In today’s frenzied, internet-driven, corporate dominated world of non-stop consumerism and 24/7 business transactions, who’s leading and who’s following? TEC’s Managing Editor David Clark takes a look at the fluid, ever-evolving relationship between provider and consumer—and how process automation is blurring the lines of demarcation.

We’ve come a long way from the little red schoolhouse. How far? TEC Analyst Sherry Fox takes you on a tour of all the different mediums humanity has developed for learning—everything from good old-fashioned books to high-tech marvels.

Everyone wants to bring out the best in their employees, but how exactly do you do that? Find out about some leadership skills and strategies—some of which may surprise you—that will make your employees positively eager to show up for work every day.

Smart companies are realizing that better managing their human capital is the key to success in today’s highly competitive marketplace. Discover Total Reward Management (TRM), a new program that fosters collaboration between line managers and HR pofessionals to unleash your emplyees’ potential.

Vendors like to pack their white papers with buzzwords—and sometimes it can get just a wee bit misleading. So here’s a handy buzzword translator to help you understand what a vendor really means when they call their product a “user-friendly, holistic, scalable, cutting edge, full-featured, synergistic, and flexible solution”.

Avoiding the major pitfalls of software selection can be as simple as understanding the difference between functions and criteria. Sounds too good to be true? See for yourself—in this straightforward guide to the easy way to select enterprise software.

Also today...

So you think your ERP shortlist is complete? Maybe not. St. Andrews Goldfield thought the same thing—until TEC helped this gold mining company expand its shortlist to include what turned out to be the winning solution. Learn how TEC helped this mining firm strike ERP gold.

Click here for the information and resources you need to make an informed Mining and Quarrying software selection.

Process manufacturers have a notoriously difficult time finding the right ERP software. Find out how to match your needs against ERP vendor offerings to get the process ERP solution that makes the most sense for your operation.

TEC Principal Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic continues his examination of service industries with a look at some of the major trends driving this fast-growing global sector. Learn about service lifecycle management, service segmentation, and the impact mobile technology is having on service delivery in part 2 of this special report.

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If you’re looking for an ERP system for your small business, TEC’s ERP for Small Busineses: A Buyer’s Guide is full of handy information, tips, strategies, and case studies to make your job a whole lot easier.

With service now accounting for a staggering 70 percent of the world’s economic output, TEC Principal Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic casts his eye at the key drivers of this giant economic sector—and explores the trends, strategies, and solutions driving today’s modern service industries.

Bringing customer input into the product design process has at best been an imperfect science. But as you’ll discover in this report on PLM, the combination of new-generation 3D viewers and Web 2.0 technology may be pointing to an exciting new era in stakeholder design collaboration.

If you’re looking to strengthen the very backbone of your organization, look no further than your HR department. Find out how smart companies are realizing that the once-boring and purely administrative old HR department is quickly morphing into a vital and dynamic part of the business—and an engine of strategic growth.

How do you attract, nurture, and retain the best and the brightest employees? Discover how a successful talent management program can help you get the most out of your organization’s greatest asset: its people.

Your ERP for manufacturing solution probably has built-in analytics, but is this really sufficient for your needs? Find out whether you should spring for a full-blown BI solution, or can get away with the analytics you’ve already got in this guide to ERP analytics vs. BI for manufacturing.

No matter how good your BI tools are, poor data quality can lead to inefficiency and frustration, Learn about the steps you can take to ensure your data is clean, accurate, and able to support sound business decision-making.

In his latest report, TEC Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic looks at up and coming merchandise lifecycle management (MLM) vendor TradeStone—and how it’s new product offerings are helping the company get contracts with major fashion retailers and attention from software giants SAP and Oracle.

After so many years of talk, the concept of a paperless office has finally become a reality. The question is: do you really want one? You’ll be in a much better position to decide when you learn all about the pros and cons of going paper-free.

You wouldn’t use a typewriter to write up a business letter—that’s old-fashioned. But using a generic, vanilla ERP system to run a modern business makes almost as little sense. In his latest report, TEC Principal Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic makes the case for finally moving to industry-specific ERP solutions.

In this high-tech era, why is it still virtually impossible to book a doctor’s appointment online? If you’ve ever asked yourself the same question, here’s your opportunity to discover why online medical scheduling is an idea whose time has still not yet come.

Businesses have been relying on financial statements for hundreds of years. Find out how digital dashboards and browser-based accounting are making it possible to get an instantaneous picture of your company’s financial performance—set against the metrics that are most critical to your company’s success.

You know your accounting system is a critical part of your company’s infrastructure, but how do you know when it’s time to replace it? TEC Analyst Aleksey Osintsev has come up with six things that should set off alarm bells—and get you thinking about showing your old accounting system the door.

Remarkably, ERP vendor SYSPRO has found a way to satisfy both early adopters (visionaries) and those who prefer to wait until a product is well tested and established (pragmatists). As TEC Analyst Gabriel Gheorghiu discovered, it’s a concept called PragmaVision, and here’s how it’s been applied to SYSPRO Version 6.1.

