SAP

SAP will not meet sales expectations

Paul Mah — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:27:52 -0400

In an ominous sign that the global financial crisis is already making its impact felt across the IT industry, SAP said on Monday that it would not be able to meet revenue expectations for the third quarter. The reason stems from a drop in orders attributed to the ongoing crisis, resulting in SAP expecting worldwide software revenue of between $1.02 billion and $1.04 billion. While those numbers represents an increase of between 4 and 5 percent from this time last year, they fall well short of the 20 percent increase initially forecast by analysts. The news caused shares of SAP to drop dramatically, by more than 13 percent.

For more on SAP:
- check out this InformationWeek article

Levis suffers from ERP meltdown

Paul Mah — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:18:44 -0400

It appears that problems with a global roll out of an enterprise resource planning system played a part in a resulting 98 percent plummet in net income at Levis Strauss. Levis has been working to standardize a single instance of SAP ERP for its global operations. However, problems with receiving and fulfilling orders resulted in the company being forced to off-line its shipping systems at its three distribution centers in the United States for one week earlier this year. While other factors are being blamed for its poor performance this time, Levis is but another name on a list of companies that have pointed the finger at an ERP system such as SAP for a poor showing.

For more information on this report:
- check out this The Register article

The 10 most annoying habits of tech firms

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

PC World conducted an informal survey of its readers to find the most annoying practices and policies of technology companies. The results included complaints about the software sunset policies of Intuit and Microsoft; rebate run arounds from Buy.com and Office Depot; the practice by Gateway, HP and Sony of "stuffing new systems with trialware, adware, junkware'' and other marketing gimmicks; and the decisions by Intuit, McAfee and Symantec to include software that "nags you to buy or upgrade.''

To read the entire list:
- check out this InfoWorld.com article

For more tech stories from the Fierce CIO network:
> Cisco leans toward open source. Article
> SAP and Oracle unlikely to settle out-of-court. Article
> Solar power for your mobile gadget. Article

SAP don’t see an out-of-court settlement with Oracle

Paul Mah — Tue, 27 May 2008 03:43:54 -0400

Werner Brandt, the chief financial officer of business software maker SAP, told German Sunday weekly Euro am Sonntag that he does not believe an out-of-court settlement with Oracle is likely at the moment. Oracle filed suit against SAP in 2007, alleging SAP of accessing and stealing software products and other confidential materials that Oracle developed specifically for its customers. Brandt noted that while the possibility has never been ruled out, there are no talks at the moment that are "over and above the regular court proceedings." Despite the legal proceedings, SAP is positive in its outlook, with an adjusted operating margin of 35 percent in the mid-term expected.

For more on what SAP's CFO has to say:
- check out InformationWeek article

ALSO NOTED: Users of Oracle-acquired products fear forced migration; 17,000 U.S. jobs cut in January;

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> SAP hopes for 1000 SaaS customers by the end of the year. Article
> Intel and Micron announce world's fastest NAND Flash. Article
> 17,000 U.S. jobs cut in January. Article
> Users of Oracle-acquired products fear forced migration. Article
> 10 confessions of a Circuit City FireDog tech. Article

And Finally... A comic strip saluting IT heroes. Article

ALSO NOTED: The candidates on tech issues; Shatter tech's glass ceiling;

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

> The candidates on tech issues. Article
> Shatter tech's glass ceiling. Article
> You may wait and wait for your '07 tax refund. Article
> CIOs on the move. Article
> United names a new CIO. Article
> SAP hires a CIO from the Kaplan group. Article
> Hint to managers: try collaborating. Article

And Finally... IBM to Google Maps: move over. Article

Business Intelligence blossoms

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Business Intelligence, for companies large and small, is alive and kicking in the private sector. There are many companies offering BI tools, including SAS, SPSS, MicroStrategy and Actuate, and you will see plenty of activity in the market space this year. "Go beyond the core tools of reporting and analysis and you'll see lots of data-mining and statistical tool vendors, as well as industry-specific developers," IDC analyst Dan Vesset told InfoWorld.

While a number of big companies--such as Business Objects, Cognos and Hyperion--were acquired by SAP, Oracle and IBM, there is still room for companies to flourish and grow, says Rob Tholemeier, a former industry analyst turned private investor. As Tholmeier puts it, "Clearing out the old-timers leaves a huge vacuum for the dozens of innovative players ready to strut their stuff.'' And as companies struggle to find new ways to use the data they already have, they will continue to look for the tools to help them take the information in hand to new ways to enhance the market.

For more on the bright future for Business Intelligence:
- Check out this InfoWorld Article

SAP absorbs Business Objects for $6.8B

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

In another major consolidation of the enterprise software industry, Germany's SAP took the opportunity this past weekend to close a deal to acquire Business Objects for $6.78 billion. The deal was announced on Sunday, and was characterized by SAP CEP Henning Kagermann as a tangible step toward doubling the addressable market for enterprise software solutions by 2010. SAP, which has been expanding beyond its traditional ERP presence, appears to be in a foot race with U.S.-based Oracle to see who can end up with the lion's share of the market as it consolidates. Business Objects is a powerhouse in the business intelligence arena. Its 43,000 customers expands SAP's user-base to 78,000. The deal still has to be reviewed by the appropriate legal authorities.

For all the news on the acquisition:
- read the article in InformationWeek

ALSO NOTED: SAP, Oracle: ready for debate in court; On the heels of its security breach, Monster puts antifraud plan in place;

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 06:59:58 -0400

> SAP, Oracle: ready for debate in court. Article

> On the heels of its security breach, Monster puts antifraud plan in place. Article

> Microsoft's Windows Vista SP1 is mere months away from release. Article

> A closer look at next year's notebook computers. Article

> Linux heads to German University. Article

And finally... Cars are about to get really high-tech. Are you ready for the always-connected vehicle of the future? Article

ALSO NOTED: Enterprises focus on VoIP security;What's on the horizon for outsourcing?;

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:01:38 -0400

> VoIP Security becomes enterprise focus. Article

> What's on the horizon with outsourcing? Article

> Are you evolving as an ECM VAR? Article

> SAP says we crossed the line, but not as far as Oracle says we did. Article

And Finally... The revolving CIO door: CIOs and other execs are hard to retain. Article