP strategy, not just by micro-vertical but by size of customer. Second, the ION platform is very elegant and lightweight, yet also super-scalable. And, Duncan adds, with the release of 10X, Infor expects growth to be exponential, not linear."

Inspiring New SAP Mentors Spring 2013 - by @finnern

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:39:26 +0000

"Some say even in Germany spring is finally here. It is a special feeling after a long cold snowy winter. High time to announce the new SAP Mentors, the new cubs that we added today to the SAP Mentor Wolfpack*. It is a tough balancing act to get a good mixture of area of expertise, region, gender, customer/partner," Congrats :)

10 Technology Skills That Will No Longer Help You Get A Job

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:33:15 +0000

no surprises here...agree on SEO going down also. Still relevant but not an area to specialize in without more context. "A survey of 1,100 tech-hiring professionals by Dice, a job firm for tech professionals, offers some insight. Combining the Dice survey and other research, including an off-the-record conversation with an engineering VP who participates in hiring decisions, here are some of the outdated tech skills and withering technologies to be wary of putting on your resume: "

Google+ Is Outpacing Twitter

jonerp — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:29:43 +0000

This is not really surprising, and levels on engagement on Google Plus remain low. Google is just strong arming folks into signing up. "When Google launched its social networking service, Google Plus, during the summer of 2011, tens of millions of people clamoured to sign up for an account."

SAP launches ride-sharing app TwoGo - by @chriskanaracus

jonerp — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:56:13 +0000

SAP's sustainability push.....takes an unexpected direction. " SAP has expanded its foray into corporate sustainability with the release of a carpooling application called TwoGo"

Salesforce.com zooms past SAP to take top spot in CRM market - via @dbmoore

jonerp — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:42:45 +0000

Wow, SAP got spanked here. "Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) has overtaken SAP (NYSE: SAP) as the top customer relationship management (CRM) software vendor, posting a 26 percent year-over-year revenue growth in 2012, according to the latest stats from research firm Gartner."

The Oracle assessment - by @brianssomer

jonerp — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:39:55 +0000

Very in-depth, very well done. "Oracle is huge. No single assessment does this complex IT provisioner justice. While many of my peers speak of some tech companies in single-word assessments, I struggle with Oracle. And let me get this out of the way right now, I actually like some of the stuff they’re doing, I question some others, and am concerned about another group of activities."

How The Internet Of Things Will Transform Everything - According To IT Experts

jonerp — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:29:49 +0000

Here's some survey data on the Internet of Things..."Mobile devices will outnumber humans this year. 90% of consumer-connected devices will have access to some personal cloud in 2013."

Twitter Warns Journalists: "We Believe That These Attacks Will Continue"

jonerp — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:23:49 +0000

good to keep an eye on hi-profile hacks and not retweet based on official account without more verfication.. "In a memo sent to news organizations, Twitter warns that it expects high profile account hijackings — like the one that took down the AP's Twitter account last week — to continue. "Please help us keep your accounts secure," the memo pleads. It returns to a similar note: "Help us protect you.""

So if the rockstars have gone, what’s left in the analyst industry? - by @pfersht

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:12:03 +0000

This is a classic, and no one is spared...

How many cloud users does SAP have and does it really matter - by @rihirsch

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:39:32 +0000

Dick always reading between the lines... "With its two cloud acquisitions, SAP now has by far the largest cloud user base in the market. As a marketing tool, the “biggest cloud player” card might sound good but actually it hides the evolving diversity of SAP’s cloud efforts. When these activities were nascent, then there was little else that SAP could use to prove its cloud prowess. Yet, at this point in time, the use of cloud user counts really doesn’t help us understand SAP’s cloud strategy or its level of achievement of this strategy. "

The Art of Live-Tweeting

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:36:05 +0000

SAP can take its own advice on some of these points. :) "Live-tweeting at events can increase your profile and help you more easily connect with like-minded professionals in your space. These tips teach you the art of live-tweeting."

Box's Sam Schillace on enterprise software's hard curve ahead - by @ldignan

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:31:53 +0000

Would not have expected Box to become a serious enterprise player but they offer up good commentary on CIO transitions, etc. "As head of engineering at Box, Sam Schillace has a bevy of interesting problems to solve. First, he needs to figure out security, storage and scaling capacity at Box's rapid growth clip. He also needs to think about where Box as a platform and a product has to go to stay ahead of the curve."

Skip the CFO-Speak, Here’s Tech Earnings’ (Big) Bottom Line

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:27:09 +0000

Some frank translations of recent consumer tech earnings announcements..."Quarterly earnings are the single best way to cut through corporate hype to learn how a company is really doing. But companies count on the tedious financial jargon to dull the interest of anyone outside Wall Street. As the tech earnings season draws to a close, we’ve sifted through the CFO-speak to bring you what really matters this quarter."

