Most of Infor’s customers are evaluating the cloud in one form or another. What can be done on it that’s real, that’s safe, that’s production-grade? What’s more, who they should use, and what are Infor’s plans?

To get a better grasp on those ideas and concerns, the JD-OD team caught up with Ali Shadman, SVP for Business Cloud and Upgrade/S at Infor, at the recent Inforum 2013 in Orlando.

The guys discuss a couple of major announcements that came out of the conference, including a new relationship with IBM, where Infor will partner with Big Blue to move their applications to the SmartCloud platform. Another bit of news — Amazon Redshift will support Infor’s newly-announced SkyVault.

But what about cloud outages? Amazon has certainly had a few. Is this something Infor’s customers need to worry about? Ali points out that if, say, Netflix crashes and you can’t watch a movie for an hour or two, your world is not going to stop. But if you’re running a manufacturing floor and the floor goes out for three or four hours, it’s serious. Ali explains how Infor is approaching these issues to make sure its customers are not on the wrong side of cloud outages.

Show Notes

:37 What can be done on the cloud that’s real, safe and production-grade, customers ask

1:19 Clients see edge applications as easier to move than transactional systems

1:51 Partnership with IBM SmartCloud will span a range of Infor systems

3:22 Cloud outages influence Infor’s choice of vendor, and how they provide systems

3:47 The use of Amazon Redshift, and Ali’s detailed criteria for deciding who to go to

With Dennis behind the camera, Jon sat down with Nick Borth, Product Manager at Infor, to see where his customers are with mobility and what they were saying during the recent Inforum 2013 event in Orlando.

Nick says that, surprisingly enough, customers want to roll out their own mobile apps — despite the learning curve involved. Nick also reports receiving a lot of enhancement requests for Infor’s mobile apps. Which suggests an evolving ecosystem that combines Infor’s apps with those that customers develop

The guys talk about the double-edged idea that customers want others building apps for them while also wanting to take on that job themselves. Also surprising? It’s not just larger companies that want to build their own apps. A number of smaller companies are asking Infor for that capability. Nick’s approach? Deliver, but do it simply and quickly.

For the wrap, the Jon delves into consumer tech banter and asks Nick who comes in second after iOS and Adroid, Nick’s take? In the enterprise space, Microsoft will play a significant role. But here’s the catch: more often than not, though, the third option is actually web. As a result, Infor looks to support HTML5 and Javascript before it goes to a third native platform.

Show Notes

:34  Customers want to build their own mobile apps?

1:12  Ecosystem evolving to include Infor-built and customer-built apps

1:57  One key: giving developers security and integration tools

2:41  Road Warrior app is a success story

3:52  Customers’ desire to build their own apps is more prevalent than many thought

4:37  Apps are a quick way in  - and an easy way for customers to get value

5:23 Why Infor looks to support HTML5 and Javascript before going a third native platform

Disclosure: Infor paid Dennis and Jon’s travel and hotel for Inforum 2013.

Duncan Angove, President of Infor, says his company is one of the few in enterprise software that can scale up to the really big companies, and scale all the way down to the really small ones.

Speaking with Dennis at the recent Inforum 2013 in Orlando with Jon behind the camera, Duncan explains that two factors have driven Infor to its current position: First, they have a purpose-built ERP strategy, not just by micro-vertical but by size of customer. Second, the ION platform is very elegant and lightweight, yet also super-scalable. And, Duncan adds, with the release of 10X, Infor expects growth to be exponential, not linear.

Duncan confirms to Dennis that Infor plans to dive into micro-verticals, especially those that are under-served or not served at all. Infor’s equipment cloud, for instance, focuses on the heavy machinery space –a market Infor felt could be served better. The company has also released a micro-vertical called Printing & Packaging – which targets some 400,000 companies globally. The company can now get to market about 12 months after deciding which micro-vertical to target, unlike the old 3 to 5 year cycle.

