Archive for September, 2009

Vendor Event: IBM Information On Demand (IOD) 2009

IBM IOD 2009

Title: Vendor Event: IBM Information On Demand (IOD) 2009
Location: The Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2009-10-25
End Date: 2009-10-29
Description:

Register for THE event that will help you drive an information-led transformation of your business

Whether you’re a business or IT professional, you need to be at the premier event that delivers the best in technical and business education, networking, hands-on labs and certifications.

Join us in Las Vegas to learn how IBM can help you turn your information into a strategic driver of innovation, business optimization and competitive differentiation. We’ll share proven technologies from across IBM hardware, software and services to:

* Learn how to transform data into a trusted strategic asset using an information agenda
* Improve business performance by applying data analytics and optimization techniques, e.g. save $423 million and realize 95% improvement in on-time delivery
* Accelerate information intensive projects for immediate ROI, e.g., increasing daily deliveries by 100% and spotting new trends in seconds – not weeks
* Optimize your existing information infrastructure to achieve higher availability and improved ROI
* Add value to your organization by building your technical skills and knowledge

The 2009 Global Conference offers you unmatched value. In addition to the deep technical training and strategic insight you won’t get anywhere else, be sure to take advantage of the pre-conference education classes, free certification testing, on-line training discounts and exceptional offers that make it less expensive for you get the hands-on, in-person learning you need to stay on top.

Register

Vendor Event: Soft Summit 2009

Soft Summit 2009

Title: Vendor Event: Soft Summit
Location: The Sheraton Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2009-10-21
Start Date: 2009-10-22
Description: What is SoftSummit?

Agility and Insight. Profitability Today!

“SoftSummit has a great mix of practitioners, looking at licensing from an end-user and a vendor perspective and has a great deal of depth looking at these issues.”

SoftSummit 2009 is unlike any other conference you’ll attend this year.

It’s the only conference that takes a laser-like look at licensing and entitlement technologies and the intersection between producers and the enterprises that manage and use their solutions.

This year, more than ever, expect to be challenged, informed, and inspired to:

* Navigate emerging licensing trends and issues
* Drive fast ROI with practical techniques and best practices
* Maximize efficiencies throughout the licensing and entitlement continuum
* Achieve the profitability you want today

SoftSummit offers common ground where peers and colleagues from software producers, device manufacturers, and enterprise IT come together to learn, discuss, network and brainstorm.

SoftSummit 2009. It’s time to join the conversation and the experience.

Register

User Group Event: 2009 Teradata PARTNERS User Group Conference and Expo

Teradata PARTNERS Event

Title: User Group Event: 2009 Teradata PARTNERS User Group Conference and Expo
Location: The Gaylord National Resort, National Harbor, Washington, D.C.
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2009-10-18
End Date: 2009-10-22
Description: Join us in Washington, D.C., for the 2009 Teradata PARTNERS User Group Conference & Expo, October 18–22, 2009, at the Gaylord National Resort.

If you attend only one conference this year, it should be this one! The Teradata PARTNERS User Group Conference & Expo is the premier business intelligence educational event designed to provide the very best opportunities to learn, grow, and increase data warehousing expertise. Learn from Teradata customers about how they have used Teradata Data Warehouses to unlock the value of their data, and transform it into actionable information for strategic decision making.

Register

Vendor Event: Workday Rising

Workday Rising 2009

Title: Vendor Event: Workday Rising
Location: The Sheraton Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA
Link out: Click here
Start Date: 2009-10-18
End Date: 2009-10-21
Description:
Better Together.

Dynamic interaction is the key to success. Whether it’s one to one, one to many, or many to one, communicating and sharing experiences builds the foundation of our collective success. Workday Rising™ is our chance to gather, discover, collaborate, celebrate and ultimately reach our potential.

The third annual user conference is a shared investment in that success—for our customers and for our future together. We are BETTER TOGETHER.

* Learn how to maximize your organization’s investment in Workday.
* Share best practices for strategic HR and Financials.
* 1:1 Access to Development, Strategy, and Services experts and executives.
* Discover how to get Workday into the hands of your workforce and
your management.
* Provide direct feedback that will help shape the future of Workday.

Not to mention… networking, networking, networking!

Register

Vendor Event: Connections – The Ultimate Software Conference 2009

Ultimate Software Connections 2009

Title: Vendor Events: Connections – The Ultimate Software Conference 2009
Location:
The Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada
Link out:
Click here
Start Date:
2009-09-15
End Date:
2009-09-18
Description:
Join Us!
September 15-18 at The Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

View conference agenda | View pricing details | View tracks & breakout sessions
Building upon a tradition established at last year’s first national customer conference, we are providing you with a premiere event where you can:

• LEARN strategies and insights from Ultimate Software’s UltiPro experts
• NETWORK with hundreds of colleagues from all over the country
• SHARE best practices with users from your region and industry
• REENERGIZE by attending planned evening activities

Register Here.

Speaking Engagement: Information Week 500 – Navigating The Board Room – What do you bring to The table?

