SAP and SuccessFactors Roadmap Analysis
SAP issued the following press release this morning: SAP and SuccessFactors Accelerate Unified Product Direction which covered their product direction across core HR, Talent Management, HCM Analytics and Integration and I thought I would outline my initial thoughts on each of the main points. Product Direction Across Core HR, Talent Management, HCM Analytics SuccessFactors Employee Central solution [...]
Oracle Acquires Taleo (Resistance is Futile)
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, I am not sure, but this is what happens when I don’t have time to write:-) If you are in Enterprise Software, you know what’s coming at you … resistance is futile. Now, for the real news on Oracle’s acquisition of Taleo, I refer [...]
Position Paper: Five Attributes Of Enterprise Cloud Applications
Abstract: In this position paper, we define the five core attributes of a modern enterprise cloud application which includes Simplicity, Cloud Scale Architecture, Open APIs, Mobile Platform Support and Social Awareness. We expect this definition to help organizations differentiate between a true cloud application from a cloud-washed application. Such an understanding will help enterprises to [...]
Year End Trends In Enterprise Software: HCM Is Hot And Integrated Suites
As the year 2011 is winding down, I am seeing few trends in enterprise software which might generate quite a bit of discussion among the pundits next year. I thought I will do a quick post on it and see if I can get some feedback from industry watchers and practitioners. As the traditional software [...]
SAP and SuccessFactors Acquisition Q&A
This Saturday SAP announced its $3.4B acquisition of SuccessFactors and even though in the recent months they had dropped some hints they were looking to make an acquisition very few had SuccessFactors being the likely candidate. I would expect a lot more information and clarity to come out in the coming months but thought I [...]
Workday Flash Mob @ HR Tech
Chinese Wall. Separation of State and Church. You know the drill. No mingling of author content and Sponsor posts. (Hint: that’s what the scrolling side widget is for.) Except when they are too funny to miss. Like Workday, with their Flash Mob Lunch during the HR Tech Conference. Enjoy.
DreamForce 2011–A Look Back
Having just returned from my trip to the US for DreamForce, I’ve had a bit of time to reflect on the news (see here and here) from the event. I wanted to write up post that takes a more thoughtful look at what was, and was not, announced, and what this means for the longer [...]
Force.com and Chatter Score a Coup – Hook Workday
Update – Both Infor and Concur announced similar deals – details to come. Update #2 – I spent time with Workday during the event to get a deeper understanding of what the force.com part of this deal actually means. Essentially Workday will use force.com for customers who wish to make advanced customizations on their Workday [...]
HTML5, The Enterprise Software Lingua Franca
This week not only showed the world that enterprise software can be sexy but also made it clear HTML5 is the right outfit for the sexiness. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, we are seeing the emergence of a new trend in the enterprise, employees bringing their own device and IT warmly embracing this [...]
Modern Day Enterprise Software: Workday Example
Even before cloud computing became the household name, enterprise software industry has started seeing disruption. Even though legacy software still holds enterprise market to ransom, companies like Salesforce.com, Workday, Netsuite, Google, etc. are carving out a path towards the modern day enterprise software. From my point of view, any modern enterprise software should offer social [...]
Tablets In The Enterprise: Workday and Box Announce Tablet Apps
From the days when we considered iPads in the enterprise as an exciting new trend, we have slowly moved into a world where tablets are a norm from boardroom to IT admins. In fact, it has become a defacto device for many of the top level executives, thereby, forcing cloud application providers to offer a [...]
Why Workday is a Major Threat to SAP
If you asked a majority of people who will be SAP’s biggest competitor in the coming years my guess is the names Oracle and Salesforce would be the two most commonly mentioned. If I had to place a bet I would say the right answer is Workday for a number of reasons which I will outline below.
SuiteWorld 2011: My Thoughts
I spent the last three days at SuiteWorld 2011, NetSuite‘s first ever user conference, attending the keynote and analyst sessions. My interest in SuiteWorld stemmed from the fact that I really wanted to see the evolution of ERP into the cloud (It should be noted that ERP is considered to be the last frontier for SaaS) [...]
Oracle HCM (con)Fusion
Oracle HCM Fusion vs. Oracle HCM (con)Fusion – which one is it? Years of waiting, years of speculation – does the wait equal innovation? Is it real or is it still somewhat an imagination? I ask three simple, direct, important questions. Will Oracle an…
10 Critical Requirements for Cloud Applications
Another day, and another software vendor—or two, or three—will announce some strategy around the cloud. As a CIO, I’ve benefitted hugely from cloud applications, and view it as a positive sign that more and more software companies are exploring alternative delivery models. What concerns me, however, is when vendors tout cloud applications (also known as software [...]