As for the recently announced SkyVault, Duncan says that Infor wants to leverage the cloud as the world’s supercomputer – not just for storage, but for computing power. That’s in keeping with the bigger picture, which, Duncan stresses, is to pick some really big problems that haven’t been solvable before — and go crack them.
Show Notes

:45  Duncan: Infor can scale its solutions to most any size of company

:57  Specialized programs running on the ION platform deliver simplicity of integration

1:45  With the release of 10X, Duncan expects growth to be exponential, not linear

2:18  Infor focusing on micro-verticals that are under-served or not served at all

3:23  With SkyVault, Infor wants to leverage the cloud as the world’s supercomputer

4:00  Collaborating with customers and solving real-world problems

If only for pulling off the user experience piece, the Inforum 2013 was a success, says Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, who traded chit chat with Dennis at Infor’s annual user group event in Orlando with Jon behind the camera.

The guys talk about the big themes they heard discussed, including how Infor plans to engage business users. Ray sees the company as targeting the CFO sale by going after CMOs, many of whom now report directly to CFOs. Ray’s POV: with Infor managing to prove, over the last 10 years, that their programs are cheaper to run than those of Oracle or SAP, the question of cost savings has already been answered. Now it comes down to innovation.

Dennis and Ray trade information and opinions about ION and Ming.le, as well as recently announced partnerships with IBM and Amazon Redshift. Ray points out that those last two shouldn’t be compared, because IBM and Amazon cloud options are very different.

How does Ray see things 12 months out? Infor is currently targeting market leaders (5% of the overall market) with an appeal to fast followers (15% of the market) close behind. If Infor nails down those two, Ray expects we’ll soon see the long tail. At that point, the competition should start getting worried. If, Dennis adds, they aren’t already.

Show Notes

:42 Ray deems the Inforum a success, if only for pulling off the user experience piece

1:05 Infor is appealing to business users by going after CMOs, targeting the CFO sale

1:28 With Infor cheaper than the competition, what to do with cost savings?

2:12 The pros and cons of ION

2:48 Assessing Ming.le, Infor’s collaboration play

3:34 A roundup of Infor’s cloud announcements, including IBM and Amazon Redshift

4:15 Why Redshift shouldn’t be compared to IBM

5:07 Infor targeting market leaders and fast followers, which should concern the competition

Two-and-a-half years ago, Paul Meissner of Five Ways Accounting came to a crossroads that many accountants face: Do you continue working for corporate? Or do you go out on your own? Dennis sat down with Paul to find out how that crossroads led to the founding of Five Ways Accounting.

Without a single client, Paul started his own business. He implemented up-front, fixed-fee billing that helped him stay cash-flow positive from day one. By relying on a cloud-based solution, Paul believes that he’s removed a barrier – with both clients and financial advisors — as to who holds the data and information. The result is a powerful form of increased communication that helps him grow a lot closer to his clients, and grow his business quickly.

Paul has numbers to back up his model. Example: getting rid of timesheets gave his firm 25% efficiency. Paul figured he was wasting about 3 months of a year doing timesheets. Then, using cloud solutions on top of that has probably given him 30-40% increased efficiency. Translation: get more work done in less time. Paul also reports that he uses a lot of social media and that 80% of his new clients have come from Twitter. Not a bad way to start.

Show Notes

:22 Paul’s dilemma: continue corporate life, or go out on his own?

1:32 Paul switched to the cloud – without having a single client first

3:19 Collaborating online removes the data barrier between accountant and client

4:06 80% of Paul’s new clients have come from Twitter

5:31 Cloud solution adds 30-40% efficiency

The real effect of changing over to a cloud-based accounting system like Xero is not unlike going to a dentist, reports Gavin Waring, CEO of Fresh Numbers. When a client suddenly sees where they’re losing money, or where their weaknesses are, it’s as though a dental probe touches a raw nerve.

Gavin describes to Dennis how he’s gone about changing the internal culture of his accounting firm – which, in turn, has caused his clients to change. Switching to Xero involves looking at the business as a whole rather than the mere bookkeeping aspect of it.

