At its annual conference to report full-year fiscal results, SAP revealed further details about a new solution and an additional business model that targets midsized companies. The solution will use a new “enterprise service-oriented architecture (enterprise SOA) by design” platform and will be available to customers through on-demand and hosted delivery.
At the conference, SAP CEO Henning Kagermann outlined plans to introduce a new midmarket solution, which will deliver enterprise SOA under a “try-run-adapt” model leveraging the Internet and telesales, and can be managed remotely. The solution is beginning initial market validation, and SAP plans to introduce more details about the product road map and its associated components at an event later in the current quarter, Kagermann said.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Cognos is again making news
Once again, Cognos has been detected by our radar and it’s been good news, as always. The business solutions company and Salesforce.com, a provider of on-demand business services, announced two initiatives.
Cognos has joined Salesforce.com’s AppExchange, an on-demand directory and sharing service for business applications, listing its Cognos 8 Business Intelligence software.
In addition, Cognos announced the Cognos Data Adapter for Salesforce.com, which will provide both Salesforce.com and Cognos 8 BI customers with access to Salesforce.com data, and the ability to capture Salesforce.com information over time and combine it with other historical and transactional data. Cognos and Salesforce.com customers will also be able to interact with enterprise BI information within the context of familiar environments, including the enterprise portal, Microsoft Office, enterprise search, and mobile devices.
Cognos has joined Salesforce.com’s AppExchange, an on-demand directory and sharing service for business applications, listing its Cognos 8 Business Intelligence software.
In addition, Cognos announced the Cognos Data Adapter for Salesforce.com, which will provide both Salesforce.com and Cognos 8 BI customers with access to Salesforce.com data, and the ability to capture Salesforce.com information over time and combine it with other historical and transactional data. Cognos and Salesforce.com customers will also be able to interact with enterprise BI information within the context of familiar environments, including the enterprise portal, Microsoft Office, enterprise search, and mobile devices.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Hot off the grill: Oracle introduces Unbreakable Linux solution
Oracle has just introduced its Management Pack for Linux, a Linux management solution for Unbreakable Linux users. Based on Oracle's Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g solution, the product provides Oracle Unbreakable Linux support program customers with Linux server lifecycle management.
Launched in October 2006, Unbreakable Linux is a support program that provides enterprises with assistance for Linux. Oracle claims this support is at a lower cost than existing Linux offerings. With the Management Pack for Linux, the Unbreakable Linux program now offers tools for managing Linux servers independently or in the context of their application environments.
Oracle said Unbreakable Linux customers can manage their Linux servers and the applications and databases they host using a single, integrated solution. The integrated capabilities provide users with a real-time view of their Linux environments.
Launched in October 2006, Unbreakable Linux is a support program that provides enterprises with assistance for Linux. Oracle claims this support is at a lower cost than existing Linux offerings. With the Management Pack for Linux, the Unbreakable Linux program now offers tools for managing Linux servers independently or in the context of their application environments.
Oracle said Unbreakable Linux customers can manage their Linux servers and the applications and databases they host using a single, integrated solution. The integrated capabilities provide users with a real-time view of their Linux environments.
First Data, Microsoft and HP’s POS solution targets small retailers
First Data, Microsoft, and HP recently announced that they’ve combined their payment solutions, store management software programs and computer hardware in a point of sale solution targeted at small businesses.
The First Data POS Value Exchange is intended to replace a cash register and traditional point-of-sale terminal with a computer-based system that comes with a store management solution.
According to a press statement, the POS solution leverages the companies' core competencies: 1) First Data's payment processing; 2) Microsoft Dynamics - Point of Sale 2.0 software from Microsoft, for managing inventory and track sales; and 3) a point of sale hardware solution from HP. The solution will be offered by First Data, along with its participating partners and independent sales organizations. Purchase and lease options will be available, with pricing set by the individual sales channels.
The trio said the product will benefit merchants, and from the looks of things, they’re right.
We particularly found the solution’s ability to track purchase behaviors and identify buying trends as the most interesting features. The system also uses a touch screen display, and comes with the ability to accept different types of payments.
POS Value Exchange is designed for smaller retailers, typically with a single store location with up to five lanes.
