Posts Tagged ‘Friday’s Feature’

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Workday Continues To Pioneer SaaS Success In The Enterprise

Founded by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri Buy casodex, in March 2005, Workday has grown the company to over 135 customers with 80+ companies in production, 17 enterprise payroll companies, and over 400 employees in 50 countries worldwide.  Key industries include services, technology, financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, and others.  Unlike other ERP pure play True SaaS vendors (e.g. NetSuite, Gleevec for sale, Intacct, and Ultimate Software), Workday uniquely serves the mid-size to very large enterprise clients.  Large production clients range from 26, ordering cytoxan,000 employees at Chiquita to 200, Utah UT, 000 employees at Flextronics.  Workday’s roots began with HR but Release 10 bolsters key financial and spend management capabilities, highlighting aspirations to be the SaaS option for Oracle, PeopleSoft, buy generic evista, and SAP ERP replacements over the next 3 to 5 years. Köpa iressa, Design Points Reflect The Principles Of Social Enterprise Apps

With the business user in mind, Workday incorporates 8 of the 10 essential elements for social enterprise apps.  These include (see Figure 1):


  1. Role-based design. Software designed around how users perform work including applicable security models.

  2. Consistent experience across channels & deployment options, kjøpe evista online. Software that is agnostic to where or how that software is deployed and accessed.

  3. Contextual & relevant delivery of information. Software which understands what information to provide users at a point in time

  4. Configurable & adaptive, buy casodex. Kjøpe gleevec, Software that can be modified to meet changing conditions.

  5. Outcome-focused & results-oriented. Software that tracks key metrics across an end to end process.

  6. Proactive, predictive, købe zometa, & actionable. Order capecitabine online without prescription, Software that anticipates requests and supports decision making.

  7. Engaging for all stakeholders. Software that opens up the system to new types of users, collaborators, købe iressa online, networks, Colorado CO Colo., and communities.

  8. Secure & safe. Software that meets security and disaster recovery thresholds.


Figure 1.  Workday's Design Incorporates 8 Of The 10 Elements of Social Enterprise Apps

Software Insiders Point of View Photo Stream (click image for details)


(Source: Workday)

Release 10 Features Move Users Closer To An ERP Suite


  • Buy casodex, HCM adds Succession Planning and expands geographic reach. HR managers gain new functionality with succession planning by candidate names and positions.  Succession profiles track potential, achievable levels, cytoxan prescription, and retention risk.  Improved enhancements touch absence, Pharmacie iressa bon marché, benefits, compensation, performance management, Osta zometa online, and staffing.  Cuba and Guernsey are added as 2 new countries. Order capecitabine pill,   Global personal data already supports 297 countries and all UN member nations.   Employee contracts now support Chinese and EMEA requirements.

  • Financials expands horizontal capabilities. Key updates include improved customer contracts, ordering epogen no prescription, scheduled billing, Kjøp Discount evista, revenue recognition, and milestone recognition.  New financial reporting features allow cost center and regional managers to run reports.  Users receive new project billing, basic VAT, cheap zometa overnight delivery, sales tax, South Dakota SD, and customer statement capability.

  • Payroll augments existing capability.  New features include new off cycle calculations, worker history enhancements, gross-up, evista no prescription, and off cycle billing.  Payroll remains focused on primary processing.  Multiple job processing is not available yet but planned for future releases.

  • Spend management adds a supplier invoice workbench. Additional enhancements span procure to pay, contingent worker procurement, resource tracking, and purchase order review.

  • User experience focuses on role based designs, buy casodex. Buy epogen no prescription, Worker and talent profiles receive new looks that build off of the design elements in the "All About Me" and "My Team" pages in Release 9.   Multi-currency display for compensation now displays local and preferred currencies.

  • Analytics and reporting simplify data creation and consumption. Simple enhancements such as default values for report inputs, report tags for categorizing and search, acquistare a buon mercato zometa, and data creation from any source accessible by the user improve the ability to turn data into information.  Export now supports CSV, Vermont VT Vt., XML, and GData formats.

