ERP Software

ERP software shortlist

If you are looking to review your ERP system and are struggling to decide who you should put forward on the shortlist it would be worthwhile looking at these stats

AMR recently released its enterprise resource planning (ERP) survey, Now here's a look at who those vendors are, in order of the frequency of their appearance on evaluation lists:

Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS): 58 percent
Oracle: 57 percent
SAP: 49 percent
SSA Global: 32 percent
Infor: 25 percent
Geac: 24 percent
Lawson: 22 percent
Intentia: 21 percent
IFS: 19 percent
QAD: 17 percent
Activant: 15 percent
Epicor: 14 percent

The list does not itself reflect a pecking order of ERP vendors by revenue or other metrics of success, but it tells you who is going to be most involved in 2006's bake-offs. In that sense, the list is an indicator of momentum.

The survey demographics do not skew towards the lower end of the market, in which Microsoft has its historic stronghold. Forty-five percent of respondents were from enterprises with over $1 billion in revenue; and 19 percent were from the mid-market ($500 million to $1 billion). As such, the results are good news for Redmond in that, at least in ERP, it has significant traction at the enterprise level.

The distance between Oracle and SAP is also intriguing, as SAP has long been the leading global ERP player. As such, the survey will be good news for Oracle as well, since the company is enthusiastic about overtaking SAP.

ERP Info from Line56

Microsoft ERP developers feeling your pain?

Very funny video about real time feedback when your microsoft erp package bombs out

Zap that techie

thanks to onlyonce blog

Microsoft ERP

MySAP Supply Management upgrade

SAP  is preparing to roll out enhanced transportation-management applications in a gambit to give businesses more control over their supply chains.
Major transportation-management extensions, such as order split-and-merge, routing guide, and one-time ship -- will be available in the next version of mySAP  Supply Chain Management (SCM), scheduled for release in December.

SAP plans additional transportation-management capabilities in 2006, with further upgrades to follow in 2007, all designed to enhance SAP's recently revamped portfolio, now called SAP for Logistics Service Providers.

SAP announced its product goals at the BVL German Logistics Conference held in Berlin at the end of October.

A Tall Order

"This upgrade makes SAP's transportation solution competitive to best-of-breed solutions from vendors like Manugistics  or Manhattan Associates," said Noha Tohamy, principal supply-chain  analyst at Forrester Research.

"The challenge for SAP is that some of their current users have customized their current SAP solutions extensively, making it very difficult to upgrade to the new version and take advantage of the new features and functions," Tohamy said.

The mySAP Supply Chain Management package seeks to help companies align supply and demand to keep goods flowing smoothly. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver platform, the software uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, smart cards, and sensors to transform traditional supply chains from linear, sequential steps into networks.

Integrated Strategy

The product targets several industries. According to Tohamy, the mySAP SCM upgrade represents a significant improvement.

"The advantage of mySAP SCM is that it offers an integrated solution that spans areas like financials, sourcing, demand planning and transportation," she said. "This is good news for users who want to solve the transportation problems as a part of an end-to-end process, like order to cash."

Pricing on mySAP Supply Management varies according to the types of licenses purchased as well as by the size and nature of the deployment.

SAP info from Newsfactor

Microsoft Great Plains gets a new name

Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday said it is ready to release an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform under the first wave of a broader strategy to embrace Web services for software that runs an array of business tasks on the Internet.
Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0., formerly the Great Plains ERP platform, is scheduled for release on Dec. 19. A "substantial" portion of the base code was changed to deliver the more than 170 enhancements, said Lynne Stockstad, general manager for Microsoft Dynamics GP. "This is a stake in the ground that we are serious about delivering the next generation roadmap."

The most significant change to this platform is the move toward Web services. Software developers who customize the ERP application for customers will have access to code and data objects to integrate features through more than 160 Web services access points. The move to Web services will enable Microsoft to compete more competitively with Oracle Corp. and SAP AG in the enterprise software market segment.

Dynamics GP gives workers the option to modify their computer desktop to better suit tasks from payroll to accounting to procurement. The software will deliver 21 specific feature sets specific to employee roles and functions, Stockstad said. It will allow workers to access reports and queries used most frequently and monitor and receive alerts on key metrics.

The move toward Web services and roll-based processes is expected to drive Microsoft's growth in the mid-market, specifically for companies with up to 499 users. "Web services are all about processes, but you have to focus on the people who use the processes," said Ray Wang, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "The process piece is delivered by Web Services. The people piece is about the role-based scenarios with processes around people. The technology is the platform in which Microsoft is delivering it."