The First Data POS Value Exchange is intended to replace a cash register and traditional point-of-sale terminal with a computer-based system that comes with a store management solution.
According to a press statement, the POS solution leverages the companies' core competencies: 1) First Data's payment processing; 2) Microsoft Dynamics - Point of Sale 2.0 software from Microsoft, for managing inventory and track sales; and 3) a point of sale hardware solution from HP. The solution will be offered by First Data, along with its participating partners and independent sales organizations. Purchase and lease options will be available, with pricing set by the individual sales channels.
The trio said the product will benefit merchants, and from the looks of things, they’re right.
We particularly found the solution’s ability to track purchase behaviors and identify buying trends as the most interesting features. The system also uses a touch screen display, and comes with the ability to accept different types of payments.
POS Value Exchange is designed for smaller retailers, typically with a single store location with up to five lanes.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Sage Software and Palo Alto Software team up
Sage Software again made the news by partnering with Palo Alto Software to provide tools for small businesses. These applications are designed to manage small businesses’ operations.
Through this partnership, businesses purchasing Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro 2007 or Marketing Plan Pro 2007 can receive a discount on Peachtree by Sage Pro Accounting 2007 and ACT by Sage 2007. In addition, small businesses that purchase Peachtree by Sage Complete Accounting 2007 through selected retail stores and resellers through March are eligible to receive Business Plan Pro for free; or those who purchase Business Plan Pro are eligible for a free copy of Peachtree by Sage First Accounting 2007.
According to Sage Software, small businesses need to have strong business and marketing plans, the tools to manage their new customer bases, and a strong back-end accounting system to manage their finances and payroll. This alliance aims to have those tools available to small businesses.
Sage Software also said accounting software is just as critical to a new business as their business plan; contact management can be the catalyst that pushes a new business to success and assists with the implementation of the marketing plan.
These bundles are available direct from Palo Alto Software, through the Palo Alto e-store, or through select Sage Software/Palo Alto resellers. Free Business Plan Pro and Peachtree First Accounting products are offered to qualifying buyers after mail-in rebate.
Through this partnership, businesses purchasing Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro 2007 or Marketing Plan Pro 2007 can receive a discount on Peachtree by Sage Pro Accounting 2007 and ACT by Sage 2007. In addition, small businesses that purchase Peachtree by Sage Complete Accounting 2007 through selected retail stores and resellers through March are eligible to receive Business Plan Pro for free; or those who purchase Business Plan Pro are eligible for a free copy of Peachtree by Sage First Accounting 2007.
According to Sage Software, small businesses need to have strong business and marketing plans, the tools to manage their new customer bases, and a strong back-end accounting system to manage their finances and payroll. This alliance aims to have those tools available to small businesses.
Sage Software also said accounting software is just as critical to a new business as their business plan; contact management can be the catalyst that pushes a new business to success and assists with the implementation of the marketing plan.
These bundles are available direct from Palo Alto Software, through the Palo Alto e-store, or through select Sage Software/Palo Alto resellers. Free Business Plan Pro and Peachtree First Accounting products are offered to qualifying buyers after mail-in rebate.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Sage ships ERP solution for SMEs
Sage Software announced last week the availability of Sage TimeSheet - MAS 90 Edition, an ERP solution that targets small and mid-sized companies. The new edition integrates Sage TimeSheet into Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200, and is designed to help out in business processes like project management, employee time tracking, job costing, accounts payable and receivable, and payroll using a single data entry point.
Sage noted that the MAS 90 Edition integrates with Sage MAS 200 only when using a ProvideX database.
Sage TimeSheet is a project and resource management application that comes with time and expense tracking, resource allocation analysis, and project headcount justification, and can be integrated with other business management applications. The Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200 ERP applications are aimed at professional services, manufacturing, and wholesale distribution organizations with automating key procedures and processes, including inventory management, bill of materials and job costing.
The MAS 90 Edition eliminates duplicate data entry using single point access through Sage TimeSheet, which automatically transfers information into Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 modules including Job Cost and Payroll, said Sage in a press statement. It also enables remote access for internal or remote workgroups, and facilitates better management of resources.
