http://www.technologyevaluation.comTechnology Evaluation Centers - News Analysis and Research. Technology Evaluation Centers Inc. (TEC) is the impartial advocate for end users and purchasers of enterprise software solutions. It has aided IT professionals with software selection since 1993.Copyright 2012 Technologyevaluation.com. All rights reserved.ERP for services solutions are changing the way professional services companies do business by combining powerful project- and resource-management tools with essential back-office functionality. Learn all about these solutions in TEC's 2012 ERP for Services Buyer's Guide. Plus get detailed product comparisons, a comprehensive vendor directory, customer success stories, and thought leadership from industry experts.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/report/33309/tec-2012-erp-for-services-buyer-s-guide.html5/24/2012 3:43:00 PM FinancialForce.com, the offspring of an established best-of-breed provider of accounting and project-based applications and a cloud computing pioneer, aims to help companies align finance, sales, and service for profitable growth through its accounting, billing, and professional services automation (PSA) applications. Tom Brennan, FinancialForce.com’s vice president of product marketing, discusses the company’s successes.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/assessing-financialforce%2ecom-s-early-years-33287/5/18/2012 4:20:00 PM An Aberdeen study from 2010 revealed that respondents were still in the early stages of mobile business intelligence (BI) adoption. But now, many companies are gearing up to deploy mobile BI throughout the organization to empower their front-line workers. This Aberdeen report highlights the challenges ahead, and brings focus to issues that organizations need to consider to successfully deploy mobile analytics to their front line.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/33259/high%2dperformance-organizations-empower-employees-with-real%2dtime-mobile-analytics.html5/16/2012 2:27:00 PM Creating and maintaining a successful digital experience that drives business results requires the right research insight, design, technology, and ongoing optimization. Forrester conducted an online survey of 209 digital experience professionals in the US to evaluate current practices around Web site monitoring and digital experiences. Read about the adoption, benefits, and challenges of current data-driven design processes.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/27031/data%2ddriven-design.html5/15/2012 1:00:00 PM Most organisations are sitting on IT equipment that is not supporting the business optimally, yet the received wisdom is to sweat the assets to gain as much perceived lifetime value from them as possible. However, IT assets have inherent value which can change significantly through each asset’s lifecycle—whether this is through its hard resale value or just through its scrap value. By applying a full IT lifecycle management (ITLM) approach to the complete IT platform, a business-optimised platform can be created—one where business value overrides the embedded concept of sweating assets.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/27006/don-t-sweat-assets-liberate-them.html5/9/2012 7:15:00 AM After the recent global recession, companies are shifting their focus to growing top-line revenues and market share through strategic initiatives. Upgrading to the latest E-Business Suite release may be part of that strategic plan. This whitepaper is intended to highlight the benefits that may be realized through an upgrade to or implementation of Oracle E-Business Suite Financials Release 12.1.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/27003/delivering-value-with-oracle-e%2dbusiness-suite-financials-release-12%2e1.html5/8/2012 4:12:00 PM Ability 585 is TEC Certified for online evaluation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) for manufacturing (SMB) solutions in the ERP Evaluation Center. The certification seal is a valuable indicator for organizations relying on the integrity of TEC research for assistance with their software selection projects. Download this report for product highlights, competitive analysis, product analysis, and in-depth analyst commentary.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/report/26976/ability-585-for-erp-for-manufacturing-smb-certification-report.html5/1/2012 2:03:00 PM You may be wondering how the open-source ERP vendor xTuple operating with a workforce of only 27 can compete on the same stage with the software giants. Find out how as TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic looks at xTuple’s current ERP offerings and commercial editions, and speaks with xTuple CEO Ned Lilly on the vendor’s social capabilities, product development focus, market and competitive landscape, and future outlook.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/what-s-up-with-xtuple-and-open-source-erp-26964/4/30/2012 10:56:00 AM CRM solutions can help small and midsize companies manage the myriad ways they interact with customers—from marketing to new and potential customers to improving their customer support. These solutions integrate new social and collaboration tools, making it easier to connect with customers, and are available via the cloud, making CRM more affordable for smaller companies. Know all the reasons you need a CRM solution.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26962/how-to-sell-management-on-a-new-crm-solution.html4/27/2012 11:02:00 AM Most manufacturing enterprises use enterprise resource planning (ERP) as their main business system. It has always been assumed is that companies strive to have one single ERP system to unify all their parts and processes, but a survey shows that the average manufacturing company has 1.9 separate and distinct systems. This paper looks at how overall ERP strategy relates to companies’ performance.