Google Wave

I am really intrigued by the announcement of a new product from Google – Wave (http://wave.google.com). A review in TechCrunch commented that it is “one of those products that you have to see in action to understand.” Reading the article proved the statement – I only vaguely understand what it is planned to do. Google describes it as “a new model for communication and collaboration on the web.”

The Office gets into ERP

If you enjoyed The Office TV series (the UK version, and even the US one), our SYSPRO colleagues in the UK have created a series of humourous videos about ERP in manufacturing - The quest for the perfect ERP solution.

Project Server 2010 defines its market segment

One of the Microsoft bloggers has provided the software requirements to run the forthcoming version of Microsoft Project Server 2010, which is:

Project Server 2010 will be 64-bit only
Project Server 2010 will require 64-bit Windows Server 2008 or 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2
Project Server 2010 will require 64-bit SQL 2005 or 2008
Project Server 2010 will only support Internet Explorer 7 or 8 (IE 6 will not be supported nor other browsers)

What this effectively announces is that Project Server is aimed at the large enterprise organisation (over 1000 users), and that Microsoft will not be continuing with an enterprise project management (EPM) solution for the mid-market. I would see that as an indication that Microsoft believes it should be competing with Oracle’s recently acquired Primavera product, rather than with products like Sciforma’s PSNext.

Does SaaS ERP exist?

There is currently a debate on the ITToolbox site about whether ‘proper’ ERP is available as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering – Does SaaS ERP really exist?

I don’t believe the debate has been resolved either way, but I found some comments interesting:

“Perhaps there are some ERP vendors that have made the leap to true SaaS, but, keep in mind, in the long run, you will pay more money for a SaaS model. Typical payback times are between 2-2.5 years to where it becomes more expensive to operate with the monthly fees (you never “own” the license), vs. paying up front for a perpetual license. Due to the strategic nature of an ERP investment that may not be changed out for 10+ years, the SaaS model typically does not make much financial sense.”

“One major TCO benefit surfaced right to the top in favor of SaaS. We call it the “Six Year Pinch”. We all agree that the payback for on-premise is within the five year time frame; however, growing enterprises require upgrades to the on-premise applications, infrastructure, and personnel (new hires and training). When you factor these costs into the TCO model, the on-premise ERP became 3x more expensive than the SaaS ERP since the investment for SaaS remained linear whereas the on-premise had a investment requirement every 5 to 6 years. True SaaS ERP vendors have one code base (i.e you are always on the latest and greatest version of software). The SaaS vendor manages the deployments behind the scenes and the customer is responsible for enabling new functionality through switches as necessary. On another note, the companies we interviewed who are using SaaS ERP chose the solution not because it is a SaaS solution, but chose it because the functionality met their requirements – the most important decision in any business system selection. The SaaS model was a secondary benefit.”

How the software world has changed

Care of @CurtMonash on Twitter, a photo of the Top Software Vendors in 1989. How the world has changed!

The 10,000 hour rule

Time has an article on Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers book. One of the significant points in his book is the 10,000-Hour Rule. According to TIME, there is a reason for this rule.

Studies suggest that the key to success in any field has nothing to do with talent. It’s simply practice, 10,000 hours of it — 20 hours a week for 10 years.

If that’s correct, I’m probably at or close to my 10,000 hours in ERP. I started working for an ERP company, JD Edwards, at the end of 1998. Apart from a break of seven months during 2003, but I have worked with JD Edwards, Microsoft Dynamics NAV and SYSPRO ERP for just over ten years – in project management, sales and marketing.

I just wonder how soon after the 10,000 hours does success begin

old DEC, new Oracle

The news that Oracle is to acquire Sun Microsystems sent my mind back over 10 years to a company I used to work for that had many of the attributes that the new Oracle/Sun business will have.

I am referring to DEC, aka Digital Equipment Corp, aka Digital. Look at what Digital had and what Oracle will now have:

Technology	DEC	Oracle
Relational database	Rdb	Oracle
Operating system	VMS	Solaris
Middleware	MessageQ	BEA
Hardware	VAX	Sun

There was a belief about Digital that it became too difficult to manage so many different technologies, and that contributed to the company’s demise. So I can’t help wondering how Oracle will manage.

The difference between the two is that Digital developed its products through innovation, Oracle has been getting them by acquisition.