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If you’re looking for ways to survive the hard economic times, TEC Principal Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic has you covered. In his latest report, P.J. lays out three ways you can use CRM—to not only weather the economic downturn—but come out stronger and more competitive when the economy rebounds.

SaaS is still struggling to find acceptance in the BPM space, but there are some interesting trends emerging. What type of organization—and which industries—are most likely to go the SaaS route for BPM? TEC Analyst Kurt Chen set out to find the answer—and what he discovered might surprise you.

Dynamics CRM recently surpassed the one million user mark. Find out what’s driving this phenomenal success, and what innovative new features Microsoft has added to the Dynamics CRM mix, in this report from TEC Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic.

If you’re looking for a way motivate and retain your best employees while pocketing a substantial ROI at the same time, look no further than employee incentive management (EIM). Find how about the current trends in EIM and how you can use it to coax the best performance out of your company’s sales force.

You may never have heard of TradeStone Software, but their client list reads like a who’s who of retailers. In this report from TEC Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic, discover how TradeStone’s products are making it possible for retailers to bring innovative and profitable private label products to market at ever higher speeds.

Once you understand all the ways PLM helps foster creativity, productivity, and innovation, you’ll wonder how manufacturers ever got by without it. Learn how PLM works, all the benefits it brings, and how it can help your company compete in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

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TEC Principal Analyst P.J Jakovljevic still has his eyes set on all those billions of dollars in US stimulus funds. Find out how vendors—Meridian Systems and Skire—are helping project-based organizations (PBOs) get their share of the action, while industry giants SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft are stepping up to the plate with stimulus-oriented accounting and reporting solutions.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could lay out a clear, concise, and proven approach to enterprise software selection? TEC has; and in this straightforward, easy-to-follow guide, you’ll learn about the steps to take—and the processes to follow—to find just the right software solution for your company’s needs.

Costs—they’re what keep managers and executives awake at night, especially in an economic downturn. Here’s a timely look at the costs that go into the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a software system—and how to keep them at rock bottom.

You need to check out a lot of things before you buy software. But would you ever consider a vendor’s corporate personality? What if your ERP vendor is a psychopath? Would you choose software from a vendor whose corporate culture is not the same as yours? Let us know in this quick one-question survey.

First it was Dassault Systemes, then Siemens. This time, TEC Analyst Kurt Chen puts the spotlight on PTC’s Windchill, as he takes a look at how well this popular PLM solution supports lean product development (LPD).

It’s been a long time coming, but companies are finally learning to view employees as a strategic asset rather than an administrative cost of doing business. Find out how human capital management (HCM) is helping to build stronger, more competitive organizations by aligning workforce capabilities with business strategy.

If you think Dynamics CRM is only for small businesses, think again. The fact is, some of the big guys are happily using it to increase sales by as much as 20 percent. And that’s just one of the useful nuggets of information you’ll find in TEC Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic’s report on this popular Microsoft solution.

For engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturers, the squeeze is on: fierce international competition; complex parts scheduling; and razor-sharp deadlines. What can ETO manufacturers do to ease the squeeze? Find out why many are turning to SCM—and how it’s helping them to manage their outsourcing more efficiently and run a more competitive outfit.

Many books have been written about lean supply chain practices, but you don’t have to read every word to start enjoying some of the benefits lean offers. Learn nine simple ways you can use ERP to lean down your supply chain—beginning right now.

Ever wonder how the organizational pieces of the ERP puzzle fit together—how the end users, vendors, consultants, and VARS interact to form the ERP landscape you see today? Find out as TEC Analyst Kurt Chen takes you on a guided tour of the major players in the ERP ecosystem.

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CRM players are claiming they do business process management (BPM)—and BPM players are saying they do CRM. What’s going on here, and what does it mean to your business? Find out as TEC’s Principal Analyst P.J. Jakovljevic examines the special “peas and carrots” relationship between these two popular software solutions.

Successful BI implementations aren’t exactly on the endangered species list, but a whopping 70 percent fail to meet company expectations. To make sure you come out a winner in your next BI project, check out the five essential steps to pulling off a BI implementation that works.

Did you know that cloud computing may be the best way to manage your company’s expense? Learn all about the efficiencies and cost savings you can tap into with an on-demand spend management solution—and the five best practices that make it all work.

Also in today's Newsletter...

The interest in quote-to-order (Q2O) systems is rising—and for good reason. Learn how a Q2O solution can help your company address the ever-increasing market demand for personalized and customized products, often referred to as mass customization.

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Getting production and sales to work closely together is a sure path to a competitive advantage for any small and midsized business. Today, TEC’s Analyst Gabriel Gheorghiu offers his suggestions on how you can achieve this kind of close cooperation in your organization.