Sage noted that the MAS 90 Edition integrates with Sage MAS 200 only when using a ProvideX database.
Sage TimeSheet is a project and resource management application that comes with time and expense tracking, resource allocation analysis, and project headcount justification, and can be integrated with other business management applications. The Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200 ERP applications are aimed at professional services, manufacturing, and wholesale distribution organizations with automating key procedures and processes, including inventory management, bill of materials and job costing.
The MAS 90 Edition eliminates duplicate data entry using single point access through Sage TimeSheet, which automatically transfers information into Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 modules including Job Cost and Payroll, said Sage in a press statement. It also enables remote access for internal or remote workgroups, and facilitates better management of resources.
SAP misses financial targets
SAP announced recently in a press statement that after a preliminary review of its 2006 fourth quarter results, it expects fourth quarter product revenues to be approximately $2.83 billion; this is said to represent an increase of around 8% compared to Q4 2005 product revenues of $2.63 billion. Full-year 2006 product revenues are expected to be approximately $8.57 billion, representing an increase of around 11% compared to product revenues of $7.69 billion reported for the full-year 2005.
In Q4 2006, SAP expects software revenues to contribute approximately $1.62 billion to product revenues, representing an increase of around 7% compared to Q4 2005 software revenues of $1.52 billion. SAP said it expects full-year 2006 software revenues to be approximately $4 billion, representing an increase of around 11% compared to full-year 2005 software revenues of €2.78 billion.
According to SAP, 2006 represented another year of strong share gains for the company, but it didn’t say much on how it fared during the quarter. An eWeek article told us just that when it reported that SAP “will miss not only analysts' consensus estimates of its fourth quarter and full year 2006 revenues but its own estimates as well.”
The company was happy to report that the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region performed as expected, getting around 13% growth. It was the Americas region that broke the company’s heart, yielding no growth, while the U.S. region was an underwhelming 4% growth, instead of the expected 15%.
An analysis of SAP’s woes was in order, and it seems like the culprit for the software company’s lethargic performance was the U.S. currency, which wasn’t doing very well compared to the euro. Then again, it’s still unclear at this point.
SAP said it will provide its 2006 preliminary results and outlook for the full-year 2007 on January 24th.
In Q4 2006, SAP expects software revenues to contribute approximately $1.62 billion to product revenues, representing an increase of around 7% compared to Q4 2005 software revenues of $1.52 billion. SAP said it expects full-year 2006 software revenues to be approximately $4 billion, representing an increase of around 11% compared to full-year 2005 software revenues of €2.78 billion.
According to SAP, 2006 represented another year of strong share gains for the company, but it didn’t say much on how it fared during the quarter. An eWeek article told us just that when it reported that SAP “will miss not only analysts' consensus estimates of its fourth quarter and full year 2006 revenues but its own estimates as well.”
The company was happy to report that the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region performed as expected, getting around 13% growth. It was the Americas region that broke the company’s heart, yielding no growth, while the U.S. region was an underwhelming 4% growth, instead of the expected 15%.
An analysis of SAP’s woes was in order, and it seems like the culprit for the software company’s lethargic performance was the U.S. currency, which wasn’t doing very well compared to the euro. Then again, it’s still unclear at this point.
SAP said it will provide its 2006 preliminary results and outlook for the full-year 2007 on January 24th.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Howard Dresner Interview: Conclusion
This is the conclusion of our interview with Howard Dresner. You can read the first part of our interview with Mr. Dresner here.
EyeOnBI: Many companies have a practice of using their own software internally as part of a testing regimen and for user feedback. Does Hyperion use its own software internally? If so, in what capacity and across how much of the business?
Yes, we use all of our own products. I would argue that’s one of the reasons that we’re such a well run company. Of course, we’re also tech support’s worst nightmare. We’ve got some pretty savvy users and we’re in close proximity to them.
EyeOnBI: Which competitors frighten you the most, and what are you doing to keep ahead?
