SAP to buy Sage???

The rumour mill is again in action implying that SAP may buy SAGE.

The new Sage MD Guy Berruyer might already have his hands full as he fends off takeover approaches from SAP and possibly Microsoft.
Sage's shares surged to 8.1p to a year's peak of 266.2p as speculators responded to gossip that SAP, the world's largest business software company, is gearing up for a cash bid worth £5.1billion or 390p a share.. SAP is said to be sitting on cash, even after splashing out £3.7billionn on database-software maker Sybase earlier this year.

Some say SAP would struggle to integrate Sage’s different solutions that they have bought, but this could be a great way to offer SaaS accounting software. The relationship Sage has with accountants might be worth a punt and help SAP push their new Business ByDesign software package.

With such a strong foot hold in the small to midsize software market, the leading suppliers of business software SAP could benefit from taking over Sage as software is seen to compete on some levels.

Shares in Sage Group gained sharply on Tuesday, with traders citing talk SAP AG was interested in making a bid for the technology company.

Both companies have declined to comment…

What do you think???

Top 10 Blogging Tips and Insight from SAP Social Media Webinar and IIS

The latest SAP Social Media Webinar held this morning proved to be insightful and particularly pertinent to activities within IIS. The focus of today’s webinar was blogging and tweeting, the purpose of it and advice on how to devise applicable and interesting content for your organisation and audience.

I actively blog on behalf of IIS via Blogger (as you can see) but we are now looking at integrating a blog within our new company website. This effectively means that we will host the blog on our website which hopefully will yield benefits in terms of search engine optimisation.

Some guidance was given on this but as of yet I’m finding it a tad difficult, but as soon as I have it set up I’ll be sure to share my advice!

What is Blogging?
Blogging is effectively a free publishing tool. It is a lot like a journal but it is intended to be read by others.

No right or wrong
There is no right or wrong when it comes to blogging or tweeting. How you use your blog or twitter account and the content you share is down to your organisations objectives and needs. There is no set amount of times that it should be updated though it is advisable that it isn’t left dormant for long periods of time as subscribers may lose interest.

Uses
You may use your blog or twitter page as a means of providing customer service, special offers, or as a general PR tool to build your brand image and create a human and interactive side to your organisation.

Tie posts in to current affairs
You can customise your Google News page to add a category with search terms that are either applicable to your industry or general customer base. The content you come across can then be reconstructed to make it applicable to your organisation, products or services whilst still holding on to the topical news theme.

Make Content Engaging
Content doesn’t have to be strictly formal, actually the opposite is advised! Your company blog is an opportunity for you to show the human side of your business so personalise the page as much as you can, use your own videos or links to interesting videos or content you find online. This is likely to prove more favourable with your audience.

Make Lists
Lists are liked by all! Well maybe not all but generally people’s attention is be caught by a “top ten list”. There quick and easy to read and straight the point as well as potentially being extremely insightful.

Shocking Content
Causing a bit of controversy can be good for business and gaining attention in the blogging world. You do have to be careful as going too far could harm your business.

Search Engine Optimisation
Blogs are excellent for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and with WordPress, SEO integration is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Plug -ins such as All in One SEO Pack and Google XML Sitemaps makes mastering SEO and pleasing the search engines a cinch.

Make your posts searchable
Make sure your key words and headings are simple and concise and avoid using acronyms. You want people that are interested in your content to find your posts.

Don’t over think it
Your blog should be natural, have a general theme and forming content shouldn’t be stressful, it’s not a dissertation!

Time Zone Management, Free Web Tools!

Never miss a meeting with international clients again. Conducting business internationally can mean more than just a language barrier- there can be a time barrier as well.

This is something which has a habit of causing confusion, potentially missed meetings and unnecessary upset!

With 24 standard time zones, it can be overwhelming to keep track of all your clients’ business hours, and scheduling tasks across time zones can be a challenge.
As it was something that came up this week for myself and another member of the IIS team when I came across an article on Mashable which outlined six free online web tools for managing time differences I was delighted!