  • Ecosystem integration expands to new partners. New linkages include MrTed TalentLink, ordering iressa pill, 15 new providers to the Workday Benefits Network (WBN), New Hampshire NH N.H., and improved integration security in the Enterprise Interface Builder


The Bottom Line - Consider Workday In Shortlists For HCM Upgrade/Replacement And Two Tier ERP

With the bulk of most HCM solutions deployed prior to Y2K, many organizations now actively consider upgrade/replacement strategies.   Most users expect upgrades to result in expensive replacement scenarios.  Hence, organizations must determine whether or not to continue with incumbent vendors or pursue a two-tier ERP apps strategies using SaaS deployment.  For mid-sized to large enterprises, Workday provides a unique option to take a phased approach with HCM and grow into the full suite as the product matures.

Your POV

Are you considering an ERP replacement. Will Workday 10's new features compel you to migrate from your existing apps?  If you are a Workday customer, how's your experience been with the SaaS vendor?  Add your comments to the discussion or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwaresinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity. Please let us know if you need help with your apps strategies.  Here’s how we can help:


  • SaaS/Cloud strategies

  • Crafting your next gen apps strategy

  • Short listing and vendor selection

  • Contract negotiations support

  • Market evaluation


Related resources and links

20100316 The Enterprise System Spectator - Frank Scavo "Workday pushing high-end SaaS for the enterprise"

20100324 InformationWeek - Doug Henschen "Workday 10 boosts HR capabilities"


Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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High Cost Of Ownership And Changing Requirements Drive SAP Users To Seek Optimization Solutions

As users await SAP to regain its mojo (see Dennis Howlett's post) and implement it's "Voice of the Customer" strategy Buy cheap gleevec online, in 2010, users must continue to reduce their cost of ownership and complexity (see Figure 1).  In addition, rapidly changing business requirements require some users to seek SaaS alternatives, additional point solutions, and extensions.

Figure 1.  Cost Reduction Top of Mind for SAP users

What SAP users want from SAP

Consequently, vendors providing SAP optimization and extension solutions represent one of the fastest growing parts of the $78.7B (2009 Altimeter Group estimate), Illinois IL Ill., 850,000 person strong SAP service partner and developer ecosystem.   SAP users already embrace many of the solutions from vendors on this inaugural SAP Optimization List as part of their business value oriented apps strategy. The living list covers seven areas including:

  1. application extension and usability;

  2. application life cycle management;

  3. archiving, storage, buy cheap gleevec, and data management;

  4. license management and optimization;

  5. Microsoft Office integration;

  6. third party maintenance; and

  7. virtualization


1. Application Extension and Usability

Users often complain about the poor usability of SAP solutions.  These solutions allow users to change their user experience with SAP.  In some cases, Order arimidex, the solutions provide composite app creation capabilities in other tool sets to inter-operate with SAP.


  • Adobe - provides interactive forms for the SAP environment in both an off-line and on-line deployment.  Submitted forms are then entered into SAP.  Forms can include validations and other secure features.

  • ERP-Link - allows users to extend the SAP environment for business intelligence, document management, content management, Connecticut CT Conn., and composite application creation using Microsoft tools.  The i_Net platform creates SAP-Microsoft interoperability.

  • GuiXT - provides users with the ability to deliver customized user interfaces in SAP applications.  GuiXT is often used by clients to simplify screens and user flows without impacting SAP code.


2. Application Life Cycle Management

Whether it may be instance consolidation, upgrades, test data management, or performance planning, these vendors ease the process of managing the SAP application life cycle, buy cheap gleevec online.


  • Hayes Technology - assists customers with replicating production application data for dev, Buy epogen overnight delivery, testing, and training environments.  Gold Client allows organizations to replicate the data sets they need in SAP configuration, master data, and transcational data.

