Latest News from Derek Singleton

Here's Why We Need Cloud UI Standards

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:23:00 EST

If you're like me, you rely on a host of cloud applications to get your job done each day. While the convenience and familiarity of apps built for the web is great, I can't help but notice the difference between each user interface (UI) I use. Currently, all cloud-based ERP software vendors are approaching the user interface with their own design style. For users that work with multiple cloud apps each day, this can be disorienting – not to mention bad for productivity and usability. As more products are built for the cloud, I believe that we ought to start thinking about creating a set of standards for what cloud-based applications should look and feel like. Getting there won't be easy, so it's time to start talking about creating these standards today. Inconsistency in UI design has negative impact on usability and productivity. It results in having to invest in more user training and can lead to costly user errors. A unified and consistent UI, on the other hand, can boost productivity.

Why Activity Streams Matter for Manufacturing Software

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:45:00 EST

These days, activity streams seem to be popping up everywhere in enterprise tech as vendors rush to add social features to their software. Twitter and Facebook-like streams are even starting to gain traction in manufacturing software. Two of the most prominent examples of vendors incorporating activity stream data into their manufacturing user interface (UI) are cloud enterprise resource planning vendors Kenandy and NetSuite. Incorporating activity stream data into manufacturing software UIs has important implications for collaboration manufacturing environments. For instance, it enables rapid information sharing between sales teams and production teams to provide instant updates on things like purchase orders. However, I think the impact that activity streams can have on manufacturing software UIs is potentially much more interesting. Activity streams represent a radically new take on ERP UIs and have the potential to change the way users interact with their systems.

How MRP and Production Planning and Scheduling Software Differ

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:30:00 EST

Without a doubt, one of the most difficult stages of manufacturing production is the planning stage. Minor errors in predicting demand or planning materials can lead to costly mistakes such as producing too much or carrying excess inventory. To drive out waste and produce at the most efficient levels, manufacturers increasingly rely on information technology during the planning stages. Two of the most popular planning applications on the market today are material requirements planning (MRP) software and production planning and scheduling software. While it’s generally understood that both of these applications are broadly about manufacturing planning, there remains considerable confusion about what each application is actually capable of doing. I recently decided to break down their capabilities as part of my work over at the Software Advice Manufacturing Blog. I thought it would be worth sharing the knowledge here.

Cloud Computing: It’s Not About the Web Browser

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:00:00 EDT

The primary innovation behind software as a service (SaaS) is the web-based architecture – users accessing the system through a web browser rather than, say, a Windows application. Proponents of SaaS have trumpeted the benefits of this technological shift. Meanwhile, vendors with older client/server products have evolved their architectures to offer web-based deployment. Some systems are more elegant than others, but today just about every enterprise software vendor offers a web access option. Why then is the new class of SaaS (or cloud) application vendors racing ahead with great momentum while the rest of the enterprise apps market ambles along with limited growth? To put it simply, it’s not about the browser.

Where’s IBM Headed in the Cloud?

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:15:00 EDT

As IBM turned 100 this month, the company received a lot of fanfare and attention. Amazingly, this tech giant has managed to stay relevant in the fast-paced world of enterprise technology for a century. Since Big Blue's birthday, many media analysts have reflected on past achievements and milestones while others touched on their current innovations. I'm a fan of the retrospective approach, but I often find it more interesting to think about where a company is headed rather than where it's been. In the spirit of forward-looking analysis, I decided to dig into IBM's merger and acquisition strategy. The name of Big Blue is never far from the topic of tech mergers and acquisitions, so I thought it'd be an interesting angle to take given the company's 100 year history. Naturally, I had to dig a bit into IBM's history to understand their future. For starters, I took a look at the last 10 years of IBM's mergers and acquisitions.

The Cloud ERP Shortlist for Manufacturers

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:46:00 EST

Manufacturing software vendors are making aggressive moves to the cloud. In the past year alone, four vendors rolled out a full suite Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings for the industry. That brings the current tally of SaaS players in the manufacturing arena to five: Epicor Express, Infor SyteLine, NetSuite, Plex, and SAP Business ByDesign. The buzz around the cloud has manufacturers asking if a cloud solution is right for them. To help answer that question, I’ll explore the features and functionality each vendor offers, and the ideal target market for each. Many more vendors are redesigning their software for the cloud, but I thought I would spotlight the five that are already there. First, here’s a brief introduction to the vendors.

Can Open Source ERP Succeed?

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 07:45:00 EST

Open source has been a great success for infrastructure software such as Linux, Apache and MySQL. Here at Software Advice, we’ve made use of all three. We’ve also made extensive use of open source development libraries like jQuery. For apps, however, we have either rolled our own or deployed commercial Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. We’re not alone in that decision. Open-source applications have failed to gain mainstream acceptance. Despite passionate communities and a compelling value proposition, businesses just aren’t buying open-source enterprise applications. The lone exception, from what I can tell, is SugarCRM (more on this below). But why not enterprise resource planning (ERP)? Why hasn’t an open-source ERP player gained critical mass?