If your business depends on knowing what time it is everywhere, don’t worry, as there are plenty of free online tools to help you coordinate, and ensure you never unwittingly call a client at 4 a.m.

Here are the five which I found to be of most use; my favourite was the Time Zone Convertor; quick and easy to use!

World Time Zone
World Time Zone is a handy, at-a-glance map that lays out every region. Divided and color coded, you can quickly see which areas fall into which time zones. It also displays local times for each of the world’s capital cities.

Time Zone Convertor
This website is pretty much as straightforward as it gets when it comes to calculating time differences. There are two clocks. The one on the left displays your local time. The one on the right will do the conversion for a number of major cities. If you simply need to know the time elsewhere in a hurry, this easy-to-use website has you covered.

World Time Server
The World Time Server is another helpful resource for all your international planning needs. The site shows you the current time and date for any city, country or time zone, and has a self-maintained database that adjusts for Daylight Saving Time.

Time and Date
Time and Date has the same features as the sites listed above, plus a few extras. Calendars and holiday observances are listed here and broken down by country. They are particularly helpful for scheduling important deals or conversations since each country has its own civic holidays or widely observed religious ones that differ from the Irish schedule.

Every Time Zone
Every Time Zone is a simple, nicely designed site that is perfect for quickly accessing time zones and date changes. Your local time is generated from your IP address and is displayed as a fluorescent green bar.

Source: Mashable.com; for the full article visit Mashable/TimeManagementWebtools

Retailers optimistic as sales up for third consecutive month!

The Distributive Trades Survey of 20,000 company outlets carried out by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reveals that 60 per cent of retailers saw the volume of sales rise during September.

The CBI’s distributive trades survey for September showed unexpected strength as the balance of retailers reporting sales up year on year climbed to a six-year high at plus 49%, compared with plus 39% in August.

The increase is also reflected in the volume of orders placed upon suppliers (39%), surpassing last month’s balance of 29%.

Ian Mc Cafferty, CBI chief economic advisor, says: “The bank holiday weekend, combined with the tail-end of summer sales have resulted in a bumper period for retailers.”

It was the third consecutive increase and followed a decent month for clothing and footwear sales in particular, the business lobby group said.

Retailers also expect sales to be strong next month, but economists warned consumers are likely to find life much harder going as the public spending squeeze and rising food prices weigh on sentiment.

They also noted that the official measure of retail sales showed a much weaker picture during August.

The clothing and footwear & leather sub-sectors saw particularly strong sales growth, which are likely to have been boosted by the arrival of new autumn ranges. Solid sales growth was also recorded in the furniture & carpets sector.

Looking to October, a balance of +47% of firms expect a higher volume of sales than a year ago.

Business Challenges which retailers may face include:

•Ensuring visibility and proper tracking of inventory for multi-variant items.
•Creating item codes for multi variant items.
•Efficiently completing inventory reporting and sales analysis by size and colour

Intelligent Information Systems has developed Intelligent Colour Size Matrix which enables you to create and maintain parent and child items via matrix templates within SAP Business One.

Benefits of Intelligent Colour Size Matrix

•Save time creating item codes by creating child items within user defined templates.
•Quickly set up a product range for a new multi-attribute.
•Beat the competition and capture the market with proper inventory tracking.
•Quickly fulfill orders for multi attribute items.
•Improves inventory reporting and sales analysis by allowing any business in need of tracking by the sizes and colours of their merchandise to do so efficiently.

To find out more visit beabetterbusiness.co.uk/IntelligentColourSizeMatrix or check out our Intelligent Colour Size Matrix Demo Video on Intelligent B1.

Sources: Smallbusiness.co.uk; finfacts.ie; nebusiness.co.uk

SAP BI Solutions result in “increased customer base” through increased service provision

SAP NEWSBYTE - September 28, 2010 - Just because an organisation is not-for-profit does not mean it is not for cost efficiency and customer service. Case in point: Marietta, Georgia-based Cobb EMC, one of America’s largest electric cooperatives, relies on business intelligence (BI) solutions from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to enhance operational efficiencies, improve overall decision-making processes and better deliver reliable energy and gas at the lowest possible cost to the 435,000 residential and commercial customers it serves.