  • Hyperformix - builds on SAP internal monitoring capability, αγοράζουν φτηνά zometa.   Organizations gain a performance monitoring tool that identifies hardware, infrastructure, Virginia VA Va., and architecture optimization opportunities.

  • Intellicorp - provides an artificial intelligence based optimization solution called Live Compare that compares version of SAP for use in testing, upgrade planning, and other life cycle activities. The solution helps clients understand their pre and post environment.

  • Panaya - delivers a SaaS based optimization tool for SAP upgrades, Iowa IA, enhancement packages, and ABAP code cleansing.  Customers generate a code analysis to determine differentials between versions.  The tool proactively tells user what will break, Rhode Island RI R.I., how to fix it, and where to test.

  • Tidal Software - optimizes the allocation of SAP support resources through a root cause analysis methodology.  Performance, IT Process, and Workload automation solutions address both day to day and upgrade scenarios such as a system refresh.

  • West Trax - uses a benchmark tool based on over 300 clients in 13 industries to determine system optimization opportunities for upgrades and  consolidations.  KPI Scan, iressa online cheap, KPI Optimizer, and KPI QA help organizations identify opportunities, Lowest price arimidex, make suggestions, and assist with compliance.


3. Archiving, Storage, cheap gleevec from canada, and Data Management


  • EMC - provides content management and archiving solutions to support compliance requirements.  Other capabilities include cloning, backup, Kopen goedkope casodex, and recovery, and information protection.

  • IBM Optim - delivers a suite of integrated data management solutions that includes data privacy, test data management, archiving, ordering gleevec online without prescription, retention and E-discovery, and upgrade consolidations.


4. License Management and Optimization
Buy cheap gleevec online, Solutions in this category focus on helping clients manage their license usage.  Many large enterprises lack the understanding of how much shelfware may be in production.  In addition, the used software market provides users with opportunities to unload or acquire older releases of software. Rhode Island RI R.I.,

  • Flexera (formerly Acresso, Macrovision) - helps clients with a software solution to understand usage, ensure compliance, centralize updates, buy evista without prescription, predict future demand, and improve contract negotiation leverage.

  • SUSEN Software - provides a market place to buy and sell used software or shelfware.

  • UsedSoft - supports a market place to buy and sell used software or shelfware.


5. Cheapest zometa in the world, Microsoft Office Integration

Organizations require easy ways to leverage Microsoft Office as an interface into SAP.  Common scenarios include Outlook, Excel, Access, and Word integration, köpa gleevec online.


  • SAP Duet - represents a solution in joint partnership between Microsoft and SAP to provide interoperability.  Current users complain about the slow pace of innovation and high cost.  A new version addressing these issues will be out in 2010.

  • Winshuttle - facilitates data exchange between SAP and Microsoft Excel or Access.   Winshuttle's data management tools automate data entry, Price of gleevec, data download, and reporting tasks for the entire SAP BusinessSuite 7.


6. Third party maintenance

Customers seeking relief from maintenance choose solutions that provide maintenance, tax updates, and regulatory changes for often half the cost of existing SAP maintenance prices.  The clear leader in the market is Rimini Street though some other system integrators have been quietly providing such services, buy cheap gleevec online.


  • Rimini Street- delivers maintenance options for SAP customers who do not seek to upgrade but would like to keep their existing systems up to date with tax, compliance, cheapest capecitabine in the world, and other break-fix issues.  Rimini Street's charter program has met significant success with over 100 client cases for SAP customers.

  • Your System Integrator of Choice - The recent Siemens SAP maintenance contract negotiations revealed that other vendors such as IBM and HCL were bidding for the maintenance business.   Many SoftwareInsider readers have shared with us that many system integrators, especially those in Europe provide such services.


7. Farmacia epogen barato, Virtualization

Virtualization allows organizations to consolidate server infrastructure costs for development, testing, training, and production environments, buy arimidex no rx.


  • EMC - provides virtualization solutions that include high availability (HA), backup and recovery (BR), Ohio OH, and cloning.