Oracle and MSF have been in this space for more than a decade. We have, and will continue to recognize them as competitive threats and will continue to stay ahead through innovation, focus, and laser-like customer satisfaction. At the same time, we recognize that many customers have strategic relationships with these vendors, especially as they extend their platform and technology stacks (also IBM & SAP). So while we recognize that these vendors can be competitors, we also work closely with them as partners to serve our common customers. A fundamental part of our strategy is to complement and extend the value of the customer’s investment in these transactional systems and data management platforms by providing strong integration. For example, we have a development center set up at SAP HQ and certified integration, co-development with MSFT in areas such as XMLA, and many other initiatives.
Competitors come and go. If we were to look back in history, we would find vendors like Metaphor, Information Advantage, Comshare, Execucom, IRI, and many others that are no longer around. But here we are 25 years after we were founded, and we’re still here and going strong. In fact, we continue to have record-breaking quarters, like our recent year-end and Q1. So, we don’t fear competition at all. We observe it, analyze it, respect it and win against it. Together we make the market as vibrant as it is. Without competitors, there’d be les innovation. And, on that point, it’s our tireless innovation that will continue to keep us above the fray. For example, our recent announcement of Hyperion System 9 Smart Space continues to raise the bar and distinguish us from the competition.
EyeOnBI: Many companies have a practice of using their own software internally as part of a testing regimen and for user feedback. Does Hyperion use its own software internally? If so, in what capacity and across how much of the business?
Yes, we use all of our own products. I would argue that’s one of the reasons that we’re such a well run company. Of course, we’re also tech support’s worst nightmare. We’ve got some pretty savvy users and we’re in close proximity to them.
EyeOnBI: Which competitors frighten you the most, and what are you doing to keep ahead?
Oracle and MSF have been in this space for more than a decade. We have, and will continue to recognize them as competitive threats and will continue to stay ahead through innovation, focus, and laser-like customer satisfaction. At the same time, we recognize that many customers have strategic relationships with these vendors, especially as they extend their platform and technology stacks (also IBM & SAP). So while we recognize that these vendors can be competitors, we also work closely with them as partners to serve our common customers. A fundamental part of our strategy is to complement and extend the value of the customer’s investment in these transactional systems and data management platforms by providing strong integration. For example, we have a development center set up at SAP HQ and certified integration, co-development with MSFT in areas such as XMLA, and many other initiatives.
Competitors come and go. If we were to look back in history, we would find vendors like Metaphor, Information Advantage, Comshare, Execucom, IRI, and many others that are no longer around. But here we are 25 years after we were founded, and we’re still here and going strong. In fact, we continue to have record-breaking quarters, like our recent year-end and Q1. So, we don’t fear competition at all. We observe it, analyze it, respect it and win against it. Together we make the market as vibrant as it is. Without competitors, there’d be les innovation. And, on that point, it’s our tireless innovation that will continue to keep us above the fray. For example, our recent announcement of Hyperion System 9 Smart Space continues to raise the bar and distinguish us from the competition.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Howard Dresner: The Father of Business Intelligence Talks to EyeOnBI
Howard Dresner, chief strategy officer, joined Hyperion in 2005 from Gartner, where he was widely acknowledged as the preeminent authority on business intelligence. He graciously took some time out from his busy schedule to answer our questions.
EyeOnBI: Can you tell me about your role as Chief Strategy Officer? What’s the day to day work like? What are a couple of the long term projects you’re working on?
I’ve got my fingers in everything. I’m working closely with customers, doing a lot of market-facing activities. I’m also very actively involved in working with our CMO, the field, our chief development officer, M&A activities with our VP of corporate development, as well as some new initiatives that I’m driving.
But working with customers is the really fun part of the job, because they’re actually doing stuff with our products. They’re solving real problems. It’s a great opportunity to learn. It’s a great way to try to figure out what’s really a “best practice.” And I love organizations that make things happen.
For example, earlier this year we announced our Alliance for Performance Leadership, which is a sort of think-tank where we engage with key C-level customers, academia and our own internal faculty – with the notion of “raising the bar” for BPM best practices. We held our first roundtable in September and it was a great success. The next one is in February and we have high hopes. We are also under contract with John Wiley & Sons to produce several books – the first on the “BPM Revolution” as I like to call it.
