Double Take

Double Take (78)

BALLMER KEYNOTE: WAS THAT ALL?

Steve BallmerBefore Monday's keynote speech by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, there was a buzz that he was going to make a major announcement. It sounded like buzz that had been started deliberately. But after press releases were handed out at the Convergence user conference before the presentation and Kirill Tatarinov, head of the Dynamics operations spoke, Ballmer said that ERP products "are going to the cloud." And that was about it.

Read more...

IS MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX THE FAVORITE CHILD?

It's hard to avoid speculation concerning the role of Dynamics AX compared to the other products in the Microsoft financial products line: Dynamics GP, NAV and SL. In this interview conducted by Software Advice, Guy Weismantel, Microsoft’s director of ERP marketing outlined what he said were the strengths of each of the four products. Software Advice, based in Austin, Texas, assists buyers in selecting software.

Read more...

THE NEW VS. OLD SAP

Back in the 1990s, when there was a conference called PC Expo, SAP arranged press meetings about its All-in-One product. During the interview, I asked, "How much is it?" "We can't tell you." "Well, how about a typical price?" "We can't tell you." "Is more or less than a million dollars?" "We can't tell you." I thanked the SAP representatives for their time and left. I was one of three reporters who walked out on these interviews.

Read more...

FUDGSICLES AND GOOD BUSINESS

Fudgesicles are a great treat--they are very low-calorie compared to many snacks sold at convenience stores and have an extremely low fat content. Besides, they are ice cream and they are chocolate and they seemingly sell well. So it's frustrating that the local Quick Chek, a prevalent chain in Northern New Jersey, can't seem to order them with regularity, but stocks other freezer items that don't. I've seen this behavior before and it’s not good business.

Read more...

THE LEGACY OF SAGE'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE?

Paul WalkerWhen someone commented about what they saw as Sage's difficulties in being successful for the future, I responded half-jokingly, "What do you expect from a bunch of accountants?" And there's something to be said about the way Sage has operated as one of those accountants prepares to leave his job as CEO.

Read more...

VAR RECRUITING PICKS UP

Last year ended with some VARs questioning if the channel could survive. This year, reseller recruiting continues to pick up, with Exact the latest company to cast its pole into the reseller waters, which is interesting since the company spent the prior few years buying its top VARs and encouraging others to get together. That, executives say, has come to a stop.

Read more...

SAGE'S X3 EVENTS: SWING AND A MISS

sage x3Before Sage held two events for the global launch of the new version of its X3 product, I knew that the application competed with Dynamics AX, Epicor and the like, that it was targeted for process manufacturing and that a handful of VARs that have been recruited haven't yet sold any installations.

Read more...

FRACTURED PR: CONTROLLING INFO IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE

fractured fairy talesThose old enough to have watched the "Rocky and Bullwinkle" cartoons remember "Fractured Fairy Tales", episodes in which a popular story was spoofed by the cartoon makers. And given the proliferation of media, a company's public relations effort can end up being as far removed from what it wants as these tales were from the original telling.Good PR, in my eyes, focuses heavily on consistency of message. That means a company doesn't want different people giving different versions of the same story in different media. And in these days, there's more media for the message than ever before.

Read more...

NETSUITE SAYS NO STANDARD BILLING TERMS

In response to requests by the SEC staff about its form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2008 and for its 10Q for the second quarter ended June 30, NetSuite has said it does not have standard billing terms. I'm not sure this is a big deal, but the exchange of letters was interesting.

Read more...

DELTEK STOCK ISSUED TO BUY COMPANY

Deltek issued just over $2 million in stock to finance the recently announced acquisition of Reston, Va.-based mySBX. While Deltek did not release the terms of the acquisition when it was announced on December 15, the company filed a notice of the stock offering with the SEC this month, specifying that the securities were to be used for the purchase.

Read more...

Visit other PMG Sites:

PMG360 is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal data we collect from our subscribers/agents/customers/exhibitors and sponsors. On May 25th, the European's GDPR policy will be enforced. Nothing is changing about your current settings or how your information is processed, however, we have made a few changes. We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to make it easier for you to understand what information we collect, how and why we collect it.