  • VMWare -  reduces an organizations physical infrastructure footprint with its solutions.  VMWare provides additional solutions that deliver high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR).  In addition to cost savings, many Software Insider readers report performance improvements.


The Bottom Line - Lots Of Proven Solutions, Expect More Details In Future Friday's Features

Over the course of the next 6 months, we will be profiling many of these vendors.  Key questions that will be answered:


  1. What's the appropriate use case?

  2. What other customers have used these solutions?

  3. What are sample ROI's achieved?


Meanwhile, let's see what news, programs, and innovations develop at SAP's Field Kickoff Meeting (FKOM 2010) the third week of January.

Your POV.

Have you worked with any of these vendors?  Feel free to share your experiences.  Am I missing anyone?  This list will be continuously updated so please share with us your thoughts.  Feel free to post your comments here or send me an email at rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org.

Copyright © 201o R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Complete Customer Addresses Today's Market Conditions Order capecitabine without prescription, On October 5th, D&B Purisma Solutions group announced its first hosted business data management app.  When generally available in November 2009, Complete Customer will deliver a customer database that will be self managed by organizations departments.  Organizations and their departments will take ownership of their data in a hosted offering.  The solution provides much needed relief because customers must:


  • Reduce the time to market of deployments. Customers can no longer afford years let alone months for deployment.  They seek impactful solutions with little deployment risk.

  • Leverage existing investments, Texas TX Tex.. Cheapest casodex price, Customers own a patch work of CRM, trusted information, purchase evista, Evista, BI, legacy ERP, ordering iressa online legally, Buy arimidex from canada, and other solutions.  If they can consolidate their solutions, they save money on integration costs and potentially reduce long term ownership costs.

  • Acquire solutions at lower price points, Ohio OH. Washington WA Wash., Solutions must past through more rigor in the budget approval process.  Line of business executives seek swipe and buy solutions, OpEx over CapEx, Nevada NV Nev., Acheter cytoxan bon marché, and minimal commitments in contracts.


Complete Customer Provides Hosted Offering

D&B's Complete Customer solution delivers three key features (see Figure 1):


  • Data management - D&B data enrichment, double-byte fuzz match, ordering cytoxan overnight delivery, Cheap generic capecitabine, master record construction, and custom hierarchies.

  • Data maintenance - data stewardship, cheap epogen pill, παραγγείλετε online iressa, source system, syncing, generic capecitabine, Order gleevec online, data purification at entry, customer life cycle management.

  • Hosting services subscription pricing model - online secure access, zometa pharmacy, Comprare arimidex sconto, hosted, D&B data and subscription pricing.


Figure 1.  Complete Customer Data Steward Screen Shots


(Source: D&B )

The Bottom Line - MDM And CDI Solutions Will Move To The Cloud


D&B's hosted offering will help existing D&B users leverage their current investments without making significant upfront investments in traditional on-premise customer data integration (CDI) and master data management (MDM) solution offerings.  While this solution only addresses a small footprint of a traditional CDI or MDM solution and focuses on B2B, comprar en línea epogen, Köpa billiga epogen, these first steps towards a toolkit will provide immediate benefits such as:


  • Improving lead management

  • Targeting cross sell and up sell opportunities

  • Monitoring credit exposure

  • Maintaining accurate sales account credit


Customers must move to hybrid models as today's innovative solutions live beyond the on-premise world.  Today the focus will be on faster results and leveraging reference data.  Tomorrow, the issues will focus on managing the proliferation of channels and entities.  Concepts such as B2B or B2C will no longer matter as we move to P2P, ordering casodex online without prescription. Buy zometa online legally, Organizations will need to resolve identity in order to deliver the critical insight required for social businesses.

Your POV.

Are you looking for bite sized MDM/CDI?  Are you currently a D&B customer?  Did you know you can augment your D&B data?  Feel free to post your comments here or send me an email at rwang0 at gmail dot com if you need assistance with your MDM project or other topic areas.