As a result, Gavin has his accountants working toward benchmarking particular industries, and using collective data to help clients. Example: telling a plumber that he’s 5% out on his costs by comparing his numbers with data from 30 other plumbers. That’s just one reason why Gavin is sold on Xero to the point that he would not advise competitors to make a similar switch – because he wants their clients.

Show Notes

:40 Moving to cloud accounting is disruptive – in a good way

2:04 How Gavin guided his internal staff – and clients – through the changes

2:51 Gavin would not advise competitors to go to Xero – because he wants their clients

Professional accountancies are increasingly moving to cloud-based systems like Xero. That doesn’t mean the transition is a simple one. Dipping your toes into the Xero cloud accounting system isn’t enough; you have to dive in. That’s the viewpoint of David McPherson, Principal of McPherson Financial, whose firm has transitioned to Xero.

While chatting in Melbourne, David reports that things have finally fallen into place. The firm’s biggest challenge? Not being able to take on the system in bits and pieces. It’s all about embracing and changing the whole process. Was the change worth it? David reports a 40% increase in revenue over the last 8 months. He’s also been picking up clients he wouldn’t have gotten before – because of increased efficiencies using Xero.

David’s verdict? Despite a significant amount of change and a few growing pains, the move onto Xero amounts to a success story.

Show Notes

:37 Wading in to the Xero cloud system isn’t enough; you have to be “right in”

1:38 After a difficult start, the team has gotten things in place within the last 6 months

2:15 For David, the biggest challenge lies in embracing and changing the whole process

3:09 As systems integration progressed, the team realized they’d get a better result in the end

3:54 By using Xero, David’s revenues have grown by about 40% over the last 8 months

5:08 David’s move to Xero amounts to a success story that bodes well for the future

Accountants don’t want to be accountants anymore, says Lisa Stribely, Director of the Australian accounting firm Hansens. Talking with Dennis from Melbourne, Lisa explains that the new breed of accountant looks and behaves differently from the old-school variety – a point that hits home for Dennis himself, who was once a chartered bean counter back in the day.

Lisa goes on to note that accounting graduates today are effectively saying that they want to be business analysts. They want to have people contact with clients, they want to have genuine positive impact on their clients’ business. As for crunching numbers, they want to utilize tools that create efficiencies. The new tools also provide real-time data visibility, which allows for a new kind of client relationship. And yes, they want the job to be fun – and sexy.

While the debate over these new approaches goes on, Lisa confirms that the new outlook has had a positive impact on her firm’s performance. The implications? The accounting profession is no longer one for shy and retiring types that want to sit in a corner.
Show Notes

:39 Accountants don’t want to be accountants anymore

1:41 Today’s accountants would rather be perceived as business analysts

2:27 How real-time accounting tools enable closer relationships with clients

Paris, France-based Hubwoo, a rising star in the procurement space, is looking to compete with the biggest procurement players by building new alliances. Following a recently announced partnership with Microsoft, Dennis met with Rinus Strydom, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Hubwoo, at the Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 in New Orleans.

Hubwoo’s strategy is to be the world’s largest open B2B network, without friction on commerce. As Rinus sees it, that’s a fundamentally different approach than Hubwoo’s competition. Hubwoo doesn’t believe that it’s necessary for a business to pay a tax or a toll in order to post an invoice or receive a purchase order. Payment should only be required if the service is truly value-add.

Rinus predicts that 2013 and 2014 will put Hubwoo head-to-head with procurement’s household names. Hubwoo intends to sell into all large enterprise areas while also working closely with Microsoft and their Value Added Reseller (VAR) community. On  top of their existing commerce base, Hubwoo plans to add an influx of community elements, such as ratings and market-place type buying.

Show Notes

:34  Hubwoo’s procurement plans: changing the market

1:29 The Microsoft Alliance

2:19 Subscription and sell-side services

3:39 The  multi-channel strategy

4:13 Taking on competitors of all sizes

4:53 Future product developments

5:37 Getting the message out: replacing  ”antiquated systems”

A recent contract win from the UK’s Department for Transport (DFT) amounts to a “game changer” for business software company UNIT4, says Darren Hunt, Director of Sales and Marketing. Dennis sits down with Hunt and Anwen Robinson, Managing Director, to talk about replacing the government’s existing SAP solution with a cloud-based system from arvato (owned by the Bertelsmann Group), a UNIT4 Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) partner.

