Introduction
Consider that Free and open source software models, as opposed to the traditional proprietary models, may afford end user organizations a direct line to getting the software that is most well-adapted to their specific needs and at a lower cost. If that tends to be the case, one should ask how it is that the groups providing Free and open source enterprise software model their businesses to support that notion.
TEC
talked about business models with three organizations centered around Free and
open source enterprise software. In the first part we talk with David E. Jones,
project leader of the Open For Business (OFBiz) project (www.ofbiz.org).
OFBiz is an e-commerce and enterprise automation (ERP, CRM, EAM, etc.) solution
developed through open source methodologies. The second part focuses on a discussion
with Edward L. Lilly, Jr., CEO of OpenMFG (www.openmfg.com),
an ERP solution geared toward small and medium-sized manufacturers. While OpenMFG
itself does not strictly fit the definition of Free or open source software,
it is based on open source platforms such as Linux and the
PostgreSQL database. Finally, we talk with Jorg Janke, founder
and project leader of the Compiere (www.compiere.org)
ERP and CRM solution. Compiere, like OFBiz, is an open source project. Compiere
runs on a combination of open source and proprietary platforms.
This
is Part Two of a three-part series.
Part
One was based on a discussion with David Jones, leader of the Open For Business
project and Part Three is based on a discussion with the Compiere project leader,
Jorg Janke.
Part Two—OpenMFG
TEC:
OpenMFG is based on an idea that the Open Source concept of being able to freely
redistribute software in source form works well for commodity-level infrastructure
tools like operating systems and databases but is not necessarily the best solution
for vertical application software such as an enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system. Thus, OpenMFG itself is not an open source ERP system but leverages
open source in two key ways: the product is built on top of inexpensive open
source software such as Linux and PostgreSQL, and the company makes its own
source code available to its partners and customers. As CEO Ned Lilly explains,
their own software is offered under a licensing method that borrows some ideas
from the open source model but is different.
Ned
Lilly: There's two different ways that we license software from the
pricing perspective but the terms of the license—what you can do with the software
and source code availability—are the same. Anyone who purchases the
software from OpenMFG gets the full source code and under the terms
of the OpenMFG license any changes they wish to make to the source code. . .
they need to iterate with us and we, under the terms
of the license, essentially take ownership of those changes and then
have the prerogative to bring them back into the main release. We're trying
to bottle in a way, the development energy that goes into open source and frankly
we don't expect to see as much of that among end user customers as we do among
our resellers. Our VARs are systems integrators, software resellers, consultancies,
by and large, companies that have been in the ERP business for a while that
know manufacturing and manufacturing processes, but also companies that have
enough technical orientation to at least be interested in modifying the software
and that's where we expect to see more code contribution along the lines of
what you'd see in an open source project.
TEC:
How do you work with your VARs to find out if what they and the clients are
saying are functional priorities for them? How does their having access to code
help OpenMFG incorporate improvements back into the main product? Is this process
different in any respect because you're dealing with source code from a not
purely proprietary perspective or because you're dealing with an open source
software base?
NL:
I think we look at our partners and to some extent our customers as an extension
of our development team really. The process by which you iterate the design
ideas and enhancements isn't really that different from how you'd do it inside
a traditional internal proprietary software development organization, or for
that matter, in an open source community. You say, here's the need, we want
to add engineering change tracking to the bill of materials, to pick an example,
so how do we want to do it? Anybody got any ideas? Yeah, I've looked at the
bill of materials table and the other tables in the database that are affected
here and I've looked at the relevant source code, here's my idea for how to
do it and how it would impact the other code. Somebody else might jump in and
say here's how another vendor does it, you might want to think about that. Then
we might jump in and say, well here are some changes we're looking to make for
the next route, so make sure you take that into consideration in your spec and
you sort of iterate it much in the way that design discussions get iterated
in open source communities today and then somebody goes off and writes it.
TEC:
That could be the VAR or that could be OpenMFG.
NL:
Yeah, it could be the VAR or it could be someone internal to the company.
TEC:
You've said that you believe software vendors tend to force prefabricated solutions
on customers. Could you please elaborate, how does OpenMFG's model better suit
your clients' business requirements?