Copyright © 2009 R Wang, buy iressa online without prescription. Order evista online legally, All rights reserved.

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Friday’s Feature: Snapshots In Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI – Lawson Smart Office

Usability and User Experience Matter in Enterprise 2.0 Apps

Welcome to the fourth in a series of Friday's Features showcasing the latest and greatest in enterprise apps usability. Many ERP software vendors including Epicor, IFS, Infor, Lawson, Microsoft Dynamics, and Syspro have made significant progress in improving usability as they progress to Enterprise 2.0 apps. As mentioned in a December 29th, 2008 post, customer expectations for Enterprise 2.0 apps include users rich user experiences, actionable insight, and business process orientation. The impact of overall user experience and user interaction often tie back to seven key Enterprise 2.0 characteristics:

  1. Richer user experiences - role based scenarios across various usability paradigms
  2. Business process orientation - support for end to end business processes
  3. Configurable change - designing with flexible models and rules instead of customizations
  4. Actionable insight - pulling all the key information to make a decision in the context of business process and user role
  5. Collaboration - providing secure private interactions and open and innovative connection with stakeholders
  6. Intelligent response - responding to contextual models and business events
  7. Hybrid deployment - deploying all models from on-premise, hosted, instance virtualization, multi-tenant SaaS, and cloud based BPO.

Part 4: Lawson Software Brings The "Process of Me" To Life

Introduced almost a year ago at Lawson's CUE event on March 18, 2008, Lawson Smart Office brings an optional rich internet user experience for Lawson customers.  Lawson Smart Office builds on top of the Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation and delivers an information workplace front end to Lawson's collection of applications.  Similar to the Apple's OS X and Windows 7 experience, the Lawson "Canvas" allows users to engage in quick task switching, active drag and drop, translucent floating windows, flow documents for help file creation, 3D navigation, VisualBrushes for task bar previews, and highly interactive side bars that work with the Lawson applications.  Almost 9000 meta driven screens work with a back end Java Services Layer that communicates with .NET, Java, main-frame, and other legacy environments.  Key feature allow users to:

  • Inter-operate with Microsoft Office. Office productivity tools such as Excel, Word, and Outlook can work directly with Smart Office to send and integrate data.  Excel integration enables users to work directly in Excel and synchronize with Lawson apps.  With Groove, users can collaborate without working with multiple spreadsheets and mailing back and forth changes.
  • Create a personalized role based experience. Personalization features take advantage of Design Studio.  Users design custom styles that enable mods to fields, field validation , form creation, and more importantly, the ability to publish out to other users.  Windows dynamically scale and "ooh ah" features include an iTunes like carousel features for windows and apps switching.
  • Integrate with key Lawson productivity tools. The interface bring Lawson Business Intelligence with Lawson Process Flow integrator.  Users can leverage a unified inbox that receives smart notifications, process flow in-baskets, Smart Office alerts, and LBI dashboards. The result - process flow and role based information pushed to the user.

(added 3/16/2009) When evaluating Smart Office in the context of the seven key Enterprise 2.0 characteristics, Lawson supports the following:

  1. Richer user experiences - provides full screen app with canvas, task bar, shortcuts, and widget.  Forms, icons, and widgets animate.  Smart links on forms pass form data in URLS and URI's.  Open applications can be tiled or carouseled.  BI data encapsulated in widgets on canvas.
  2. Business process orientation - supports user experience via multiple navigation options.  Processes supported via graphical application flows and role based dashboards.
  3. Configurable change - delivers drag and drop process modeler via ProcessFlow Integrator.  Default values on forms, showing/hiding fields, label editing, and required fields can be user defined and group deployable.
  4. Actionable insight -  links BI content contextually to business records, flows workflow actions into a unified inbox, and supports operational BI processes.
  5. Collaboration - enables online presence and chat.  Chats iniitated via widget link or canvas icon.  Supports MS Groove integration and creation of shared workspaces and sicsussion threads, and calendars.  Provides in context Outlook message and task creation.
  6. Intelligent response - leverages in box widget to unify workflow notifications, replies, transaction and master data alerts.
  7. Hybrid deployment - deployed as on-premise, hosted, and multi-tenant.  Dev, test, and demo can be internally deployed via virtual machine.