The DFT deal, classified as a Shared Service Center One contract, is arvato’s first big central government coup in the UK, and involves several units, not just one entity. As the first independent Shared Services Center One arrangement, arvato will handle the existing Service Center, including the building and the people. Dennis points out that, from a taxpayer standpoint, the risk is therefore all with UNIT4.

Hunt says that UNIT4 and arvato want to support central government in its push to move as many organizations as possible to the Shared Service Center – all without an army of consultants, or, he argues, the headaches on a typical ERP implementation. “It’s a repeatable model designed for shared services,” Hunt says.

Show Notes

:38 UNIT4’s “game changing” deal includes the underlying technology to make it all work

1:13 Business partner arvato will lead the way in replacing the existing SAP solution

1:43 The risk to the new model’s viability lies with UNIT4, not the government

2:31 The company’s vision matches the government’s – to move to shared services

2:58 Unlike typical ERP, UNIT4’s solution is “a repeatable model designed for shared services”

What does the man who tracks CRM as well as anyone think of Microsoft’s latest update to its CRM suite? Dennis got the word directly from Esteban Kolsky of thinkjar while both were attending/crashing/analyzing the Microsoft Dynamics Convergence 2013 in New Orleans.

As Esteban sees it, to become best-of-breed, though, all of the parts of Microsoft’s CRM suite will need to integrate into a common platform – a process that will progressively happen over the couple years. He also explains why he likes Microsoft’s cloud story.

Esteban points out that while Microsoft has a couple of large CRM implementations at the Tier 1 level, they need to get more. There’s a big opportunity developing with Siebel replacements, some of which have been around for 15 or 20 years. The verdict? Compared to where things were last year, Microsoft’s new and improved CRM offering amounts to a good story – but one that needs a little more work.

Show Notes

:38 Microsoft’s new CRM suite is a good base – but with many moving parts

1:42 Esteban is more bullish in 1-2 years when the CRM suite becomes native

2:17 No one else can tell or deliver Microsoft’s cloud story – which goes beyond Windows 8

3:04 Microsoft still needs a common platform and a credible customer service story

4:05 Larger customers can be won, especially if Microsoft seeks to offer Siebel replacements

5:00 Licensing should take a huge step forward because the marketing message is better

5:43 Microsoft is developing a solid CRM story, it just needs a little work

What’s the state of the cloud market in Russia? On a fleeting visit to San Francisco, EuroCloud VP and cloud blogger Phil Wainewright caught up with Max Chebotarev, chair of the Russian cloud interest group RCCPA, which will shortly become EuroCloud Russia.

There’s a lot of interest in cloud in Russia but a lot of it is still private cloud, Max explained. It turns out that credit card or Paypal payment is not a good way to get Russian businesses signed up for services such as Salesforce.com or Microsoft Office 365. Corporate payment cards are not often seen in Russia and it’s a big problem for Russian companies to transfer funds across borders to make payments in Ireland or Luxembourg. If these providers were to team up with Russian payment processors, Max believes they’d make a lot more progress.

Max also talked about the upcoming EuroCloud Russia Congress, which takes place on April 24th at the Digital October venue in Moscow. Formerly known as CloudConf, this is Russia’s biggest cloud computing event.

Show notes

:43 All about EuroCloud Russia Congress on April 24th

1:25 State of the cloud market in Russia

1:48 Advice for global players coming to Russia

2:28 Why international payment issues are holding back SaaS

3:18 Local partners are needed to explain concepts like CRM

4:08 There’s distrust of cloud but hosted email is now gaining ground

4:48 Some companies count on the cloud to hide data from the authorities

Glossary: CIS = Commonwealth of Independent States, the former countries of the Soviet Union.

Guest post written by Phil Wainewright.