The Myth of America's Tech Talent Shortage

jonerp — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:17:26 +0000

Nuance on tech skills demand in America - very good read. "Companies like Microsoft often claim that America is suffering from an economically hobbling shortage of science, math, and computer talent. The solution, they argue, is to let employers fill their hiring gaps by importing tens of thousands of educated guest workers beyond what the law currently allows. Much as farmers want to bring in field workers from Mexico on short-term visas, software developers desperately want to bring in more coders from India. "

Hadapt on Hadoop and SAP HANA - video from @jdodcom

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:12:01 +0000

Enjoyed this Hadapt shoot a lot, good insights on Hadoop and kicking tires on HANA. "At the SAP HANA Startup Forum in Boston, Scott Howser, VP Marketing at Hadapt, tells Jon that it’s all about getting those Hadoop-enabled tools into the hands of the masses. By enabling SQL for Hadoop, and also embedding a relational database, Scott says that Hadapt is giving its customers a competitive advantage that – up until recently – has been restricted to companies with an ample supply of PhDs and quants."

Hear @PFersht talk to Bill Kutik about analysts, HR and outsourcing…

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:09:59 +0000

Listening to Phil and Bill talk should be well worth the ticket.

Big Data Solutions – Do Questions Matter ? by @vijayasankarv

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:07:46 +0000

Vijay has done some nice blogs of late, this one is my fave of the bunch "And one last thing – if the system is intelligent enough to find answers, why can’t it have the smarts to also figure out the best possible presentation for the results? Today – we mostly have to predefine how output looks like visually. Why put that load on users? Can’t systems be smart enough to look at the question and the answers and figure out the best way to represent it to the user? This is not a “big data” problem – this should have been the case all along, but somehow never quite happened in a mainstream kind of way."

How to write great/awful tech press releases: Satire by @brianssommer

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:05:16 +0000

Brian mocks the press release... "If you're running a startup and wondering how those PR people do their magic, read on. (If you work for these firms, click away now.) I checked in with my colleagues over at Blithering Media (my sub rosa PR firm). They shared their best/worst practices with me. Here goes:"

Two Reasons Microsoft Registers Double-Digit Growth As Its Peers Decline

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:52:04 +0000

Hmm, Microsoft not to be counted out in enterprise or cloud eh? Too many are focused on Win 8 failure. "Amazon stands clear as the 800-pound cloud gorilla, but Microsoft is no slouch. By embracing the cloud early and by continuing to pressure its proprietary peers with low-cost, high-value infrastructure software like SQL Server, Microsoft has kept itself top of mind with CIOs. These same CIOs are therefore willing to give Microsoft breathing room as it transitions its business to the cloud."

Parse Isn’t An OS, But It Is Facebook’s Answer To Android And iOS | TechCrunch

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:42:17 +0000

Facebook enters mobile development platform game, and I wouldn't underestimate them. "Facebook doesn’t own a mobile operating system, and that’s a problem. Developers don’t need Facebook to build apps, and it doesn’t get a 30 percent cut of payments. But today Facebook acquired Parse, and while it’s not an OS, it’s the next best thing. The mobile-backend-as-a-service could keep Facebook top-of-mind for developers when they pick an identity provider, integrate sharing, and buy ads."

Who Really Owns Your Personal Data?: Critical Eye

jonerp — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:25:26 +0000

A refreshingly balanced/cynical view of big data and a new term, the "quantrepreneurs..." "It was easy to spot the quantrepreneurs among the ordinary self-trackers gathered within the corporate confines of Stanford's Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, a place of marble floors, reflecting pools, light fixtures beveled like precious stones, and premium coffee for all. Many had already designed self-tracking apps and launched quant-centric companies"

Big Data And You: How Your 'Likes' Reveal Sexuality, Race, Drug Use, And Your Parents' Divorce

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:42:50 +0000

It really is amazing how much they can tell about you from this kind of data - without using the most private stuff you protect. "A recently published study by researchers at Cambridge University in the UK and Microsoft Research, used an automated analysis of 58,000 volunteers' Facebook "likes" to make highly accurate predictions about a person's private and very sensitive personal attributes. "

Markets | The Future of the Internet Is Still Ads — And You’re the Inventory

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:40:50 +0000

Call me a skeptic - the next relevant ad I see will be the first. Maybe the second. "Ads pay for the internet, or at least for what most of us do online. Search, social networking, news, e-mail: If you didn’t pay for that, an ad did. And online, ads aren’t going anywhere but up. One company benefiting from the success of online advertising is San Francisco-based ad-tracking outfit Marin Software, which pulled down $105 million in its successful IPO on Friday. The company’s shares, priced at $14, shot up to nearly $20 in initial trading before closing at $16.26."