NL:
The mantra that you hear from a lot of big software vendors, and probably the
emblematic example of this is Oracle . . . basically telling them [customers]
not only do you not have to modify the software ever, anyone that tells you
otherwise is selling you a bill of goods. That does a disservice to the end
user who's looking for functionality to solve specific problems that they have
and it does a disservice to the partners who are in the business of providing
perhaps more customized services and solutions. If you buy the basic premise
that software, by and large, is becoming more commoditized and the value
is increasingly in the level of services that are attached to the software,
and we do believe that by the way, then it leads you to a point where you say
"how can we design an ERP product and a framework that is more responsive to
customer needs and partner needs?" That's not to say we want everyone to go
out and modify source code willy-nilly and come up with weird custom one-offs.
Because if you do that we won't support you. We will still only support the
officially released and QA'd and documented version of the software but what
we do that's different is we actually take partner and customer enhancements
and bring those into the officially released software.
TEC:
Would you say that allows you to get changes or enhancements taken care of more
quickly?
NL:
Absolutely. Like pure open source, we find that it leads to quicker fixes for
bugs—and all software's got bugs—and quicker turnaround on new functionality
and enhancements.
TEC:
How does this fit in with the types of services OpenMFG offers. You were saying
the model centers more around services, consulting, and training, right?
NL:
We think that's where more and more of the value's going to be. What we want
to do is enable our partners to do as much of that as we can. I think, like
most software companies serving smaller customers, we can't and don't want to
be in the business of doing it all ourselves. We need and rely on good
local partners who provide that first level of customer touch. Both
for the implementation of the software and the ongoing support services as well.
There will always be certain customers that we have more of a direct relationship
with, whether for geography, size, or strategic reasons, but by and large what
we try to do is build a company and a product and a framework that allows our
partners who are sufficiently trained, and are experts on the software and how
to implement it properly, to provide that level of service.
TEC:
Back to your license and the way VARs have access to your source code. I'm interpreting
it as though they're paying an annual fee, almost a subscription, to continue
to have access. Is that the way OpenMFG derives its revenue as opposed to consulting
specifically to clients?
NL:
We will still be deriving software license revenue. The difference here is whether
we collect a traditional perpetual license, which is skewed toward a larger
up-front payment and then on-going maintenance or whether the customer opts
for an annual site license, that is, more of a subscription type model. In either
case it's still a payment for software.
TEC:
But on the one hand you're looking at something that is more about the services
you may be providing to a client, whereas on the other hand ... for example,
the development partners, there is an annual fee they pay you.
NL:
That you can think of as almost basic training. It's essentially two seats of
training.
TEC:
You believe that open source makes more sense for the commodity level infrastructure
tools such as operating systems and databases.
NL:
For a pure open source license, I think so. Generally speaking, the more horizontal
the software, the more appropriate pure, free open source is—because the software
is more commoditized, by and large.
TEC:
What are some examples of how your clients are using your software where access
to the code works to their advantage? Perhaps not the end user clients but the
VARs, where it sounds like you think it makes more of an impact—a situation
where it's helped or not.
NL:
There have been a number of situations, where in the course of the sales cycle,
the VAR has identified particular functionality that the customer would
want and in a couple of cases they laid out a suggested design of how
it might work or how the customer would like to see it. We have gone through
those design discussions several times now and in fact, we've just finished
implementing our first chunk of VAR-submitted code. It's like any other project,
you start on the outside with the smaller stuff and work your way into the more
core functionality.
TEC:
There are a number of issues involved in developing functionality for projects
where many people outside of the core developers can contribute code. These
issues include determining and prioritizing what gets developed based on the
value of certain types of functionality.
NL:
Well if the application itself is completely free you're going to be looking
for the value somewhere else. We think there is still plenty of value
in what ends up being a fairly narrow vertical in specific manufacturing functionality.
It may be that something like a plain vanilla general ledger basic accounting
would make its way to pure open source before a full utility ERP package. I'm
sure that's already happened to some degree. People often ask us how we compare
to Compiere; to the best of my knowledge Compiere is kind of a plain vanilla
CRM and accounting but doesn't go terribly deep into the actual nuts and bolts
of manufacturing, managing the shop floor, scheduling and planning, the supply
chain, because you know, that's harder and there is a more narrow group of people
that are perhaps interested in that, or interested in contributing to a pure
open source project.
TEC:
For some pure open source solutions the problem is that while they manage to
initially develop a fair amount of general functionality, they have a more difficult
time gaining the trust they require from end user organizations in order to
support development for the more key types of functionality. They need to gain
trust to get funding, which supports that type of specialized development. But
without already having some of those key features they find it difficult to
gain trust. Is OpenMFG in a different position because of the model you've chosen?
