| SAP making a play for on-demand e-tail CRM?
Business software giant SAP has acquired Praxis Software Solutions as it attempts to weave on-demand applications into its offerings. Technology from Praxis will be incorporated into SAP Business One, a business management product aimed at small and medium-sized companies, to help them set up online stores and deploy customer relationship management software via the internet. The two key elements that SAP is gaining from its long-time partner are Praxis' NetPoint Commerce and NetPoint Focus applications. The first is an ecommerce package that offers customisable shopping-cart and customer support functions, designed to handle data access for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer needs on a single website. It integrates pricing and inventory data originated from the SAP Business One System.
CRM giants deny 'doing a Salesforce.com'
Two of the largest names in customer relationship management (CRM) have stated their commitment to delivering applications on-demand. However, they claim it is a natural evolution which would have occurred with or without the likes of Salesforce.com. Senior execs from SAP and Siebel, speaking at the Gartner CRM Summit in London, denied their newfound enthusiasm is a reaction to the growing success of NetSuite, RightNow and Salesforce.com, who have all been championing the on-demand model since 1998. They also denied it is a case of playing catch-up, or exploiting the online service delivery model's immediacy to get a foot in the door for selling their traditional on-premise products. But despite the denials and the fact 'the school of 98' was conspicuous by its absence from a session entitled 'The Many Roads to On Demand CRM' - comprising the event's two premium sponsors - the spectre of the upstart start-ups cast a shadow over most of the discussion.
Tata Motors supes up operations
With rapid growth in both its domestic and international business, the vehicle manufacturer wanted to introduce a slew of products to cater to burgeoning demand. With a supplier relationship system that lacked transparency, accountability and was unable to scaleĀit was time for a change. Implementing a supplier relationship management system has helped Tata Motors fix things says Akhtar Pasha Probir Mitra, Senior General Manager-IT, Tata Motors could not stop smiling as his team recently won the SAP Award for Customer Excellence (ACE) 2007 for the best automotive sector implementation (Large Enterprises) for Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and Warehouse Management. The implementation has redefined supplier processes and leveraged technology applications in warehouse operations conferring operating benefits.
SAP Launches Corporate-to-Bank Connectivity Service Offering for Banks
BOSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced a new service offering for banks to help them prepare for and take advantage of the latest technological advances in corporate-to-bank connectivity. The SAP consulting package outlines the benefits of standards-based, real-time corporate-to-bank connectivity in reducing costs and IT complexity while increasing wallet share and enhancing customer satisfaction. The announcement was made at Sibos, the world's premier financial services event, being held in Boston, October 1-5. The go-to-market service offering will be complementary to the SAP(R) Bank Relationship Management application and SAP Integration Package for SWIFT, a standardized software solution linking SAP ERP directly to SWIFTNet, the IP-based messaging platform connecting nearly 8,100 financials institutions in 208 countries and territories.
Four-way Republican tie looms in Florida
Mr Giuliani, who has pinned many of his presidential hopes on the Florida primary after largely ignoring Iowa and New Hampshire and showing poorly in each, has lost 8 percentage points from his then-first-place 28 per cent in the December survey. "These numbers can't be good news for mayor Giuliani who has staked his entire campaign on winning Florida and whose lead has evaporated," Brown said. "McCain's jump is not unexpected given his New Hampshire victory," he added. Among Democratic likely voters, senator Clinton leads senator Obama 52 per cent to 31 per cent, a margin virtually unchanged from December. Senator Clinton held an even wider lead among women voters. Former senator John Edwards was the big loser, dropping to 9 per cent in January from his 19 per cent showing in December.
Alternative Technology Expands Virtualization Practice with LeftHand ...
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. --(Business Wire)-- Alternative Technology, a leading specialty distributor of thin-client/server-based computing, edge infrastructure, virtualization, and government-approved security solutions, today announced that it has signed a value-added distribution agreement with LeftHand Networks, the leader in open iSCSI SANs. Under the agreement, Alternative Technology will promote and distribute LeftHand Networks' Open iSCSI SAN technology to its network of 3,000 resellers in the United States and Canada. Channel sales, training and pre-sales support will commence immediately, with general availability Nov. 7.
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