Software Insiders Point of View Photo Stream (click image for details)

(Source: Lawson Software)

Your POV.

Do you like how your apps UI currently look? Will user experience lead to cost savings for you? Is this enough to make you want to switch? What do you think of Lawson Smart Office's UI? Post your thoughts or send me a private email to rwang0 at gmail dot com .

Friday's Feature: Snapshots in Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI
  1. Epicor 9
  2. Eshbel Priority 13
  3. IFS Applications 7.5
  4. Lawson SmartOffice 9.0x
  5. Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV

Next Friday's Feature

We currently have openings for the next Friday's Feature on UI.  Send a proposal to rwang0 at gmail dot com

Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

Friday’s Feature: Snapshots In Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI – Epicor 9

Usability and User Experience Matter in Enterprise 2.0 Apps Welcome to the third in a series of Friday's Features showcasing the latest and greatest in enterprise apps usability. Many ERP software vendors including Epicor, IFS, Infor, Lawson, Microsoft Dynamics, and Syspro have made significant progress in improving usability as they progress to Enterprise 2.0 apps. As mentioned in a December 29th, 2008 post, customer expectations for Enterprise 2.0 apps include users rich user experiences, actionable insight, and business process orientation. The impact of overall user experience and user interaction often tie back to seven key Enterprise 2.0 characteristics:
  1. Richer user experiences - role based scenarios across various usability paradigms
  2. Business process orientation - support for end to end business processes
  3. Configurable change - designing with flexible models and rules instead of customizations
  4. Actionable insight - pulling all the key information to make a decision in the context of business process and user role
  5. Collaboration - providing secure private interactions and open and innovative connection with stakeholders
  6. Intelligent response - responding to contextual models and business events
  7. Hybrid deployment - deploying all models from on-premise, hosted, instance virtualization, multi-tenant SaaS, and cloud based BPO.
Part 3: Epicor Delivers A Broad Range of User Experiences Creating Choice and Flexibility Epicor announced Epicor 9 on October 20, 2008 at their annual Perspectives user conference and made available the product in GA on December 8, 2008. Built on Epicor Internet Component Environment (ICE) 2.0, this foundational architecture provides users with Web 2.0 capabilities that support application to application integration and business to business collaboration. Epicor 9 serves up the client code and application business logic as self-describing business services. Here are some key UX/UI highlights:
  • Role based dashboards provide actionable insight. Users are treated to a series of role based interactive dashboards.  Dashboards take advantage of Microsoft UI metaphors such as the outlook navigation pane, rbbons. Users can drill in data, export to excel, make changes, and come back to the same screens.   Out of the box, Epicor delivers 250+ key performance indicators (KPIs).
  • Epicor Everywhere Framework delivers a consistent user experience. Regardless of the user interface, customization and user personalization remains intact because everything starts from the same meta data.  Consequently, Epicor 9 can run on a C#.NET Smart Client, any web client, and mobile devices on platforms such as Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Apple iPhone
  • Epicor Information Worker integrates with Microsoft Office technologies.  Information worker usability leverages Office Business Applications.   Users improve access to business data through this desktop productivity solution and can work in native applications such as Outlook, Word, and Excel.
Software Insiders Point of View Photo Stream (click image for details)

(Source: Epicor )

Your POV. Do you like how your apps UI currently look? Will user experience lead to cost savings for you? Is this enough to make you want to switch? What do you think of Epicor's UI? Post your thoughts or send me a private email to rwang0@gmail.com.
Friday's Feature: Snapshots in Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI
  1. Epicor 9
  2. Eshbel Priority 13
  3. IFS Applications 7.5
  4. Lawson SmartOffice 9.0x
  5. Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV
Next Friday's Feature: Lawson SmartOffice Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