NL:
It becomes a real management nightmare too in some pure open source plays, without
a strong coordinating management effort. Assuming [the project is] a pure e-commerce
play, say someone implements pricing schedules; there's a reasonable chance,
given the way a lot of loosely run open source projects work, that a consultant
would grab the code, bring it up and running, implement a one-off, maybe submit
the code back to the project depending on whether it's GPL or not, whether they
care frankly, it becomes an ongoing management challenge. If the changes that
that particular consultant made in the way of implementing this elaborate pricing
schedule, if those changes aren't implemented back into the project, then the
next time the next release comes out, the customer will be looking at best,
at a hairy upgrade. That's always been the challenge of traditional source code
licensing, you know people have had source code availability for a while, that's
not a new thing.
TEC:
But now, with the Free and open source philosophies, there is a different social
aspect to the way that code is managed or distributed.
NL:
Yeah, if there's a strong core group or if one person, in the case of the Postgres
database it's a core team of five people, or like the Apache project, but there's
got to be a strong central management that says this is going in, this is not
going in, here's why. In our situation it's the company that's doing that. We're
taking ownership of the code, very literally taking ownership of the code, and
saying this is our officially supported product.
TEC:
The code you're providing includes what you've accepted to the product from
clients, but OpenMFG would not provide a service from the perspective of helping
clients make sure that what they've done, any changes, etc., will work with
OpenMFG system upgrades.
NL:
I think absent a . . . commercial organization with software license
dollars attached to it, it's hard to get that kind of model working in a pure
open source world for more narrow vertical application software because
the dollars just don't make sense. If it's an operating system where 10,000
people use it for 10,000 different things or a database where 5,000 people use
it for 5,000 different things, there's a lot more common horizontal functionality
that everybody can agree on. Take for example, if a developer went to the Postgres
project and said "I want to develop some custom OLAP analytic functionality
that's only going to work with this type of data on this type of platform, with
my product that I want to sell," the Postgres team would tell him to get lost.
TEC:
I understand that for a developer to start working with your system, they're
going to have to know PostgreSQL, Linux, and QT, so how does that mesh with
what you're offering, what is the nature of those relationships with OpenMFG.
NL:
In terms of Linux, not much, it could just as easily run on
a commercial Unix or Mac OSX, we have a couple customers running
on that now too, because Postgres does, and that's really just a server. The
client, again because of the QT framework for C++,
the client could run on Windows, Linux, OSX, and there's no
run time license associated with that for QT. The reason we say developers need
to get up to speed on these technologies though is because when you start talking
about actually writing code, you're talking about writing client code, and you're
talking about writing C++ that interfaces with the QT libraries. If you're talking
about writing server-side business logic, and all of our business logic is in
the Postgres procedural language, then you're talking about Postgres knowledge
and then when you're talking about implementing the system, getting it up and
running, then you've got to have some Linux knowledge just to configure the
server and everything else. We're trying to basically put up some threshold
questions just to make sure we're getting the right people.
TEC:
Your target market is the small and mid-size manufacturers, how do you see that
changing in the future? Is the OpenMFG solution targeted this way because it's
based on open source software platforms? Do you think the nature of those platforms
makes them naturally better suited to small and medium enterprises or is it
that they offer an advantage, which makes them more appealing to SMEs?
NL:
Truthfully, that's really more of a market segmentation exercise for us right
now—going where the greatest pain is. There are 300,000 small manufacturers
in the US, that's sales of 1 to 50 million and an awful lot of them don't have
any ERP at all. The main reasons they don't is because everything out there
is too expensive, too complex, and can't map to their needs or budget. We
think building a system on top of open source software changes the cost equation
fairly dramatically because they're not paying for an Oracle license or a SQL
Server license; because they're not paying for a Crystal Reports license;
because they're not paying for all the other Windows XP, 2003, upgrades and
what have you. All those component costs that go into an ERP project can very
quickly add up to 30, 40, 50,000 dollars and you know, 50,000 might be the whole
budget for a small manufacturing company.
TEC:
There has been this idea floating around that it is not as necessary to have
strong sales teams for open source products as it is for proprietary ones. Possibly
this is related to a focus not on selling software as a product but rather on
paid consulting and development engagements around the software. I don't know
whether you subscribe to that theory or not, but how are customers finding you,
how does business flow in? Would you agree that in a lot of these cases the
onus is more on the customer to do the presales, to figure out the functionality?