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26960/erp-in-manufacturing-2011-defining-the-erp-strategy.html4/27/2012 10:11:00 AM Newly available software platforms known as governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) technologies can help your business stay on top of the myriad procedures, tasks, and behaviors that bear upon compliance. This paper discusses the drivers behind the growing awareness of GRC information technology, introduces the elements of an effective automated GRC system, and suggests a low-risk, high-impact approach to launching GRC automation.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26958/achieving-efficient-governance-risk-and-compliance-grc-through-process-and-automation.html4/25/2012 5:01:00 PM Companies today are challenged to maintain their data safe and secure from hackers and others with unauthorized access. In his article, TEC business intelligence (BI) analyst Jorge García looks the risks and issues that companies face with securing their data, the importance and advantages of data security, and outlines a path that companies can follow to achieve data security as part of an overall data governance initiative.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/the-path-to-healthy-data-governance-through-data-security-26944/4/24/2012 11:17:00 AM This case study recaps a nonprofit organization’s business challenges and the benefits it realized upon adopting a business intelligence (BI) solution. The organization needed to combine its data and improve its reporting capabilities for various data types. The BI solution significantly improved the decision-making capabilities of the organization’s executive team, mid-level managers, and employees.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26935/roi-case-study-ibm-business-analytics-cincinnati-zoo.html4/19/2012 2:06:00 PM Social media is providing organizations with a plethora of data about their customers. This paper explains how to leverage business intelligence software and advanced analytics to change the way business is conducted. The end goal should be to personalize marketing messages in a way that allows organizations to narrowly target specific customers based on the knowledge of the customer they already have.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26933/how-analytics-bring-organizations-closer-to-their-customers.html4/19/2012 1:22:00 PM This guide introduces you to the key concepts of business intelligence, including data modeling, data warehouses, online analytical processing (OLAP), and more. The author debunks many of the prevailing myths that scare small to medium businesses from investigating the use of business intelligence, and explains how the very same techniques and technologies used by massive enterprises are now available to them.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26931/the-shortcut-guide-to-achieving-business-intelligence-in-midsize-companies.html4/19/2012 11:17:00 AM New business analytics solutions are bringing large-enterprise solutions and benefits down to the medium-size business’s level. They are exceptionally comprehensive but exceptionally customizable to the needs of the individual business, easy to upgrade to target new strategic initiatives, and in tune with customer trends such as social media use. This paper discusses one such effective business analytics solution.http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26930/business-analytics-new-opportunities-for-the-medium%2dsize-business.html4/19/2012 10:40:00 AM Moving away from the relentless acquisitions of the past, Infor is waking up to a brand new day, marked by innovative product development that will change the way work is done. TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic looks at how the vendor has become a formidable opponent to SAP and Oracle, and examines all the components of Infor10, a new generation of enterprise software that allows the seamless execution of business processes.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/waking-up-to-a-new-day-at-infor-26919/4/16/2012 2:58:00 PM Cloud services will be a leading driver of productivity for manufacturers over the next decade. Businesses focused on reducing costs and improving the quality of manufacturing solutions will increasingly turn to the cloud for SaaS solutions. Read this white paper by president and CEO of inKumo, Inc., and find out how this new era of technology will dramatically improve productivity and cost savings in the industry. http://whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/26901/manufacturing-in-the-cloud.html4/11/2012 4:12:00 PM The Dassault Systèmes vision is to enable everyone—from product designers, engineers, and suppliers to end users and their respective communities—to create, share, and experience the three-dimensional virtual world, thereby maximizing the value of their intellectual property and digital assets. In this article, TEC principal analyst P.J. Jakovljevic reports on the 3D design tools he recently saw demoed, how they enable collaboration, and their application to manufacturing and other sectors.http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/dassault-syst-mes-expanding-product-development-and-the-3d-experience-26878/4/4/2012 3:58:00 PM Businesses looking to gain an advantage over their competitors need much more than just better products—they need to be able to manage the complexity of their supply chain network and collaborate throughout the chain to promptly address major unexpected issues. In addition to an analysis of the state of the market, this buyer’s guide offers a special report on global trade management (GTM) as well as product comparisons. http://www.technologyevaluation.com/view_document/report/26849/tec-2012-supply-chain-management-buyer-s-guide.html3/23/2012 4:39:00 PM