IW 500 Navigating the Board Room

Title: Industry Event: Information Week 500 – Navigating The Board Room – What do you bring to The table?
Location: The St. Regis, Monarch Beach, Dana Point, California
Start Date: 2009-09-13
End Date: 2009-09-15
Link out: Click here
Description:

Business technology executives must sit at the center of corporate decision-making, especially in today’s economic climate. That means building tighter relationships not only with the CEO, but also with top executives in finance, sales, marketing, international, legal, business development, and HR, as well as directly with customers. Your career and your company’s future are on the line.

At the 2009 InformationWeek 500 Conference, C-level executives from leading global companies will meet to discuss how they’re delivering on the most critical business priorities of the day. The conference will feature sessions on:

* Mapping IT strategy and investment to the CEO agenda
* Cultivating, sponsoring, and driving innovation
* Viewing your role from a global perspective
* Working with the board on e-discovery and other pressing governance issues
* Speaking the language of operations, sales, finance, HR, and other key departments
* Preparing the next-generation tech workforce

Unveiling of the 2009 InformationWeek 500 Rankings – The Very Best Business Technology Innovators
Be there Tuesday, September 15, 2009 as we celebrate the 500 most innovative users of business technology at the InformationWeek 500 Conference and Gala Awards. The conference represents a unique opportunity to meet and interact with the most respected and recognized executives in the field. The best of the best attend InformationWeek 500 Conferences, including executives from Harrah’s Entertainment, FedEx Corp, Wells Fargo, Eastern Mountain Sports, Adidas Group, Tiffany & Co, and GM.

Network with hundreds of executives from InformationWeek 500 ranked companies. Gain practical insight and advice from the most innovative business technology executives in the world – and get realistic solutions to your own IT challenges from innovators in your own industry.

Join us at the annual InformationWeek 500 Conference for two and a half days of inspiring sessions, innovative strategies, stimulating dialogue, and unrivaled networking opportunities.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

12:30 am – 1:45 pm
Pacific Ballroom Keynote Luncheon: The Future Of Software
Luncheon Host: HP Software And Solutions

For many years, the traditional model of on-premises enterprise applications allowed companies to manage their expanding operations via ERP, synchronize their supply chains, engage more effectively with customers, and administer their workforces more effectively and at lower costs. At the same time, however, that model brought a voracious appetite for resources, training, administration, and precious IT budget dollars swallowed by 22% annual maintenance fees. Over the last several years, as the pace of global business has accelerated and IT has moved from the back office to front-office engagement with customers, cracks in the traditional model have appeared as alternative providers with alternative approaches to enterprise software have begun winning the wallets of CIOs. In this luncheon session, we’ll chat with the leaders of some of those new-wave companies and a renowned enterprise applications analyst to understand the value propositions of these new models, their limitations, and their impact on the traditional on-premises model that has dominated the scene for the past couple of decades.

Panelists:

* Aneel Bhusri, Co-Founder & President, Workday
* Christopher Lochhead, Senior Strategy Advisor, SuccessFactors, & former CMO, Mercury Software
* R “Ray” Wang, Partner, Altimeter Group


Moderator:

Bob Evans, Senior VP & Global CIO Director, InformationWeek

Register


Tuesday’s Tip: Note To Self – Start Renegotiating Your Q4 Software Maintenance Contracts Now!

Labor Day (US Holiday) traditionally marks the end of summer BBQ’s, the beginning of the fall conference season, and yes, the time to begin a review of your software maintenance contacts that expire end of year.   As clients prepare for this seasonal ritual, a few trends in 2009 should set the stage for negotiations:

  • Continued weakness in the economy. Vendor revenues continue to decline as new license sales drop and vendors become more dependent on support and maintenance revenues.  Customers looking to upgrade or commit to new apps can expect vendors to be more generous on the support and maintenance front.
  • Dated and inflexible architecture of legacy applications. Change in business models, workplace dynamics, and macro economic conditions apply new pressures to aging systems purchased pre-Y2K.  Customers seek paths to upgrade but are limited by economic pressures.
  • Vendor awareness of customer discontent with existing support offerings. Customers now seek to understand what value vendors deliver in their support and maintenance agreements.  Many vendors have proactively responded by improving service or making appropriate concessions.
  • Growing acceptance of third party maintenance (3PM) options. Vendors such as Rimini Street and Spinnaker have proven to the market that they can deliver 3PM to an array of ERP applications.  Cutting maintenance fees by 50% or more can free up funds for innovation or pay for the next upgrade.

Align your apps strategy before negotiating contracts – do your homework

Contract negotiations strategy should be planned in conjunction with an overall apps strategy.  Begin the process 2 to 3 months in advance.  Make sure the teams have the proper incentives in place.  Take the following steps as you prepare for your maintenance renewals:

The bottom line – follow the seven simple steps to successfully negotiating software contracts.

  1. Ensure that the right team is in place
  2. Identify the organization’s key business drivers
  3. Determine the product adoption plan
  4. Consider contract strategy implications of the software ownership life cycle
  5. Align contract strategy with product adoption
  6. Identify leverage points
  7. Prioritize key contract objectives

Your POV

Looking to hear your best practices with software maintenance contract renewals.

  • Is your maintenance contract up for renewal at the end of the year?
  • Do you need help putting a strategy in place?
  • Have you conducted an apps strategy assessment?
  • Would you like to break free from your vendor but don’t know what options exist?

Post your comment here or reach me direct at r at altimetergroup dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org.

Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.