NL:
Any software company that wants to succeed still has to market itself. We're
doing that in much the same way that any other traditional software company
would . . . I don't know if I'd say the onus is on the customer, I'd say that
the vendor needs to give the informed customer as many tools to self-educate
as he can. Someone who's looking for an ERP system is a fairly educated consumer
already. . . . You know, they've got, at least in the back of their minds, a
basic checklist of what they're looking for and may go somewhere like you guys
[TEC www.erpevaluation.com].
. . . These are people who by and large know what they're looking for and the
more substantive tools that we as a vendor can put in front of them, the more
we can tell them about here's how we work, here's how our product works, here's
how we want to work with you, here's how you can work with our local partners,
if you went that route, we try to be as, pardon the pun, open in the sales process
as we can.
Conclusion
According to OpenMFG's CEO, Ned Lilly, the open source software model works well just for wide-ranging commodity types of software. OpenMFG's model however, bets that it can harness some of the useful aspects that result from thriving Free and open source communities, including the exchange of problem-solving ideas, quicker
turn-around on bug fixes, and an inexpensive, stable platform base for clients; while they avoid the revenue challenges that could bar progress for a "non-commodity" open source application.
This
concludes Part Two of a three-part series.
Part
One was based on a discussion with David Jones, leader of the Open For Business
project and Part Three is based on a discussion with the Compiere project leader,
Jorg Janke.
About
this Article
TEC
is launching its Free
and Open Source Software (FOSS) Evaluation Center. It will provide
impartial analyses of enterprise solutions that support FOSS platforms such
as Linux. To complement the evaluation center, TEC is augmenting its research
coverage of Free and open source solutions. Please send comments or inquiries
to the author, Joshua Chalifour, at jchalifour@technologyevaluation.com.
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Part Four: Challenges, and User Recommendations | SSA GT to EXE-cute (Yet) Another Acquisition
Part Three: Impact on SSA GT | SSA GT to EXE-cute (Yet) Another Acquisition
Part Two: EXE | SSA GT To EXE-cute (Yet) Another Acquisition | QAD Pulling through, Patiently but Passionately
Part Six: User Recommendations | QAD Pulling Through, Patiently But Passionately
Part Five: Challenges | QAD Pulling Through, Patiently But Passionately
Part Four: Market Impact Continued | QAD Pulling through, Patiently but Passionately
Part Three: Market Impact | QAD Pulling Through, Patiently But Passionately
Part Two: Company Background | QAD Pulling Through, Patiently But Passionately | PeopleSoft Strategy a Good Deal for JD Edwards Customers | Battery Power Shakes Up Made2Manage
Part Two: Challenges and User Recommendations | Battery Power Shakes Up Made2Manage | IBM is Serious About SMB | Solomon Stands the Test of Time Despite Changing Masters
Part Four: Challenges and User Recommendations | Solomon Stands the Test of Time Despite Changing Masters
Part Three: Product Differentiators | Solomon Stands the Test of Time Despite Changing Masters
Part Two: Market Impact | Solomon Stands the Test of Time Despite Changing Masters | Scala and Microsoft Become (Not So) Strange CRM Bedfellows
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | Scala and Microsoft Become (Not So) Strange CRM Bedfellows
Part Two: Market Impact Continued | Scala and Microsoft Become (Not So) Strange CRM Bedfellows | Epicor Conducts Its Own ROI Acquisition Rationale
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | Epicor Conducts Its Own ROI Acquisition Rationale
Part Two: Market Impact | Epicor Conducts Its Own ROI Acquisition Rationale | Lose the Starry Eyes, Analyze: Reviewing the Ideal Candidate for EMR Innovations ProcessPro | RTI's CRM Applications Rivals The Major League Providers | IBM Express-es Its Candid Desire For SMEs
