SaaS Analysis
July 13, 2008
Peter Laird’s “Oracle, IBM, SAP, Microsoft, Intuit and the SaaS Revolution” is a business analysis you will want to scan, download, and save for reference. Unlike most Web log posting–especially the ones generated by the addled goose of Beyond Search–Mr. Laird digs into a comparison with objective descriptions, strengths, and weaknesses. He also provides useful links to Web sites and Web logs with related information. You can read the full posting on Sys-Con’s Oracle Journal here.
I have minimal interest in SAP unless the company’s fabulously expensive “boil the ocean” software brings a company to the brink of insolvency. Intuit is too tainted by the weird upgrades and my memories of trying to make its line items match the ones a client wanted.
I found the analysis of Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft quite good. For a free report, Mr. Laird deserves a pat on the back. Heck, I will buy him a two-piece crispy meal at the Kentucky Fried Chicken just up the paved road from where I live.
One comment bit me on the arm and hasn’t let go. The information appears in his write up about IBM. The remark is not Mr. Laird’s. He is quoting a pundit named Jeff Nolan, who opines:
IBM lacks the business apps necessary to execute on an effective SaaS strategy.
This is a strong statement and, in my opinion, accurate. I am baffled by IBM’s initiatives. Several years ago, a Wall Street maven told me that IBM was building a giant grid computer system. The headquarters was in West Virginia as I recall. I scanned Mr. Laird’s comments about SaaSpace.com, Applications on Demand, and (my favorite) Blue Business Cloud (quite a metaphor of unhappiness perhaps). Despite my digging into IBM’s enterprise search and text mining products and services, these were news to me.
I realize the IBM is in the $100 billion range. I even own two NetFinity 5500s. Both have been running for years with minimal hassle. But I cannot explain without quite a bit of work why IBM’s products and services are ill-defined. The confusion is not intentional. I have a difficult time seeing IBM focusing as Salesforce.com does and introducing a service that can be explained in a 60-second elevator pitch.
If you have links to a clear, concise explanation of IBM’s many search and text mining initiatives, please, post the links. For now, IBM is lagging behind Microsoft, which may be hard to swallow if you are a well-paid super smart engineer working on Blue Business Cloud. IBM also believes it has Google figured out.
Send me those links and read Mr, Laird’s report.
Stephen Arnold, July 13, 2008
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Oracle Sourcing R12 Soon to be Available Through Hubwoo
Look for details in the coming weeks about a plan to combine Oracle Sourcing with Hubwoo’s global sourcing expertise and hosting services.
According to sources close to the discussions, the strategy calls for Hubwoo to implement an instance of Oracle Sourcing 12 (R-12) and make it available to customers that prefer on-demand implementations or those that require specialized expertise to improve sourcing results.
Hubwoo (formerly cc-Hubwoo, InterSources, and Blue Solutions) operates a business-to-business community of more than 100 worldwide buying corporations and more than 13,000 connected suppliers.
Hubwoo and Oracle plan to offer customers a range of flexible programs designed to improve sourcing execution. The addition of R-12 to Hubwoo’s procurement offering would give customers instant access to the application’s latest features, including a new user interface, configurable negotiation styles, and automatic and team-based scoring. Hubwoo has already begun implementing R-12, sources say.
In addition to hosting R-12 for subscribers, Hubwoo would provide flexible engagement models that would include a range of services to help deliver savings and efficiencies. These services include opportunity assessments, program management, category expertise, training, and ongoing support services.
“The Hubwoo-powered approach offers a fast, flexible way for customers to get the latest application features, as well as consulting from leading sourcing experts and a proven path to sustainable savings,” says David Hope-Ross, senior director of procurement applications at Oracle and a participant in the talks.
Insiders say a formal agreement may be announced by midyear.
http://www.oracle.com/newsletters/information-indepth/procurement/apr-08/r12.html
quesque vous en pensé ???
bertrand virgo