Few debates in enterprise technology generate as much heat and as little light as the comparison between cloud and on-premises ERP costs. Advocates of each approach produce analyses that, unsurprisingly, favor their preferred option. The truth is that a fair comparison is possible, but only if it accounts for every category of cost over a […]
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In today’s mobile-centric business landscape, strong security and privacy are essential. With the rise of sophisticated phishing attacks and increasing online scams, protecting sensitive business data, ensuring privacy compliance, and managing mobile devices effectively are critical challenges. Google Pixel for Business offers a comprehensive solution with features like the Titan M2™ security chip, regular security […]
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The supply chain disruptions of recent years taught many executives a lesson I have long believed: resilience is not primarily a matter of logistics contracts or warehouse capacity. It is a matter of information. Companies that weathered disruption best were those that could see quickly what was happening across their suppliers, inventory, and customer commitments, […]
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Early in my career, the phrase “operating system” referred to something quite specific: the software layer that sat between hardware and applications, allocating resources and ensuring that each component did its work in an orderly fashion. Today I find the term increasingly useful as a description of something broader. In the modern enterprise, workflow automation […]
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The shift toward recurring revenue has transformed business models well beyond software. Manufacturers now sell equipment as a service, media companies sell memberships, and distributors offer replenishment subscriptions. These models create predictable revenue and deeper customer relationships. They also create considerable complexity for finance teams, because billing and revenue recognition no longer follow a simple […]
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Ask any manager where time disappears in their organization and approvals will feature prominently in the answer. A purchase request waits for a signature. A software license sits in someone’s inbox. A contract exception circulates by email until someone remembers to chase it. Each individual delay may seem minor, but collectively they slow the business […]
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My first job out of college was in an accounts payable department, and I still remember the stack. Every Monday morning, a tower of paper invoices sat on the corner of my desk, and my job was to key each one into the system, match it to a purchase order and chase down whoever forgot […]
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General-purpose ERP systems are remarkably capable, but they were designed to serve many industries at once. A food manufacturer, a professional services firm, and a medical device company all share common needs in finance, procurement, and human resources. Their core operations, however, differ profoundly. Historically, each company filled the gap through extensive customization, which made […]
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Every IT organization maintains a backlog of requests for small applications and workflow improvements that never quite rise to the top of the priority list. Low-code platforms offer a way to address that backlog by allowing people outside IT, often called citizen developers, to build workflows and simple applications themselves. The opportunity is considerable. So, […]
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I have been involved, at various points in my career, with companies preparing for public offerings and for sale to strategic or financial buyers. One lesson has remained constant. Investors and acquirers do not merely examine a company’s financial results; they examine the systems and controls that produce those results. A company whose numbers are […]
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Some years ago, I was asked to examine why a mid-sized organization took nearly three weeks to provide a new employee with a working laptop and system access. Each department involved insisted that its own part of the process took only a day or two. They were correct. The problem was not the work itself. […]
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