For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The State Of ERP 2009: Market Forces Drive Specialization, Consolidation, And Innovation

by Paul D. Hamerman, November 2, 2009

As the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software market struggles against an unprecedented tide of economic woes, strategic opportunities are surfacing for customers. Soft market conditions mean fewer deals for vendors and better deals for buyers of . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

ERP Applications 2008: The Battle Goes Vertical

ERP Vendors Refocus On Industry And Midmarket Strategies

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 23, 2008

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) market continues to mature at the upper end as the two titans — Oracle and SAP — look to extend their footprints in multinational enterprises. Industry functionality is becoming paramount for success in the ERP market, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Microsoft Dynamics Gets Renewed Focus

New Management Team Moves On From Project Green

by R "Ray" Wang, Paul D. Hamerman, April 1, 2008

A combination of high-profile departures and slowing growth at the Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) division over the past two years brought into question whether the Redmond, Wash., giant was serious about the business applications market. With a new . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Competition Intensifies For The SMB ERP Customer

Users Benefit As Vendors Reduce Enterprise Complexity And Deliver Integration

by R "Ray" Wang, August 13, 2007

Over the next three to five years, the most dynamic and innovative growth area in enterprise applications will be users in the small and midmarket. With unique requirements that demand full capabilities without complexity, small and medium-size business . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Tips On Tapping The MB ERP Market

A Quick Look At The Size And Challenges Of The US MB Sector

by Michael Speyer, June 15, 2007

The potential market for first-time enterprise resource planning (ERP) purchases among US medium-size businesses (MBs) in 2007 is about 7,300 companies. Identifying these first-time buyers is challenging because they are spread across many industries, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SAP Bolsters Midmarket Focus With Two New Offerings

by R "Ray" Wang, Paul D. Hamerman, February 12, 2007

Building a long-term growth strategy to hedge against the mature enterprise space, SAP has announced two products for the core midmarket. One is an upgrade to the existing All-in-One offering based on mySAP ERP 2005, known as enterprise service-oriented . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Acquisition Of SSA Moves Infor To Number Three In ERP

The Vendor Aggregates iSeries And Client-Server Applications For Critical Mass

by R "Ray" Wang, Paul D. Hamerman, June 12, 2006

Infor's acquisition of SSA Global Technologies unites over 30 legacy, iSeries, and client-server ERP vendors such as Baan, BPCS, BRAIN, Infinium Software, Lilly Software Associates, MAPICS, and System21 under one roof. Similar customer strategies, improved . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Trends 2006: ERP Applications For SMBs

The Melee For The SMB Market Intensifies; Customers Still Poised To Win

by R "Ray" Wang, February 7, 2006

A growing SMB market, opportunistic investors, and middleware technologies converge to make the SMB market for ERP applications one of the most competitive environments for market growth and product innovation within enterprise applications. Vendors are . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Re-Intermediating The SMB Applications Market

On-Demand Model Will Lead To More Application Choices, But With Risks

by Chip Gliedman, November 11, 2005

On October 11, salesforce.com expanded on the announcement of AppExchange, a hosted environment in which independent software vendors (ISVs) within the salesforce.com ecosystem can develop, sell, and run their own applications. The creation of this on-demand . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Rebuilding The JD Edwards Brand

by R "Ray" Wang, August 9, 2005

With enterprise small and medium-size business (SMB) spending leading enterprise expenditure, winning the midmarket is a key component to Oracle's future growth. Since its acquisition of PeopleSoft, Oracle has been quietly making investments in new partnership . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Midsize ERP Vendors Fend Off Newcomers

SMBs Benefit From Competition

by R "Ray" Wang, April 7, 2005

A battle is brewing for the growing small and medium-size ERP business application market. Historically, midsized ERP vendors, such as Geac, IFS, Infor, Intentia, Lawson, and SSA Global Technologies, have dominated the midsize market, but small and medium-size . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Project Green Starting To Fall Into Place