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | IBM Express-es Its Candid Desire For SMEs
Part Two: Market Impact | IBM Express-es Its Candid Desire For SMEs | Best Software Delivers More Insights To Its Partners
(As Well As To The Market)
Part Five: Challenges and User Recommendations | Best Software Delivers More Insights To Its Partners
(As Well As To The Market)
Part Four: Market Impact Continued | Best Software Delivers More Insights To Its Partners (As Well As To The Market)
Part Three: Market Impact | Best Software Delivers More Insights To Its Partners (As Well As To The Market)
Part Two: Event Summary Continued | Best Software Delivers More Insights To Its Partners
(As Well As To The Market) | Baan And SSA GT Merge To Form A Mid-Market Empire With An ''Iron Side''
Part Four: Market Impact Summary and User Recommendations | Baan And SSA GT Merge To Form A Mid-Market Empire With An ''Iron Side''
Part Three: Market Impact On SSA GT | Baan And SSA GT Merge To Form A Mid-Market Empire With An ''Iron Side''
Part Two: Market Impact On Baan | Baan And SSA GT Merge To Form A Mid-Market Empire With An ''Iron Side'' | To Gain Market Share in the Mid-Market, SAP Leaves No Stone Unturned | Welcome to the CRM Mid-Market Abyss-PeopleSoft | Frantic Merger-Mania Spiced Up With Vendettas Leaves Customers Anxious | Lose the Starry Eyes, Analyze: Reviewing the Ideal Candidate for Metasystems ICIM | Epicor Reaches Better Vista From This Vantage Point
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | Epicor Reaches Better Vista From This Vantage Point
Part Two: Market Impact | Epicor Reaches Better Vista From This Vantage Point | A User Centric WorkWise Customer Conference | ROI Systems Defies The Odds Through Delighted Customers
Part Three: Strengths, Challenges and User Recommendations | ROI Systems Defies The Odds Through Delighted Customers
Part Two: Market Impact | ROI Systems Defies The Odds Through Delighted Customers | Adonix + CIMPRO = A Feature-Rich Process ERP Product, But With Challenges | SCE Leaders Partner To See Beyond Their Portfolio
Part Two: Market Impact | Baan Seeking A New Foster Home -- A Déjà vu Or Not Quite?
Part Three: Market Impact and User Recommendations | Baan Seeking A New Foster Home -- A Déjà vu Or Not Quite?
Part Two: Baan Under Invensys | Baan Seeking A New Foster Home -- A Déjà vu Or Not Quite? | Microsoft Convergence 2003 portrayed an Enterprise Solutions crossroad! | Commerce One Conducts Its Soul-Searching Metamorphosis
Part Two: Challenges and User Recommendations | Commerce One Conducts Its Soul-Searching Metamorphosis | Cincom Acknowledges There Is A Composite Applications Environ-ment Out There
Part Two: Challenges and User Recommendations | Cincom Acknowledges There Is A Composite Applications Environ-ment Out There | Lose the Starry Eyes, Analyze: Reviewing the Ideal Candidate for a Pronto Solution | Is J.D. Edwards's CRM 2.0 (With more than 200 Enhancements) Good News? | Ramco Ships Technology And Products.
Part Two: User and Vendor Recommendations | Ramco Ships Technology And Products.
Is This The Future Of Enterprise Applications? | SYSPRO - Awaiting Positive IMPACT From Its Brand Unification
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | SYSPRO - Awaiting Positive IMPACT From Its Brand Unification
Part Two: Market Impact | SYSPRO - Awaiting Positive IMPACT From Its Brand Unification | SAP Weaves Microsoft .NET And IBM WebSphere Into Its ESA Tapestry
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | SAP Weaves Microsoft .NET And IBM WebSphere Into Its ESA Tapestry
Part Two: Market Impact | SAP Weaves Microsoft .NET And IBM WebSphere Into Its ESA Tapestry | Lilly Software - Product Enhancements Remain Its Order 'Du Jour'
Part Four: Challenges and User Recommendations | Lilly Software - Product Enhancements Remain Its Order 'Du Jour'
Part Three: Competitive Analysis | Lilly Software - Product Enhancements Remain Its Order 'Du Jour'
Part Two: Market Impact | Lilly Software - Product Enhancements Remain Its Order 'Du Jour' | Will Adonix Provide A Warmer Home To CIMPRO?
Part Three: Challenges and User Recommendations | Will Adonix Provide A Warmer Home To CIMPRO?