Formerly code-named Project Green, Dynamics will unfold in two phases. In this first wave, Dynamics GP receives an updated user interface to look similar to Microsoft Office. Microsoft is consciously changing the software's look and feel to make it similar to Office in an effort to promote standardization across applications.

The application also will offer Business Analysis Cubes for Microsoft Excel, expanded functions around the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services portal, and deeper integration with the pending release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Visual Studio 2005 extensions were also added to make for easier integration with Dynamics GP. A new Business Portal Executive Center includes access to transactional data and key performance indicators such as interactive graphs, tables, announcements, and reports.

Microsoft plans to make additional upgrades next year and in 2007. The second wave of Dynamics is set to launch in 2008. In that phase, Microsoft will converge several ERP business applications into one code base to merge the products.

ERP Info from informationweek

Microsoft ERP

Software Resource

Hardware Resource

Infor snaps up Geac erp software

Geac bites the dust ,the company has been purchased by geac for one billion dollars .Geac was not really going anywhere no real plans ,investment to move forward with clients quite content to have software that was ten years old.

San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital will pay $11.10 per share for Geac, a 27 percent premium on Geac's Friday closing price on the Nasdaq stock exchange (ticker symbol: GEAC). The companies expect the deal to close in early 2006.

Geac, based in Markham, Ontario, bills its products as "software for the CFO." The company had income of $77 million last year on revenue of $444.4 million, mostly from the enterprise applications business that Infor is acquiring. That business drove 80 percent of Geac's revenue last year, the company said in its annual report.

Infor is becoming a formidable player in the ERP market with a portfolio built through acquisitions. The private company, with headquarters in Alpharetta, Georgia, focuses tightly on the midmarket manufacturing and distribution industry, selling mainly to customers with less than $250 million in annual revenue. The software lines it will pick up from Geac include System21, RatioPlan, Runtime and Streamline.

Before Geac, Infor's largest acquisition was its purchase earlier this year of Mapics Inc., for around $350 million in stock. Infor has 2,300 employees worldwide and 18,000 customers.

Golden Gate Capital plans to form two new business groups around Geac's remaining assets, which will be held by a new company with a chief executive office to be named prior to the transaction's closing. A financial applications unit will focus on Geac's Enterprise Server, SmartStream, Anael, Extensity and Comshare products, while an industry-specific applications group concentrates on serving industries.

ERP news from infoworld

DVD recorder

Fourthshift is now a SAP Business One partner

IF you have forthshift as your companies ERP system you should be asking who is my partner for future releases and R&D ,forthshift or SAP Business One?

We’re moving quickly to seize growth opportunities by entering these new markets with the Fourth Shift Edition for SAP Business One,” Suerken said. “It’s important that we quickly extend the benefits of the SoftBrands and SAP integration to manufacturers in these new markets.”

Fourthshift ERP PR release

New SAP Business One 2005

SAP has just released new functionality for their starter ERP package.Aimed at companies who are looking for 10-100 users.

Enhanced usability -- SAP Business One 2005 users can adapt the working environment to their own requirements by changing the size and type of the on-screen font. Enhanced online help offers detailed information on processes and procedures. Plus, improvements to the installer tool facilitate implementation and support.

Improved reporting -- Already powerful report capabilities now include new periodic financial reports and reports on customer account statements. A new inspection report enables a better review and monitoring of a company's warehouse transactions. Plus, the XL Reporter has been seamlessly integrated into SAP Business One 2005 -- providing enhanced functions for reports and financial analyses. Reports can be generated easily via an interface to Microsoft Excel and Drag&Drop functionality.

Expanded support for international trade -- SAP Business One 2005 includes multi-language support. This is particularly useful if a company collaborates with international business partners or is based in a multilingual country, such as Switzerland or Canada. In addition, sales documents can be processed using a range of selection criteria. For instance, delivery notes can be converted into invoices based on document number, total, recipient code, payment method, and a range of other criteria.

Bank reconciliation -- All payment transaction processes such as receipts, check issue, check receipt, credit card payments, and account reconciliation can be handled with SAP Business One 2005. A new bank reconciliation process also fulfills special requirements in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Enhanced SDK -- Using an API programming interface based on COM technology, partners or customers can use the standard configuration of SAP Business One or make their own additional adjustments. The API is supplied in the form of an enhanced Software Development Kit (SDK). In addition, the SAP Developer Network will be expanded to support the SAP Business One developer community.

SAP