SAP Business ByDesign

June 5th, 2008

Big, Report,

Big Investment,

Big Product Suite

Enterprise Irregular Dennis Howlett  and Vital Analysis founder Brian Sommer have teamed up to write a single, definitive report on SAP’s Business ByDesign product suite.  While both of them have blogged and/or developed short research reports on this product suite, both parties believed that something this big and expansive deserved a more nuanced, deliberate review.

The report has been written and is awaiting a final fact-check from SAP. We are also awaiting a couple of graphic files to insert into the document.

Sap_comprehensive_draft

Here’s some the teaser copy relating to the report:

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                  Comprehensive SAP Business ByDesign Report

 

It takes a comprehensive report to cover a comprehensive product suite like SAP’s Business ByDesign. This is a product suite that involved the efforts of thousands of developers and took approximately five years to bring to market. While much has been written about Business ByDesign, this report succinctly summarizes it all in a compact 20-page analysis. We examine subjects such as:

 

· The Target Buyer for Business ByDesign – Do you have what it takes to be a Business ByDesign user?

· Process Design vs. Functional Silos – This may be the single most important choice you make in buying a SMB software solution

· Product Review – A walkthrough of the 8 major functional components of Business ByDesign along with our requests for needed improvements in each area

· Vertical Assessment – How well does Business ByDesign serve your industry?

· Product Enhancements – Where should/will SAP expend its future efforts? What role will channel partners play?

· Technical Enhancements – Is the software delivering the performance that both you and SAP demand now?

· Competitive Assessment – How does this solution stack up against Workday, NetSuite and other on-demand ERP offerings?

· Author Summaries – See what our two report authors think. These are two of the software industries most visible and long-lived pundits.

The report is out for fact checking and will come out under the Vital Analysis brand. We’re hoping it will be available for delivery by the end of next week. Yes, it is a paid for item because a combined 65+ years’ experience applied to this kind of thing doesn’t come free, especially when you’ve put in a lot of time into understanding the product, its position and value to the market.

For professionals looking to extend their consulting practices, we believe ByDesign is a superb opportunity to get deep into what your clients’ businesses really do, how they’re shaped and the problems they meet. I’m encouraging practitioners to consider this as a way of massively improving the value they offer. It requires the kind of mindset that professionals need to be both methodical and have that all important eye for detail. Learning the solution is not the issue for new people. Understanding process most certainly is.

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Ordering and other information will be out shortly. Stay tuned.

Salary.com Report Available

June 5th, 2008

Salary.com report cover

Data on Compensation Data

We are pleased to announce the availability of a new research report on Salary.com . Salary.com is a well-established provider of compensation data and consulting services.

The following is an excerpt from the Prognosis section of the report:

Salary.com has been quietly but successfully building its business.  In nine years, the company has enjoyed 27 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and is close to becoming a profitable organization.  We applaud the company in its efforts to broaden itself beyond a simple provider of compensation data.  Through organic and inorganic growth it has rounded out its offerings to become a more full service talent management solution provider.  The company should be viewed as a full-service compensation management company today with aspirations of becoming a full talent management solution provider soon.  We would anticipate that the company will need to ally with or acquire a learning management system and develop more expertise in the incentive compensation area in the immediate future.”

For information about ordering this report, please email us at contact@vitalanalysis.com or complete the contact form on this website.

OpenAir Web Seminar

May 28th, 2008

Point of View Selling in Professional Services

On June 11 (1 pm EST), Brian Sommer from Vital Analysis will be leading a discussion on Selling Professional Services via a Point of View style. The web-based seminar is being hosted by PSA (professional services automation) vendor OpenAir. Registration information and call-in details will be found soon at: http://www.openair.com/home/newsEvents.html .