Previously, the not-for-profit utility’s IT department supported more than 6,000 individual business reports. Today — with SAP Business Objects Enterprise, SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence® and SAP Crystal Reports® software – Cobb EMC has reduced that number by 95 percent. With easy, self-serve access to information, employees have insight into real-time data, and can conduct detailed reporting to drive measurable benefits across the company – from marketing and HR to accounting and operations.

Having data at users’ fingertips means they can quickly and independently resolve issues. For example, with visual dashboards, they can more easily perform critical business analysis like examining and optimising marketing spend. Ready access to daily exception reports and individual bills helps personnel settle customer issues faster, improving quality assurance. As a result, Cobb EMC maintains a 99.9 percent accuracy rate in billing. Employees manage 65 percent of all standard reporting themselves, and the need for custom programming support has been eliminated — resulting in an annual savings of $300,000. IT now responds to requests for specialised reports in a matter of days instead of weeks.

Cobb EMC has successfully used SAP Business Objects BI solutions as the foundation of new services that have increased its customer base. One such offering lets property management companies better monitor and manage gas expenditures at apartment units — a service differentiator that has already generated $5 million in additional revenue.

A "big company" approach to business intelligence is no longer out of small and midsize business' league. Building a big data warehouse or investing in a lengthy project isn't necessary to reap the benefits of all that rich information. Smaller companies can mine their data just like their larger peers, and they need to do just that if they want to compete effectively.

SAP Crystal solutions offer an integrated group of affordable, intuitive business reporting, dashboarding, presentation, and ad hoc analysis solutions that enable individuals in organisations of any size to discover and share insight for optimal decision making.

Sources: SAP AG Newswire; Information Week

To find out more about SAP Business Intelligence Solutions, Crystal Solutions, which can be integrated with SAP Business One which is has been designed specifically for small to midsize companies visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

SAP ERP implementation “improved profitability” expected by Air India

The Air India Board on Tuesday approved the implementation of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project.

The implementation of the ERP project is in line with the business objectives and strategy of the company for affecting a turnaround.

When SAP is considered in its proper context as a “change enabler” or “change lever” rather than a “change driver” it is easier to understand how and where it can properly fit into a revenue and profitability context.

SAP is the largest provider of ERP solutions world-wide and has been preferred by more than 115 airlines.

SAP solutions support the core business of airlines in passenger services planning and development and also MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) functions.

The implementation of the SAP ERP package would help Air India in strategic decision-making, monitoring and control systems, the release said.

Besides, integration of key business functions in the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India, the package would also help in seamless integration with other systems and ensuring availability and consolidation of critical data and information,

At the same time, the airline could aim for improved profitability by availability of real-time information on route network and profitability, it said.

It would also help in reduction in costs especially in inventories across various areas.

The cost savings an SAP ERP solution can bring a company come from streamlining operations, improved access to data, complete visibility of the organisation, and ultimately increased productivity and efficiency.

To find out more about SAP Business One, a business management solution designed specifically for small to midsize companies visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

Source: Economic Times

“Super app” from Sybase and SAP for the Blackberry

Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, yesterday announced the Sybase(R) Mobile Sales for SAP(R) CRM for BlackBerry(R) smartphones -- a new 'super app' that delivers an integrated application experience on BlackBerry smartphones. By extending the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application to the expansive BlackBerry smartphone community, Sybase and

SAP are making it possible for sales, service and marketing professionals to experience significant productivity gains through this 'super app'.

The new mobile solution for BlackBerry smartphones from SAP and Sybase provides comprehensive access to up-to-the-minute SAP customer and business analytics data and the ability to seamlessly conduct workflow processes anytime, anywhere. Advanced features like instantaneous alerts via BlackBerry push technology, and integration with the BlackBerry inbox and calendar provide users with a 'super app' experience on BlackBerry smartphones. Enterprises can also further exploit their IT infrastructure investment by improving mobile worker productivity and efficiency, shortening sales cycles, and increasing visibility into performance.