PLM is helping many different industries develop better and more successful products—and process manufacturing is no exception. Today, TEC’s Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic examines the special needs and challenges of the process manufacturing sector, and how PLM can play an expanded role in process manufacturing product development.

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Here are some CRM trends and strategies that can help you get you past the recession to the better economic times ahead.

Also in today’s Newsletter…

We all know the population is aging, but here’s a shocking statistic: by 2050, people over 80 will be America’s single biggest demographic group. How will the graying of the workforce impact a business’s succession planning? TEC Analyst Gabriel Gheorghiu looks at this issue, and asks you, our reader, to offer some feedback.

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Learn how to groom “inside-outside” company leaders—people who bring both an insider’s intimate knowledge of the organization and an outsider’s ability to foster radical change.

Also in today’s Newsletter…

The high rate of software implementation failure is largely the result of problems during the functional requirements phase. Learn how to get this critical part of the process right—and avoid having your software selection project become another sorry statistic.

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Rapid implementation of an ERP solution can reduce costs and time-to-benefit (TTB), but requires the right strategy and tools to succeed. Find out how you can enjoy the upside of rapid implementation while avoiding all the risks.

Also in today’s Newsletter…

Retailers are constantly striving to create a unique shopping experience for their customers. In this Economist Intelligence Unit survey report, discover the techniques that 180 senior retail executives are using to attract and retain customers in a challenging and fiercely competitive retail environment.

Finally, learn about the six most common mistakes businesses make in tough economic times—and how the right business intelligence (BI) solution can help you avoid them all.

Getting maximum customer input into the product development process is one of the secrets of top performing companies. TEC Research Analyst Kurt Chen looks at some of the principles and solutions that can help you develop more successful products through better communication with customers.

The market demands constant innovation. But how do you empower your company’s innovators with the tools and strategies to develop a steady stream of new and profitable products? Find out here.

Failure to properly define business requirements is the biggest single cause of software selection and implementation failure. Click here for some handy advice on how to get this critical part of the process right.

The challenge of e-commerce is using technology to help you understand your customers better—and turn one-time purchases into life-long relationships. Click here to learn about e-commerce initiatives that can help your company succeed at the tricky business of selling to consumers on the Web.

Interested in harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to increase sales and your bottom line? Find out how to pull it off here.

There’s still hundreds of billions in economic stimulus funds available in the US, but to get at it you have to deal with a myriad of compliance and reporting requirements. TEC’s Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic takes a look at those requirements, as well as how solutions from Deltek can help you get some of that government money flowing your way.

How can a customer relationship management (CRM) solution help your company successfully pass through each stage of its development, and help ensure it enjoys a healthy and profitable business life cycle? Click here to find out.

Smart companies know that true CRM success comes from being fanatically data-driven. That sounds like good advice, but what exactly does it mean, and how can your company achieve it? Find out here.

Here’s a white paper with a name that says it all: Using to CRM Sell More. If boosting sales and revenues is high-up on your agenda, you ought to check this out.

TEC’s Principal Analyst PJ Jakovljevic’s chronicle of Oracle’s drive to conquer the enterprise resource planning (ERP) mid-market examines the software giant’s most likely obstacle: competition from SAP’s Business All-in-One. Find out more about the battle of the ERP titans—and what’s in it for your small or midsized company—here.

Here’s a ground-up approach to finding the right PLM solution—one that will bring you the return on investment (ROI) you want—and the kind of improvements that will most benefit your organization.

Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a red-hot topic these days, so we decided to take a closer look at JDA Software’s S&OP solution—and how it can help your company lower costs, forecast more accurately, increase supply chain visibility (SCV), and improve customer service.

It’s now possible for your retail operation to build a competitive advantage by leveraging a total retail solution based on collective retail intelligence. Click here to find out how.

Business service management (BSM) is all about managing IT resources in a way that is meaningful to the business. And if you think that sounds like typical IT hype, click here. You’ll find out how BSM done properly can actually help you improve efficiency, speed up the decision-making process, and reduce costs.

To learn about a faster way to respond to your customers’ issues and concerns—one that will save staff time and provide better intelligence for company executives—click here.

The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is coming—is your company ready? Click here to find out more about the new set of regulations that is sending shockwaves through the apparel and retail sectors.

Click here to learn how a well-known US packaged food manufacturer’s PLM solution is helping the company expedite product introductions, reduce costs, and improve overall product quality.

Web 2.0 and social networking are starting to revolutionize how companies do business—particularly in the area of marketing. To find out how smart companies are harnessing the power of online communities, what the trends are in B2B, and how software vendors are responding, click here.

E-discovery involves identifying, retrieving, and processing documents and data for pending or current litigation—and it can get expensive. Find out how your company can reduce the substantial costs of e-discovery.

If you’re considering upgrading your traditional phone system to a premise-based private branch exchange (PBX) system, click here to find out what you need to know before talking to vendors.

Upgrading your ERP system can help your company drive down costs, raise employee productivity, and produce meaningful business process improvement. Click here to find out how.