Title: “Point of View & Other Selling Styles – Winning Sales Practices in Professional Services” If your services sales teams aren’t delivering the results you desire, maybe it’s the approach they use. Do they engage with the prospect or talk about your firm? Do they come back feeling they’ve validated critical client needs and can develop winning, relevant proposals? If not, attend this short but intense webinar by Brian Sommer. Brian was a long-time, successful Accenture partner who has trained thousands of sales professionals at leading software and consulting firms globally. He’ll discuss a selling style, Point of View selling, that’s far more deadly with CXOs than any other approach. In a tight economy, can you really afford to miss this? Briefly, Brian will use humor, facts, experience and more to discuss:    – the four common styles of selling services and where these are most appropriate    – how CXOs (not service professionals) define how a consultative sale should work    – the key elements of a point of sale approach    – what should/shouldn’t go into your sales decks

Jobfox report now available

May 28th, 2008

Acquiring Passive Talent? Read This Report

We recently spent time with the folks at Jobfox. This firm has a slick new product designed for persons already employed but possibly interested in a new career oppportunity. This approach makes the software quite different from traditional job boards. You can get a copy of this report from the Jobfox website. Follow this link to read more and to receive the report: http://www.jobfox.com/Site/press/Press052808.aspx 

CODA’s NEON Product Line

May 15th, 2008

Coda Neon Cover

NEON – Coda’s New Product Line

Neon, briefly, builds on strong core financial modules CODA’s had for decades. It incorporates a new user interface and very tight integration with Microsoft Office products (e.g., Outlook, Infopath, SharePoint, Excel, etc.).

We’ve documented the Neon solution in an analyst report and it can be requested, free of charge for a limited time, just by sending your name and a valid business email address to contact@vitalanalysis.com .

Here’s the Executive Overview text:

This week, CODA PLC announced the availability of its new Neon product line. The most noticeable aspects of this new offering are in the user interface and usability of the financial applications.

Neon is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office products (e.g., InfoPath and Outlook) and this integration permits an enhanced audit trail with suppliers and other constituents. Original source documents, like requisitions sent via e-mail, are made part of transactions.

Overall, the product line builds on pre-existing functionality found in earlier versions of CODA Financials. Beta customers see this product as an opportunity to drive further efficiency gains in their back office, supply chain and other areas.

We view the product to be quite useful for firms considering shared service centers. Alternatively, BPO providers may want to consider this product part of their solution set.

The product uses Microsoft Office products to deliver enhanced collaboration capabilities and improve worker efficiency.

Kenexa – Playing in the Big Leagues

May 9th, 2008

Kenexa Cover

New Kenexa Report

We recently attended an analyst day at Kenexa’s headquarters outside of Philadelphia. We were briefed on a number of product and company announcements and have included much of this in a detailed report.

Here is a brief excerpt from the Product Direction section of the report:

“Kenexa is spending approximately $35 million in R&D this year.  While significant enhancements are being made to existing Kenexa products such as BrassRing, CareerTracker and Assessments, the big story is Kenexa’s development of its next-generation platform currently called Kenexa 2X.

 

The 2X platform works with an all-new common services architecture.  The common services layer will include a significant number of technologies that can be used across an array of talent management applications.  These would include capabilities such as charting, background checks, surveying, etc. The 2X platform sits between the applications in the common services layer.  The 2X platform provides a more detailed set of critical services that are shared and tightly integrated with all applications.  Examples of this shared functionality and include workflow, competencies, organization structure, etc.

 

By the end of 2008, Kenexa Recruiter BrassRing functionality will be built anew with the common services architecture.  Likewise, Kenexa CareerTracker will also be in beta.  The new products have been substantially developed already and we have seen working versions of same. The new products are not complete though.”

This report is available to subscribers or can be individually purchased for $395. To order a copy, please submit a request or contact us via email at contact@vitalanalysis.com .

Oracle SMB Coverage

May 3rd, 2008

Oracle Report Cover                                       

Oracle’s Accelerate Strategy

There’s been a flurry of press releases and announcements re: Oracle and their re-doubled partner program in the SMB (small-medium business) space. We recently spoke with Jeff Abbott, Vice President Global Accelerate Strategy of Oracle, about the program and its new momentum.