Friday’s Feature: Snapshots In Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI – IFS Applications

Usability and User Experience Matter in Enterprise 2.0 Apps Welcome to the second in a series of Friday's Features showcasing the latest and greatest in enterprise apps usability. Many ERP software vendors including Epicor, IFS, Infor, Lawson, Microsoft Dynamics, and Syspro have made significant progress in improving usability as they progress to Enterprise 2.0 apps. As mentioned in a December 29th, 2008 post, customer expectations for Enterprise 2.0 apps include users rich user experiences, actionable insight, and business process orientation. The impact of overall user experience and user interaction often tie back to seven key Enterprise 2.0 characteristics:
  1. Richer user experiences - role based scenarios across various usability paradigms
  2. Business process orientation - support for end to end business processes
  3. Configurable change - designing with flexible models and rules instead of customizations
  4. Actionable insight - pulling all the key information to make a decision in the context of business process and user role
  5. Collaboration - providing secure private interactions and open and innovative connection with stakeholders
  6. Intelligent response - responding to contextual models and business events
  7. Hybrid deployment - deploying all models from on-premise, hosted, instance virtualization, multi-tenant SaaS, and cloud based BPO.
Part 2: IFS Brings Consumer IT Elements to Enterprise 2.0 In October 2007, IFS introduced Project Aurora at the IFS World Conference in Berlin. Key elements included a revamped user experience based on two themes: innovation and evolution. Aurora is a Rich Internet Application deployed using .NET. To date, benefits of the new Rich Internet Application (RIA) UI include faster response times, web protocols, security sandbox, less network traffic, and local desktop integration. The project focused on breaking down barriers to productivity and delivered inter-application navigation and enterprise search. Technologies behind the RIA innovations rely on AJAX - script run time, Java FX - Java VM, Flash - Flash run-time, Curl - Curl RTE, and WinForms, WPF - .NET CLR
  • Design elements inspired by Apple's iPod. The interface uses a range of new navigation technologies such as adaptable link pages, contextual breadcrumb navigation, and visual recent screens. From the left column, users are treated to strong design elements such as inter- application navigation, iPod like short cut icons, and quick entry data widgets.
  • Personalized portals support a role based view. Aurora supports role based personalization capabilities and widgets. Users see relevant information as needed for a persona. Recent navigation screens provide visual design elements to navigate between recent screens. Right hand column elements include information rich alert bulletins, common actions, and status updates.
  • Enterprise search addresses requirements for non-structured data. New search features help customers uncover lost assets, discounts, and other information.
  • Built in analytics drive actionable insight. IFS Analytics tie to XL through Microsoft Office Business Applications concept.
Software Insiders Point of View Photo Stream (click image for details)

(Source: IFS )

Your POV. Do you like how your apps UI currently look? Will user experience lead to cost savings for you? Is this enough to make you want to switch? What do you think of IFS' UI? Post your thoughts or send me a private email to rwang0@gmail.com.
Friday's Feature: Snapshots in Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI
  1. Epicor 9
  2. Eshbel Priority 13
  3. IFS Applications 7.5
  4. Lawson SmartOffice 9.0x
  5. Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV
Next Friday's Feature: Epicor 9 Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

Friday’s Feature: Snapshots In Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI – Microsoft Dynamics