Part Two: Market Impact | Will Adonix Provide A Warmer Home To CIMPRO? | ACCPAC -- Being Much More Than Meets The Eye
Part Four: Challenges and User Recommendations | ACCPAC -- Being Much More Than Meets The Eye
Part Three: Market Impact | ACCPAC -- Being Much More Than Meets The Eye
Part Two: Announcements Continued | ACCPAC -- Being Much More Than Meets The Eye | Ramco Systems' Users - Winning Big And Speaking Out In Las Vegas | Made2Manage Affirms Its Technological Astuteness
Part 3: Challenges and User Recommendations | Made2Manage Affirms Its Technological Astuteness
Part 2: Strategy | Made2Manage Affirms Its Technological Astuteness | MAPICS To Leap Forward In A Frontstep Way
Part 3: Challenges and User Recommendations | MAPICS To Leap Forward In A Frontstep Way
Part 2: Market Impact | MAPICS To Leap Forward In A Frontstep Way | Best Software To Hold Competition At Bay
Part Four: Challenges & User Recommendations | Best Software To Hold Competition At Bay
Part Three: Market Impact | Best Software To Hold Competition At Bay
Part Two: Strategy | Best Software To Hold Competition At Bay | Ross Systems Shows Poise in 'Big Easy' | Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions?
Part Four: Challenges and User Recommendations. | Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions?
Part Three: Complementary Products | Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions?
Part Two: Market Impact | Is SSA GT Betting Infini(um)tely On Acquisitions? | Epicor Picks Clarus' Bargain At The Software Flea Market
Part 2: Challenges and User Recommendations | Epicor Picks Clarus' Bargain At The Software Flea Market | Cincom Asserts Expertise In CRM For Complex Manufacturers
Part 2: Challenges and User Recommendations | Cincom Asserts Expertise In CRM For Complex Manufacturers | Vendor Analysis: Kaspersky Anti-Virus Products Examined | MAPICS Moving On Pragmatically
Part 4: Competition and User Recommendations | MAPICS Moving On Pragmatically
Part 3: Challenges | MAPICS Moving On Pragmatically
Part 2: Market Impact | MAPICS Moving On Pragmatically | Microsoft Lays Enforced-Concrete Foundation For Its Business Solutions
Part 4: User Recommendations | Microsoft Lays Enforced-Concrete Foundation For Its Business Solutions
Part 3: Challenges | Microsoft Lays Enforced-Concrete Foundation For Its Business Solutions
Part 2: Market Impact | Microsoft Lays Enforced-Concrete Foundation For Its Business Solutions | J.D. Edwards Finds Its Inner-Self Within Its 5th Incarnation
Part 4: Challenges and User Recommendations | J.D. Edwards Finds Its Inner-Self Within Its 5th Incarnation
Part 3: Market Impact | J.D. Edwards Finds Its Inner-Self Within Its 5th Incarnation
Part 2: FOCUS Announcements Continued | J.D. Edwards Finds Its Inner-Self Within Its 5th Incarnation | PeopleSoft Internationalizes Its Mid-Market Forays
Part 2: Challenges & User Recommendations | PeopleSoft Internationalizes Its Mid-Market Forays | Frontstep Ups The .NET Ante
Part 2: Challenges and User Recommendations | Frontstep Ups The .NET Ante | Will Glovia Glow Again Through Its Hub And VARs?
Part 2: Challenges and User Recommendations | Will Glovia Glow Again Through Its Hub And VARs? | Lose the Starry-Eyes, Analyze:An Ideal Customer for Relevant INFIMACS | Bootcamp for the Pros; Why Ernst & Young Will Lead Security Auditing Standards | Ramco Systems - Diversity Marshaled Through Flexibility
Part 3: Challenges and User Recommendations | SAP Farms More Business Out Amid Its Staff Reductions | Ramco Systems - Diversity Marshaled Through Flexibility
Part 2: Market Impact | Ramco Systems - Diversity Marshaled Through Flexibility | SAP Opens The ‘Miss Congeniality’ Contest | Lilly Software Visualizes Its eBusiness Offering, NOW. Part 2: Market Impact | PeopleSoft Remains Rock-Hard And Economy Proof | Lilly Software Visualizes Its eBusiness Offering, NOW | Glovia On B2B Reinventing Trail | Kewill And Microsoft Great Plains To Further Mutually Complement | Syspro Hatches 'Encore' IMPACT On SME Manufacturers. Part 2: Market Impact | INFIMACS Becoming Ever More RELEVANT For Project-Based Industries. Part 2: Market Impact and User Recommendations | INFIMACS Becoming Ever More RELEVANT For Project-Based Industries. Part 1: Recent Developments | Clarity of Vision: Clarify Sold to Amdocs by Nortel | Collaborative Commerce: ERP, CRM, e-Proc, and SCM Unite! A Series Study: IFS - Part 2 of 2 | Way To Go, Ross Systems! | Collaborative Commerce: ERP, CRM, e-Proc, and SCM Unite! A Series Study: IFS - Part 1 of 2 | MAPICS Unifies The Brand And Interacts For CRM Solutions | IFS Glows Amidst The Mid-Market Gloom | Oracle Makes A U-Turn At The 'All Things To All People' Exit | 'Collaborative Commerce': ERP, CRM, e-Proc, and SCM Unite! A Series Study: SAP AG | 'Collaborative Commerce': ERP, CRM, e-Proc, and SCM Unite! A Series Study: Baan and Parent Company, Invensys | Frontstep Still Awaiting Better Times | Will V8 Help SSA GT Regain Lost Ground? | PeopleSoft Keeps Truckin’ On A Potholed Road Ahead | Epicor Shows Resilience When It Needs It The Most | J.D. Edwards Fires Siebel, Hires YOU | SAP Thrives On Competitors' Plight, In Part | Made2Manage Manages Throughout Soft Market | Microsoft Great Plains Procures eProcure At Last | SAP - A Humble Giant From The Reality Land?