Here’s a quote from the Prognosis section of the report:

This new momentum around the SMB space has additional value to Oracle as SMB buyers are one of the most recession proof sectors in the application software marketplace.  Given the current economy, Oracle would do well to cultivate and expand its partner program in this space.

We believe Oracle’s focus on fixed-price implementations is not only appropriate but also long overdue in the SMB space.  As we have published previously, SMB buyers have complex businesses while lacking the budgets of big firms (i.e., wine tastes/beer budgets).  In discussions we have had with midmarket CFOs, the pain these companies face around uncertain implementation and integration costs is palpable.  Vendors that seek to address this very real and painful market concern may do quite well.”

To receive a copy of this report, please complete our online form or email us at contact@vitalanalysis.com

Futurestep Coverage

April 30th, 2008

Futurestep Report Cover

Futurestep – A Global Provider of RPO and More

We meet with executives of Futurestep, a Korn Ferry International firm, at the recent HR Week show in New York City. We received a fairly complete briefing and developed a research note on the firm and its offerings.

Here is an excerpt from the Prognosis section of the report:

Futurestep is not a traditional HR Outsourcing (HRO) supplier either. Where most HRO providers offer significant back office processing capabilities, they often provide more minimal recruiting and talent acquisition capabilities and intellectual property.  That said, Futurestep is a more knowledge-based RPO and not in the same category as HRO providers. We are generally very positive on Futurestep because:

  • the company can leverage the Korn/Ferry brand, pipeline and intellectual property assets. All of these leverage points give the company an invaluable advantage over standalone RPO firms.
  • companies that need RPO often need more than just a technology solution provider.  Futurestep provides a services rich and data rich solution.
  • several of the differentiators mentioned earlier in this report are truly unique to Futurestep.”

 

This report is available from Vital Analysis for $295. If you’d like a copy of this report, please complete our request form or send an email to: contact@vitalanalysis.com and include your name and a valid business email address. 

Varicent Coverage

April 28th, 2008

Varicent report cover                         Sales Performance Management Vendor: Varicent

We spent time at the HR Week conference with an executive of Varicent and received a brief product demonstration of their Sales Performance Management solution.

We developed a summary report on their offerings and the company. An excerpt from the Prognosis section of the paper states:

We believe Varicent’s focus on large companies and larger midmarket companies is correct.  We believe there is a genuine need for an inexpensive solution in this space particularly given the pressure on businesses to be more nimble and more agile.  This increased dynamism in business today will no doubt continue to place pressure on sales management to materially and constantly change its sales compensation schemas.

 We also like sales performance management solutions as a productivity improvement tool for sales professionals.  We have witnessed firsthand the lack of a single book of record with which sales professionals can see and/or dispute the way their commissions are being calculated.  The elimination of all of the wasted time and energy spent arguing over whose spreadsheet has more accurate data will boost productivity simply because it frees up sales professional time to spend on customer facing initiatives.”

 

The report is available via Vital Analysis for $295. Please complete our request form or email us at: contact@vitalanalysis.com

Emportal – New Sales

April 28th, 2008

                                                       Emportal Gaining Momentum

We were already preparing this report based on the HR Week show in NYC recently: Emportal Update Report. The key theme of this update was that Emportal had acquired a number of new clients. Now, Emportal has released details on their new market success (see: https://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=848867) . The gist of this press release states:

“WALNUT CREEK, CA–(Marketwire – April 28, 2008) – Uniting the way business works with the way people work, Emportal today welcomed five more enterprise clients to its growing customer base. Emportal eliminates the challenges of managing disparate HR systems and databases by combining the best capabilities of four categories of human capital management — HRMS, ERP, point solutions and HRO — into one “have it your way” software-as-a-service solution. New companies turning to Emportal include FCI; California Waste Solutions; ION; a California headquartered restaurant chain; and a Chicago headquartered payroll and retirement provider. “