Recent conversations around vendor relationships got me thinking about the reasons why cloud vendors are doing so well in relation to the rest of the tech sector. Buzzword bingo and analyst fueled hype aside, it seems to me that there are certain characteristics that set cloud vendors apart. This article examines those differences.
Infor is an unexpected rider hitching a lift on the bandwagon of next-generation enterprise software. It aims to outsmart larger rivals Oracle and SAP in enabling its customers to take advantage of all today's buzzwords - mobile, social, big data analytics and cloud connectivity. But is its customer base ready to take advantage of all the goodies unveiled at its annual conference this week?
Cloud application vendors argue that their apps are so easy-to-use and rapid to deploy that there's very little call on professional services to implement them. But that attitude may be leading enterprises to under-invest in the skills and effort needed to realize the business results they hope to achieve.
On a rare winter trip out of the frozen north, I visited Atlanta where I met with Mico Yuk. Mico is an outspoken business intelligence consultant, often working in the SAP world. In the above video we discuss a couple of stories: one she wrote on SCN that talked about the five things BI people need to do in 2013, the other, colleague Dennis Howlett's response.
Hot on the heels of winning an important deal with other government departments and pivoting its own business model, UNIT4 announced its first central government shared services deal, this time as the solution provider to the Department of Transport. It is yet another way point in the company's transition to a services first business.
This week has been Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. As events go, it is by far the largest I attend, with around 1,500 exhibitors spread across nine halls and an estimated 70,000 visitors. This year I got a sense of panic, chaos and bewilderment in an industry that seems befuddled by conflicting standards and an inability to rejig itself for the 21st century – at least in the developed world.
