CRM/ERP

Customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) news, solutions, and analysis for IT professionals

Bad news about cloud computing: it doesn't exist; Good news: New tech makes it easier

Posted January 31, 2012 - 5:54 pm

Would you rather buy expensive technology that gets a lot of buzz or one that gets less buzz but is the technology that makes the sexier approach possible?
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Encouraging users to embrace big business data

Posted December 12, 2011 - 9:00 am

Members from the CIO Executive Council weigh in on encouraging users to embrace big business data. Add your opinion and advice.
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9/11: Are Lessons Learned Still Being Applied?

Posted September 9, 2011 - 7:36 pm

Disaster - is your IT continuity and contingency plan ready for another 9/11?
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Virtual staff help Paris, U.K. airports put human face on flight updates

Posted August 30, 2011 - 10:35 am

Paris' Orly Airport is the third to deploy systems that holograms of staff who make boarding or security announcements, increasing passenger face time without adding more faces.
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Epsilon: 'Biggest ever' data breach nets huge haul for spear phishers

Posted April 5, 2011 - 12:09 pm

By hitting a company that sends 40 billion "legitimate" commercial emails per year, data thieves net better haul than broad web-site attacks.
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Why do ERP techs get paid better than anyone else in IT?

Posted November 17, 2010 - 6:33 pm

ERP specialists are getting the best salaries of any other geek group, when broken out by technical specialty rather than seniority or geography. Is it the potential for failure? The complexity? The jackets and pocket squares?
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In change management there is no middle

Posted June 28, 2010 - 7:34 am

Hansel and Gretel left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way out of the forest. You need to do the same in IT. The ability to go back must be part of your change management plan.
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How to Escape the CRM Training Trap

Posted June 23, 2010 - 7:07 am

CRM users need to be trained. But they don't particularly like training, and they sure don't remember it. Is there a better way?
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What problem are you trying to solve?

Posted May 25, 2010 - 8:00 am

Your sales manager comes up, points to an article in a trade magazine, and says "we must put in CRM!" What do you do?
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ByDesign Upgrade Means SAP is Serious About SaaS

Posted May 20, 2010 - 10:07 am

If you're doing an ERP software selection between Oracle and SAP, you really need to look at ByDesign.
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When a software system fails: Should it stay or should it go?

Posted May 12, 2010 - 12:42 pm

Everyone was excited about the roll out. Expectations were high - all the users were trained, the consultants were happy, and after months of work and a pile of money, the app is finally ready to be rolled out. The executive who was pushing and pushing for completion finally smiled. Total cost: $3 Million.
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In-memory Databases Do Not Excuse Fat, Bloated Applications

Posted May 7, 2010 - 9:23 am

Hasso Plattner, SAP's CEO, is going to push for increased adoption and use of in-memory databases. He states that using in-memory databases will create a revolution in new applications, especially in the area of business analytics. But, with new developments in faster technology comes application bloat, as the developers no longer have to work around speed limitations. The challenge is to increase usable functionality (as Plattner is suggesting) without also introducing fat, bloated code. Give us performance, but please, don't give us bloat!
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The Three Rules of Reports

Posted May 6, 2010 - 9:42 am

They must be accurate, sufficiently detailed, and ... pretty?
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Third Party Software Support: Yes or No?

Posted May 5, 2010 - 10:08 am

Software maintenance from SAP and Oracle range from 18-22% of the license fee per year, which means that you effectively re-buy the software every four to five years. A company that is happy with their version and who does not want to upgrade, or who expects to phase out the package in several years, could see third party support as a good bargain.
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Information Security Must Underlie ERP

Posted April 13, 2010 - 4:30 pm

One of the presentations at The Black Hat conference in Barcelona this week discusses a "backdoor" to SAP. Security goes beyond backdoors, though -- you need to have a full-blown Information Security strategy in place to guard against Bad Hats.
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Does your ERP system run your business?

Posted April 12, 2010 - 9:06 am

ERP software runs your business, right? Not so fast! ERP systems are very comprehensive and help you perform your business activities, but it's not your software that runs your business, and it's important to understand who does.
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The Double-Edged Sword in Business Software

Posted April 2, 2010 - 8:00 am

The software world is a fabrication by the software designers and engineers, and they can tell the system to do pretty much whatever they (or you) want to. But this flexibility will cost you. Instead of just being able to write "ball bounce," the programmer has to write the entire universe in which that ball is to bounce, and that is not easy, nor is it easy to change.
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SVG a graphics format for 21st century

Posted November 17, 2009 - 3:50 pm

Misunderstood standard a likely basis for new wave of applications.
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A cloud computing primer

Posted February 13, 2009 - 1:45 am

With cloud computing all the rage these days, the concept is continuing to make its way into businesses everywhere. However, there are still organizations out there that do not know what cloud computing means to them which also means that they don’t know whether or not cloud computing could be good for the bottom line. In this post, I’ll explain the relatively non-technical basics behind the concept of cloud computing and explain why services “in the cloud” can result in a healthier bottom line for business.
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How to manage database log files gone wild

Posted December 1, 2008 - 10:40 pm

Takeaway: Sometimes, things don't go as planned. Database log files are critical to proper operation. Here's one log file situation that ended well.
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