Usability and User Experience Matter in Enterprise 2.0 Apps Welcome to the first in a series of Friday's Features showcasing the latest and greatest in enterprise apps usability.   Many ERP software vendors including Epicor, IFS, Infor, Lawson, Microsoft Dynamics, and Syspro have made significant progress in improving usability as they progress to Enterprise 2.0 apps.  As mentioned in a December 29th, 2008 post, customer expectations for Enterprise 2.0 apps include users rich user experiences, actionable insight, and business process orientation. The impact of overall user experience and user interaction often tie back to seven key Enterprise 2.0 characteristics:
  1. Richer user experiences - role based scenarios across various usability paradigms
  2. Business process orientation - support for end to end business processes
  3. Configurable change - designing with flexible models and rules instead of customizations
  4. Actionable insight - pulling all the key information to make a decision in the context of business process and user role
  5. Collaboration - providing secure private interactions and open and innovative connection with stakeholders
  6. Intelligent response - responding to contextual models and business events
  7. Hybrid deployment - deploying all models from on-premise, hosted, instance virtualization, multi-tenant SaaS, and cloud based BPO.
Part 1:  Microsoft Dynamics Highlights The Power of Role Tailored meets Microsoft's "Rainbow Stack" One key design point in the Microsoft approach is a role tailored approach based on the Microsoft Customer Model. Microsoft's usability team modeled 1 corporate group, 5 departments and 61 personas.  These roles form the design basis of how users interact with process, data, and interface. The result - improved usability which reduces complexity, increases focus, promote likely actions, pushes information, supports collaboration, and ensures flexibility.   Add better adoption of Tools and Technology from the Microsoft Tools teams enables better integration with key products such as SharePoint, Office, Performance Point, and Project Server.  Here are a few highlights of the role tailored approach in action:
  • Role tailored view - ( Prakash, a project manager using Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009). From the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model -Prakash is part of the professional services team and is responsible for project delivery.  He works with Reina (i.e. Resource Manager), to provide adequate resources and staff.  He has approval authority for all project related changes as well as any other materials changes.
  • Role tailored view - ( Eduardo, a production planner using Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009). From the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model - Eduardo manages scheduling and planning of production. he often needs to reshuffle existing orders to make room for more urgent orders. He considers exceptions to be the rule.
  • Role tailored view - ( Stan, a small business owner using Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009). From the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model - Stan manages the business from start to finish. He is responsible for everything and has to understand every aspect of the business
  • Role tailored view with analytics - ( Sammy, shipping and receiving using Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009). From the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model - Sammy manages shipping and also receives goods and verifies them against purchase orders. He also supervises other warehouse employees.
  • Role tailored view with analytics - ( Ken, Controller using Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009). From the Microsoft Dynamics Customer Model - Ken tracks the departments' financial goals. He continually improves processes to achieve financial goals.  he proposes and helps implement changes to optimize performance. He may approve documents and payments.
  • Environmental sustainability dashboard highlights analytics capability. Microsoft’s new solution attempts to meet growing demands for environmental sustainability by government regulations and litigation, NGO’s and media, business and consumer customers, financial markets and risk assessment, and employees. Using Microsoft Dynamics AX, a new environmental sustainability dashboard brings in information from a multitude of sources to help determine issues such as, "How green is my supply chain?"
  • Performance Management Balanced Scorecard demonstrates integration to Performance Point. Users can configure corporate scorecard, map point, corporate strategy maps, and other web parts in Microsoft Dynamics AX.
  • Office Integration with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 highlights native advantages.  Based on Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 eliminates redundant data entry by enabling integrated data exports with Word, Excel, and Outlook.  Users of Microsoft Excel 2007 can build custom reports from an OLAP database and create Pivot Table Views via drag and drop metaphors.  Other 0ut of the box integrations include Microsoft Office Project Server and Microsoft Office Share Point Server.
Software Insiders Point of View Photo Stream (click image for details)

(Source: Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft Dynamics)

Your POV. Do you like how your apps UI currently look?  Will user experience lead to cost savings for you?  Is this enough to make you want to switch?  What do you think of Microsoft's UI?  Post your thoughts or send me a private email to rwang0@gmail.com.
Friday's Feature: Snapshots in Enterprise 2.0 UX/UI
  1. Epicor 9
  2. Eshbel Priority 13
  3. IFS Applications 7.5
  4. Lawson SmartOffice 9.0x
  5. Microsoft Dynamics AX and NAV
Next Friday's Feature: IFS' iPod like user experience Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.