EyeOnBI: What’s your take on Enterprise Open Source as it comes of age, specifically companies like Talend and Pentaho which are getting a lot of VC investment and buzz?
We track all trends in the market that can help our customers become more successful. We embrace several open source initiatives, including Linux, MySQL, Slide, WebDav and others, and have been delivering products for years that leverage open source in many ways. Regarding open source BI and BPM systems, so far it has not shown the speed of adoption that was predicted, but we are keeping a close eye on it, as we do with all trends that are of interest to our clients.
Open source BI and BPM operate on a couple of different business models: 1) offer a limited version of the software which is open source and the “full“ version must be purchased, 2) provide the software at no cost, but charges for all services – e.g., customization, implementation, training and support. The question is whether either serves the best interests of enterprise customers. So far, customers have not fully embraced either model.
EyeOnBI: Google has a vision of the future where you ask your computer a question and it is intelligent enough to answer, like in Star Trek. Is AI part of the future of BI? What does the BI software of the future look like for both administrators and users?
We’re always looking for was to make BI simpler – our goal is for BI to be foolproof for business users. Within the next year, business user search automation will be taken to the next level – to understand the meaning of data, where it is located, and generate new info – even if a user is asking for something someone’s never built before. It will automate what casual users are doing – making these things inherent to the system.
We continue to invest in many areas which will make BPM easier to implement, administer and use. You’re never really done on any of these fronts. System 9 represents a huge step forward. But we will not rest until BPM is completely easy and intuitive – taking a smaller slice of people’s time – while dramatically improving our customers’ business performance.
This interview will be concluded later this week.
EyeOnBI: Can you tell me about your role as Chief Strategy Officer? What’s the day to day work like? What are a couple of the long term projects you’re working on?
I’ve got my fingers in everything. I’m working closely with customers, doing a lot of market-facing activities. I’m also very actively involved in working with our CMO, the field, our chief development officer, M&A activities with our VP of corporate development, as well as some new initiatives that I’m driving.
But working with customers is the really fun part of the job, because they’re actually doing stuff with our products. They’re solving real problems. It’s a great opportunity to learn. It’s a great way to try to figure out what’s really a “best practice.” And I love organizations that make things happen.
For example, earlier this year we announced our Alliance for Performance Leadership, which is a sort of think-tank where we engage with key C-level customers, academia and our own internal faculty – with the notion of “raising the bar” for BPM best practices. We held our first roundtable in September and it was a great success. The next one is in February and we have high hopes. We are also under contract with John Wiley & Sons to produce several books – the first on the “BPM Revolution” as I like to call it.
EyeOnBI: What’s your take on Enterprise Open Source as it comes of age, specifically companies like Talend and Pentaho which are getting a lot of VC investment and buzz?
We track all trends in the market that can help our customers become more successful. We embrace several open source initiatives, including Linux, MySQL, Slide, WebDav and others, and have been delivering products for years that leverage open source in many ways. Regarding open source BI and BPM systems, so far it has not shown the speed of adoption that was predicted, but we are keeping a close eye on it, as we do with all trends that are of interest to our clients.
Open source BI and BPM operate on a couple of different business models: 1) offer a limited version of the software which is open source and the “full“ version must be purchased, 2) provide the software at no cost, but charges for all services – e.g., customization, implementation, training and support. The question is whether either serves the best interests of enterprise customers. So far, customers have not fully embraced either model.
EyeOnBI: Google has a vision of the future where you ask your computer a question and it is intelligent enough to answer, like in Star Trek. Is AI part of the future of BI? What does the BI software of the future look like for both administrators and users?
We’re always looking for was to make BI simpler – our goal is for BI to be foolproof for business users. Within the next year, business user search automation will be taken to the next level – to understand the meaning of data, where it is located, and generate new info – even if a user is asking for something someone’s never built before. It will automate what casual users are doing – making these things inherent to the system.
We continue to invest in many areas which will make BPM easier to implement, administer and use. You’re never really done on any of these fronts. System 9 represents a huge step forward. But we will not rest until BPM is completely easy and intuitive – taking a smaller slice of people’s time – while dramatically improving our customers’ business performance.
This interview will be concluded later this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)