Microsoft and the enterprise/consumer opportunity. Time to go “all in” again? - by @josheac

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:29:54 +0000

Josh's Microsoft analysis is almost always spot on. "It’s as if Microsoft corporate is so obsessed with maintaining its position in the consumer market that it is willing to squander an unprecedented opportunity in the enterprise – while ignoring the fact that owning the convergence of enterprise and consumer is the not-so-secret ambition of every company Microsoft is competing against – Apple, Google, Salesforce.com, SAP, and Samsung, to name a few."

NetSuite 2013 for Manufacturing: At an Evolutionary Crossroad - by @erp_mintjutras

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:28:18 +0000

Cindy looks at NetSuite's move into manufacturing..."NetSuite is taking an important step in its evolution. Founded in 1998, with an exclusively SaaS-based offering, it has long been a contender in the ERP market for service providers and distributors. In its early days it primarily served small companies, but as SaaS became more well-accepted and as its solution footprint broadened and deepened, the average customer has grown in size. But compared to some other ERP solution providers, those that evolved from the world of more traditional MRP, it is a relative newcomer to manufacturing. Can NetSuite “catch up” or even pull ahead in the game?"

Talking UK Government Success with UNIT4 - video from @jdodcom

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:24:17 +0000

The UNIT4 win was hotly debated in terms of its significance, but it's a story to follow either way. Dennis was on the case. "A recent contract win from the UK’s Department for Transport (DFT) amounts to a “game changer” for business software company UNIT4, says Darren Hunt, Director of Sales and Marketing. Dennis sits down with Hunt and Anwen Robinson, Managing Director, to talk about replacing the government’s existing SAP solution with a cloud-based system from arvato (owned by the Bertelsmann Group), a UNIT4 Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) partner."

Does SaaS Save Money? - by @fscavo (JR: plus survey opportunity)

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:21:43 +0000

Some interesting SaaS analysis and the chance to chime in for more data. "According to a soon-to-be-published survey by Computer Economics, IT decision-makers appreciate the benefits of SaaS, such as speed, agility, and scalability. But there is one benefit that they do not rate highly. They do not see that SaaS saves money. Please read to the end of this post to see how I plan to quantify this issue with some hard data. "

SAP's Jonathan Becher (@jbecher) On The Future Of Marketing: 'I Don't Have A Social ... - Business Insider

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:17:28 +0000

Jonathan is a smart marketing dude, don't agree with everything he says but we have had some excellent debates. "I'd characterize it in three prongs. The first is converting vast amounts of available data to provide deep insight into the effectiveness of marketing, and that's where you throw in the "big data" buzzword. The second is having to re-streamline your approach to marketing, particularly across multiple channels. The third is rethinking the customer experience, particularly along the lines of engagement — talking with, as opposed to talking to."

E-mail gets a cold shoulder

jonerp — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:10:06 +0000

I don't think it's as easy to get rid of email as the peeps in this article thing, but still, getting control of email is a huge productivity key.

Will BlackBerry Be Able To Win The Battle For No. 3? [Poll]

jonerp — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:35:04 +0000

Blackberry has definitely righted this ship but in no way has it secured number three at this point. I'd still bet on Nokia/Windows. "BlackBerry appears to be back on track. It has stopped losing money like a Hollywood starlet with a crack addiction, finally has new products on the market and a roadmap to grow in 2013 and beyond. Thorsten Heins and company appear poised to stake a claim for what has become the most important spot in the Smartphone Wars."

An Ecuadorian Silicon Valley: Pipeline to the future or pipe dream?

jonerp — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:26:44 +0000

Cool - more Latin American enterpreneurialism would be welcome. "In the previous installments of this series on Ecuador's plan to build its own hub of research and innovation on par with the likes of Silicon Valley and South Korea's Incheon, I've focused on the big dream and the big possibilities. It's time for a reality check to round things out."

Why the SAP Training Results from Michael Management’s Survey Bother Me - by @jonerp

jonerp — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:57:37 +0000

OK, I went off. :) "The results of Michael Management’s 2013 SAP Training Survey got under my skin. Though there was a silver lining or two, I was hoping that individuals (and companies) were further along. Too many ERP projects are still struggling or failing, and there is good data to support the importance of training investment to project outcome. Yet the “training gap” remains. In this year’s survey, a whopping 46% of SAP professionals surveyed indicated they did not have enough training to do their jobs. Though the survey sample size of 1,172 is not enough to reach definitive conclusions, it is enough to raise serious eyebrows."

BlackBerry Q4: Lives to die another day? - by @zackwhittaker

jonerp — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:12:24 +0000

Zack on Blackberry's surprise earnings report. "Jefferies analyst Peter Misek believes BlackBerry's enterprise pitch, specifically in its mobile device management software, "will gain traction throughout this year, and as such "see a significant ramp in revenues next year." In-built consumer features, such as WhatsApp integration, "is a key feature for BlackBerry to have in order to gain traction in Europe and emerging markets," he said in a note to investors."