Part 5: Challenges and User Recommendations | SAP - A Humble Giant From The Reality Land?
Part 4: SAP's Strategy | i2, SAP, Oracle Poised For Showdown in Q4 | SAP – A Humble Giant From The Reality Land?
Part 3: Market Impact | SAP - A Humble Giant From The Reality Land?
Part 2: Expanding Functionality | SAP - A Humble Giant From The Reality Land?
Part 1: Alliances | PeopleSoft Supply Chain Is Music To Mid Market Ears | It Is Possible - SAP And Baan Strange Bedfellows | Oracle Claims The Worst Is Over And Turns To KISS For A Boost
Part 3: The Challenge of Gaining Competitive Advantage | Oracle Claims The Worst Is Over And Turns To KISS For A Boost
Part 2: The Implications | Oracle Claims The Worst Is Over And Turns To KISS For A Boost
Part 1: The News | Baan Achieves A Speedy Recovery Despite The Tough Times | Will QAD Finally Get The Break (-Even)? | ROI Systems - A Little ERP Fellow That Gets By | PeopleSoft - Catching Its Second Wind From The Internet
Part 3: Predictions and Recommendations | PeopleSoft - Catching Its Second Wind From The Internet
Part 2: Strengths and Challenges | PeopleSoft - Catching Its Second Wind From The Internet
Part 1: About PeopleSoft | Epicor To Try The Divestiture Tack, Too | MAPICS Clings To Its Customers' Loyalty | SAP Remains One Of The Market’s Beacons Of Hope | SSA Acquires MAX Hoping To Leap From Its MIN | IBM Buys What’s Left of Informix | Invensys Announces New Division - Baan Process | SAP Acquires TopTier To Further Broaden Its Horizons | Oracle Sails Slower In The Low Tide, But Mayday Signal Is Quite Far-Fetched | IFS Aspires To Capture North American Market Against The Low Tide | Is Intentia Truly Industry’s First In Food Traceability? | QAD Finally Breaks The Red Ink Streak, But… | Epicor Software Corp.: Completing Painstaking "e"Volution Part 2: Evaluating Epicor | J.D. Edwards Saved By SCM, Narrowly, And Only For Now | Epicor Software Corp.: Completing Painstaking "e"Volution Part 1: About Epicor | Infinium Attempts To Better Gain Some Markets' Ear | MAPICS XA Expands BI Offering Through Partnership With Vanguard | Has Intentia Turned The Corner? Almost. | Ross Systems Closes Ranks For A (Possible) Turnaround | PeopleSoft Plays Hardball | Is Made2Manage Made2Survive? Seems So. | Frontstep (Nee Symix Systems) A Step Closer To A Turnaround | SAP Defies Economic Slowdown, For Now | Can Lilly Software Get More VISUAL? | Fourth Shift Hopes To Thrive On China’s Greener Pastures | PeopleSoft Joins The Hunt For SMEs | Extricity Makes a Move into IBM’s Sphere of B2B Influence | Microsoft And Great Plains – A Friendship That Turned Into A Marriage | Oracle Sails Despite Market’s Low Tide; How Far Will It Go? | J.D. Edwards Reaches $1B Milestone In Another Losing Year | e-Catalysts Delivers Digital Marketplace | Made2Manage Systems, Inc.: M2M From A2Z For SMEs? | Tibco Takes a Pragmatic Approach to Multicasting | Ross Systems Continues To Slip, But Pledges to Fight Tooth And Claw | Red Hat Plays 'Love You, Love You Not' with CPUs | IFS Has A Magic Growth Formula; But What About Profitability? | Dell Sharpens Its Linux Focus | SAP Claims Big Gains In The Low-End Battleground | IBI + IBM = EAI | Baan – What Will The Future In Invensys’ Stable Bring? Part 2: Evaluating Baan | Infinium Ends Its Most Challenging Year | JuxtaComm And IBM Integrate Their Integration Products | Great Plains Unveils New E-Commerce Solution | Great Plains Taps The Web To Deliver