Long wait but I saw this available on ecohub today. Not sure if its generally available or not . The Demo of Sales appeared rich in functionality (as usual) but lacking in interface (another as usual).
I had to fill up a long form to access the "Sales demo" which was nothing more than few screen shots. No info yet on the devices supported.
Worst part - You need to contact SAP Sales Rep for Pricing info !!!!!
Apr 18, 2009
Apr 17, 2009
Apr 16, 2009
App Dev & Program Management - At Cross roads
PMI has a pretty much "be all one all" approach for any sort of Project Management endeavor. Be it a "Construction Project" or a "Marketing Project" or for that matter an IT project looking either for a new application development or implementation of a packaged solution.
However , things have been changing fast (as expected) when it comes to managing a project in technology space. I think we have interesting time ahead to see how the old project management practices handle the onslaught of Agile method.
I recd an interesting mail from Forrester this morning .. here are the excerpts ...
1. Successfully adopt Agile software delivery methods. Those old processes are choking you, and while many organizations want to become more agile, that shift requires a change in thinking, which isn't always easy.
2. Take a new approach to project management and business analysis. We cling to tradition when it comes to these software delivery practices, so weeding this part of the garden can be difficult. But we know that the old approaches aren't working as well as they must.
3. Optimize the effectiveness of your quality assurance practices.
4. Consider product-centric, not project-centric, approaches. Many traditional IT firms take a project-centric approach to delivering software. They manage the projects, but not the product: the software itself.
5. Re-evaluate and simplify your application platforms. Your application portfolio is most likely as full of weeds as my garden. But the platform landscape is changing, and your choices for efficient, effective application platforms are increasing.
However , things have been changing fast (as expected) when it comes to managing a project in technology space. I think we have interesting time ahead to see how the old project management practices handle the onslaught of Agile method.
I recd an interesting mail from Forrester this morning .. here are the excerpts ...
1. Successfully adopt Agile software delivery methods. Those old processes are choking you, and while many organizations want to become more agile, that shift requires a change in thinking, which isn't always easy.
2. Take a new approach to project management and business analysis. We cling to tradition when it comes to these software delivery practices, so weeding this part of the garden can be difficult. But we know that the old approaches aren't working as well as they must.
3. Optimize the effectiveness of your quality assurance practices.
4. Consider product-centric, not project-centric, approaches. Many traditional IT firms take a project-centric approach to delivering software. They manage the projects, but not the product: the software itself.
5. Re-evaluate and simplify your application platforms. Your application portfolio is most likely as full of weeds as my garden. But the platform landscape is changing, and your choices for efficient, effective application platforms are increasing.
Apr 15, 2009
SAP Solution(s) to beat future Mortgage Crisis
One of the main problem in solving current financial crisis is the lack of visibility as to how the CDOs are bundled. Absence of systematic controlled data is adding to other wise uncertain housing market and fueling further loss of trust. This is NOT to suggest that there is no other issue. Sub prime loans are obviously at the heart of this crisis but once again the bigger problem is "lack of visibility" or a central system that could ensure quick and accurate information to decision makers.
There is (obviously) no established business solution to address this functionality at such humongous level. We are talking of having each and every mortgage mapped to the physical building , linked to the first lender and then show how they are appearing under different layers of CDOs ..ultimately tracking to the real holders of mortgage. There can be two ways to implement such system
a) Federal Govt mandates every lender to implement such a tightly controlled system and overview it (the way FDA does for Pharmaceutical companies)
b) Federal govt implements a central system (the way DMV does it for every single vehicle)
One of the potential solution can be to use "SAP Flexible Real Estate Management" as a base system (starting point). SAP Flex is designed to handle the the commercial and residential properties and all the standard business functionality required to run the leasing , renting and contracting etc. Has a good interface with ISRI to show the physical architecture.
SAP Flex can be easily extended to link the mortgage details and ultimately CDOs. Given the fact that SAP solutions are scalable , robust and can handle the enormity of this challenge , I think its a very good starting point for some one in high office who really want to make sure that we don't hit the next crisis just because there was no system to manage the data ..
There is (obviously) no established business solution to address this functionality at such humongous level. We are talking of having each and every mortgage mapped to the physical building , linked to the first lender and then show how they are appearing under different layers of CDOs ..ultimately tracking to the real holders of mortgage. There can be two ways to implement such system
a) Federal Govt mandates every lender to implement such a tightly controlled system and overview it (the way FDA does for Pharmaceutical companies)
b) Federal govt implements a central system (the way DMV does it for every single vehicle)
One of the potential solution can be to use "SAP Flexible Real Estate Management" as a base system (starting point). SAP Flex is designed to handle the the commercial and residential properties and all the standard business functionality required to run the leasing , renting and contracting etc. Has a good interface with ISRI to show the physical architecture.
SAP Flex can be easily extended to link the mortgage details and ultimately CDOs. Given the fact that SAP solutions are scalable , robust and can handle the enormity of this challenge , I think its a very good starting point for some one in high office who really want to make sure that we don't hit the next crisis just because there was no system to manage the data ..
Apr 5, 2009
SAP Portal
As usual SAP was late in bringing the portal out but it once again showed its commitment for holistic approach and inbuilt integrations ..
For the ones who haven't yet had a chance to look at portal .. here is a look .
At a high level - here is why SAP portal is so compelling for the organizations with SAP footprint.
For the ones who haven't yet had a chance to look at portal .. here is a look .
At a high level - here is why SAP portal is so compelling for the organizations with SAP footprint.
- High speed web access to back-end ERP transactions - If users are on Windows platform , they probably already have the SAP WinGUI installed. Portal can render WIN GUI in web browser and the speed is as if you are working on thick client. Means best of both worlds.
- For the Mac and Linux lovers , portal can call most transactions using either Java-GUI or html-GUI . Html-GUI is little slower than the thick clients but it serves the purpose for occasional users. You obviously need an ITS for enabling html-GUI in portal.
- In built integration with MS exchange and Webex. Great collaboration features.
- Great document management features eg versioning , subscriptions and manual ordering .. you dont really need other DMS now
- Team rooms are really cool particularly with task management features .
- Universal Work List - Single inbox for all the portal tasks , subscriptions and workflow from backend R3 systems
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