Microsoft's Next-Generation Apps Strategy Is Refined Again

by Paul D. Hamerman, March 16, 2005

Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) has evolved its applications product line convergence strategy to minimize disruption to its installed base. The next-generation strategy will be delivered in two waves. For 2005 through 2007, MBS will be delivering . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Midmarket Application Architectures Grow Up

by Liz Herbert, October 5, 2004

As midmarket firms expand their apps portfolios, application vendors must compete on integration and customization options, as well as lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). And with .NET, J2EE, and service-oriented architectures (SOA) becoming the must-have . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Three Main Categories Drive Midmarket ERP Selection

by Byron Miller, June 29, 2004

There are many ways to segment the midmarket ERP buying criteria. Here is one that is based on the questions and criteria that are often raised in the selection process. There are three major categories: driven by a parent company, driven by an industry . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Enterprise Applications Vendor Assessment: J.D. Edwards at The Point of Acquisition

by Byron Miller, Paul D. Hamerman, September 12, 2003

The recent acquisition by PeopleSoft will leave JDE¿s products relatively intact as the company becomes PeopleSoft¿s midmarket play and potentially strengthens its capabilities in manufacturing, construction and asset-intensive verticals.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Oracle Evolving Its Midmarket Applications Strategy

by Paul D. Hamerman, May 13, 2003

Oracle is expanding its strategy to sell its applications to the midmarket, and this initiative appears promising despite being a bit late in comparison to competitors. Oracle's midmarket initiative is designed to move well down into the core midmarket.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SAP Launches A Weak Midmarket ERP US Strategy

by Jennifer Chew, Laurie M. Orlov, Liz Herbert, April 3, 2003

SAP launched its Business One product in the US last week. But the ISV's fuzzy distribution channel and the poor software track record of newly announced partner American Express spell brand trouble.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Users Lose Another Midmarket ERP Choice

by Jennifer Chew, Laurie M. Orlov, Ryan Hudson, November 26, 2002

MAPICS announced yesterday that it is acquiring rival Frontstep. The move is the latest in a round of midmarket ERP consolidation - and signals that smaller vendors are preparing for competition from behemoths like Microsoft, Intuit, and SAP.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Open Source ERP Solution Generating Interest as a Potential Alternative to Commercial Software

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 15, 2002

Compiere's open source ERP solution is generating considerable interest, but the solution is not ready to compete seriously with commercial packages in the small-to-medium business market at this point.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SunSystems Builds a Global Presence in the Financial Applications Midmarket

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 19, 2002

SunSystems has a mature midmarket financial management system, which can be used as a solution for smaller, international operating units of large companies as well as for independent midsize companies in many countries.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Microsoft Business Solutions: Looking to Lead the Applications Midmarket

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 13, 2002

Giga believes Microsoft Business Solutions will establish a leadership position in the business applications midmarket by 2006 but will not dominate due to competition and the market's local and vertical fragmentation.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Microsoft/Navision: A Long-Term Chess Move

by Laurie M. Orlov, David E. Weisman, Charles Homs, Meredith Child, May 15, 2002

Microsoft's $1.3 billion buy of Navision is the next step on the long road to midmarket apps leadership. The acquisition brings European developers, functionality, channel, and 130,000 licenses.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Microsoft's Acquisition of Navision: Fitting the Pieces Together for Midmarket Leadership

by Paul D. Hamerman, May 10, 2002

Microsoft's acquisition of Navision appears to be an excellent match with its strategy to widen its midmarket business applications presence outside the United States, leveraging Navision's strength in Europe.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Enterprise CRM Vendors: Midmarket Offerings

by Chitra Mitra, March 4, 2002

Midmarket companies must evaluate services and options to determine the best-fit CRM offering. Too many features and functionalities will make the system costly, complex and less useful, as will a system that matches very few of the business requirements.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

A Startling Turnaround: Ross Systems Emerges Leaner, More Focused

by Paul D. Hamerman, December 21, 2001

Ross Systems seems to have reasonable ongoing viability as a niche midmarket player in process manufacturing. The turnaround is commendable, but its support resources are limited. This will need to be addressed.