Product Support | Epicor Delivers On Milestones, But Its Situation Remains Bleak | Onyx Software: CRM Vendor Battling For Viability | Baan – What Will The Future In Invensys’ Stable Bring? Part 1: About Baan | Intentia Possibly Seeing Daylight | SAP Q3 Results Cause Mixed Reactions | Fourth Shift Tightens Belt To Weather The Drought | PeopleSoft Delivers Oxymoron In 'Supply Chain in a Box' | PeopleSoft – Again A Force To Be Reckoned With? | Another Type Of Virus Hits The World (And Gets Microsoft No Less) | J.D. Edwards – A Collaboration Thought Leader Or A Disguised ERP Follower? Part 2: Evaluating J.D. Edwards | J.D. Edwards – A Collaboration Thought Leader Or A Disguised ERP Follower? Part 1: About J.D. Edwards | ROI Systems Catching Up With e-Commerce | IBM Aims Renamed UNIX Server at Sun | VA Linux Releases NAS Server | Red Hat’s Linux Domination Weakens | GNOME Will Try to Buff Up Linux | Catalyst International to Tread Water With SAP Through 2000 | Red Hat Releases Clustering Software | More Vendors Bail on Oracle in Favor of IBM | Great Plains Supply Chain Series To Be Powered By Logility | Lynx to Donate Advanced Messaging to Linux Open-Source Community | Compaq to Open Tru64 Unix? | At Least It Hasn’t Been Renamed Linux 2001 | Cobalt Releases Linux "Clustering" Software | Infinium and Elcom Walk Down ASP Aisle | Caldera eDesktop Edges Out Microsoft Windows 2000 in Functionality – Part II | IA-64 Linux From Red Hat | It’s a Portal...AND It;s a Gateway | Patent Law - the Open Source Movement of the 18th Century | Apple Displays Its Core in Mac OS X | Will MS try the "Open Source" Gambit with WinCE? Why Not – Nothing Else Seems to Work | SAP Details CRM Plans | J.D. Edwards Closes Out Millennium on an Up Note | MAPICS, Inc. to Acquire Pivotpoint, Expanding e-business Offerings for Mid-Sized Manufacturing Establishments | Inprise/Borland Challenges Other Vendors to Open-Source Their Database Code | Informix Holds Fire Sale on Linux Database | Oracle is Word One at Ford | Intentia Floats Vaporware Agent to Replace Business Planning | Lotus Announces Domino R5 Release For Linux | Analysis of Sendmail, Inc.'s Largest Open Source Release in Twenty Years | IBM Announces Netfinity 4000R Super-Thin Server | Microsoft to Purchase Softway Systems | Sun to Make Solaris Source Code Available | MainWin for Linux - NT Apps without NT | TurboLinux Clusters One More Step Taken | Intel Throws its "Red Hat" into Linux Ring | Corel and PC Chips to Accelerate Mass Desktop Deployment of Linux | Intel Invests in eSoft - "Lintel" Continues to Grow | Sun to "Community Source" Almost Everything | OS SmackDown! | Intel's "New Best Friend" for Web Appliances is Linux | IBM Jumps on the Linux Bandwagon with Both Feet, Sort Of | Will Sun Burn Linux with "Free" Solaris? | Embedded Linux for Handhelds | IBM Pushes Linux into Appliances | Linux Laptops from Dell | Come See the Softer Side of Linux? | Linux at 25% of Server OS Market - Is Redmond Hearing Footsteps? | Sendmail Takes Security to the Next Level with Version 3.0 for NT | Compaq Partners with Red Hat in Linux Support Deal | Bristol Technology Ships Win-to-Lin Migration Tool | Gateway Announces Server Appliances | Dell to Factory-Install Red Hat Linux on Servers | SAP AG - ERP Leader with a "New Dimension" | Baan Company N.V. - Is the Worst Over? | PeopleSoft on Client/Server and Database Issues | PeopleSoft - Are Business Intelligence and e-Commerce Enough? |