On-site ERP vendors might be a tad nervous when they hear about the results of a controversial survey conducted by ‘R’Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research. Dennis sat down with Ray in New Orleans to talk about the third party maintenance, and how some customers have used third party options as a tactic to reduce maintenance costs during contract negotiations.

Ray reports that, of the 149 survey respondents who’ve used a third-party proposal during maintenance contract negotiations, 13.7% saw a decrease in their maintenance bill. This number came from SAP and Oracle shops, as these are the ERP vendors that currently have third-party maintenance options.

While those surveyed represent a fraction of the tens of thousands of SAP and Oracle customers, Ray points out that those 149 surveyed are primarily market leaders and fast followers. Which indicates that more might follow their lead, especially outfits that don’t yet know about third-party options.

The guys wrap it up by covering three important points for making a move to third-party maintenance solutions. All in all, Dennis and Ray agree that the survey results indicate that SAP and Oracle customers should consider third party maintenance as they weigh their maintenance options – particularly during contract negotiations.

Show Notes

:42 149 customers surveyed weigh in on the effectiveness of third-party maintenance

:58 13.7% reported a decrease in their maintenance bill

1:48 While few in number, survey respondents are market leaders and fast followers

2:25 Others might join the crowd; few even know about third-party maintenance options

2:58 Ray’s three points of advice for those considering third-party maintenance

Are reports of the death of Big BI greatly exaggerated – or not? Jon caught up with Mico Yuk on her home turf in Atlanta to follow up on a recent argument that Mico had with Dennis Howlett over the future of BI. Mico explains that she and Dennis basically agree that, with fiercer, nimbler competition from smaller vendors, the Big BI ship has sailed. The disagreement comes over how far the ship has made it from the dock.

Mico contends that the issue of data governance is the only thing keeping BI alive. Dennis believes that smaller vendors will soon find workable solutions to that issue, and that the Big BI suite players, such as SAP, IBM and Oracle, will need to drastically change their approach.

Mico goes on to say that business people have taken over BI from IT – and, in the process, devaluing IT to the point that its people need to re-brand themselves as data scientists. She contends that, by 2015, data scientists will assume the traditional BI role. And that suite BI vendors will need to move faster and come up with new approaches that outdistance the status quo.

But as Mico sees it, until the critical issue of data governance is settled, all bets are off. At least for now.

Show Notes

1:28 Business people, seeking instant solutions, are taking BI over from IT

2:39 The issue of data governance is keeping Big BI alive – for now.

3:19 Mico’s argument with Dennis: Data governance is missing link

3:45 BI from a finance/line of business perspective

4:09 Mico and Dennis agree a ship has sailed in BI, but disagree on how far

5:28 IT has become the victim of quicker BI solutions

7:02 BI managers giving way to data scientists

8:30 Mico predicts that by 2015, data scientists will replace the traditional BI role

9:15 Suite BI vendors need to move faster and beyond the status quo

Supporting the food and catering industries means providing supplies in their freshest state. But there is the problem of serving a high volume of customers without becoming impersonal. New approaches to data – and giving customers more visibility into that data – can help.

To find out more, Dennis talked with Reynolds Catering Supplies about how they’ve achieved some of these goals with the M3 system from Infor. On site at Infor 2012, Dennis spends a few minutes each with CEO Tony Reynolds and Head of Business Systems, Richard Calder.

Reynolds wants to do business the way his grandfather did: Face-to-face for maximum customer support. With the sheer volume of customers he has, though, and with their needs increasing, Reynolds looked to Infor M3 to help him win the logistics wars.

Calder points out that, while M3 has performed very well so far, even more innovative solutions are needed. Sensor technologies, for instance, have potential but are still prone to error. And he says that there are still plenty of inefficiencies to eliminate, such as replacing handheld stock picking technology with hands-free, voice-activated devices.

:29 How M3 helps Reynolds Catering use data to create customer intimacy

2:03 Why businesses increasingly trust the data from Reynolds

3:01 Data solutions must keep up with complexity of demand

4:14 Sensor technology – promising, but poses new logistical challenges

5:53 ROI on using voice-activated picker technologies