By making available business-critical data on BlackBerry smartphones using the industry's leading Sybase Unwired Platform and the BlackBerry platform, SAP and Sybase are transforming enterprise operations to not only address the short-term imperatives of reducing costs and better decision making in the field, but also helping companies achieve differentiated capabilities in order to compete effectively over the long term.

Sybase Mobile Sales for SAP CRM delivers the type of powerful experience our enterprise customers expect on BlackBerry smartphones," said Jeff McDowell, senior vice president at Research In Motion. "We look forward to future innovation on the SAP, Sybase and BlackBerry platforms to empower the developer community to build 'super apps' for the SAP Business Suite that deliver a true, native BlackBerry experience."

As the world's leading provider of business software with more than 102,500 customers in over 120 countries, SAP enables organisations to maximise interactions across the customer lifecycle by allowing transactions to be consistent and relevant with real-time, accurate information.

To find out more about SAP Business One, a solution designed specifically for SMEs as well as the Intelligent iPhone app, delivering SAP functionality from the iPhone visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie
Sources: SAP AG Press Release

Small to Midsize companies continue to invest in IT

A global study of over 3,000 SME IT professionals has revealed that many plan to increase IT spending in the second half of this year. Virtualisation technology and investments that optimise existing resources are their top IT priorities.

The survey, from IT management software supplier Spiceworks had a number of significant findings in relation to future software purchase plans of small to midsize companies.

37% of small to midsize companies plan to invest in database software prior to year-end. Planned purchases are primarily via upgrades, continuing the trend we noted during the first six months of 2010 that IT pros are shifting away from filling gaps through new software purchases and toward upgrading existing software and renewing existing IT contracts/licenses.

Planned IT spending in customer relationship management (CRM) software remains consistent with that of the first half of 2010 as 23% of small and medium businesses plan to purchase new, upgrade or renew by the end of 2010.

Other key findings of the survey:

•68% of SME IT professionals plan to use virtualisation technology by the end of 2010
•65% of SME IT professionals plan to keep IT staff levels the same between now and the end of the year
•20% plan to add full-time IT staff before the end of the year
•42% of IT budgets for the rest of the year are allocated to hardware
•35% of IT budgets for the rest of the year are allocated to software
•48% of IT professionals plan to buy new, upgrade or renew at least one IT service

Investment in IT has become critical to small business success. The rate of technology development is driving SMB investment in IT as they recognise that in order to subsist competitively they must take advantage of all the benefits of increased efficiency, productivity, visibility and management that IT can bring them.

The SAP Business One application offers a single, affordable way for small to midsize companies to manage their entire business, from sales and customer relationships to financials and operations. It helps you streamline processes, act on timely information, and can accelerate profitable growth.

To find out more about SAP Business One and how it can help you become a best run business visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

Sources: Computer Weekly; Spiceworks Report – The State of SMB IT September 2010

Data Improvement key to growth, innovation and improved customer relationships

“The fewer data needed, the better the information. And an overload of information, that is, anything much beyond what is truly needed, leads to information blackout. It does not enrich, but impoverishes.”

Peter F. Drucker

It’s not more data we need, its better more refined and useful data, rather than an abundance of useless information.

Sybase, Inc., an SAP company and industry leader in enterprise and mobile software, today issued the second installment of results from a new report -- 'Measuring the Business Impacts of Effective Data' -- an extensive study benchmarking some of the world's leading Fortune 1000 enterprises across a wide range of vertical industries by measuring the direct correlation between a company's IT investments and overall business performance.

While the first installment quantifies the relationship between incremental investments in effective data and the key financial indicators of an enterprise's health and profitability, the second installment examines 'Impacts of Effective Data on Business Innovation and Growth.' That is, the impact on a company's ability to drive innovation, organic growth and sustained customer growth -- each of which make financial performance gains possible.

"Business growth attributable to new offerings and new customers are both critical indicators of the competitiveness of an organisation, and this second installment of findings begins to unearth where data improvement impacts are felt the most," said Anitesh Barua, distinguished teaching professor and lead researcher, University of Texas at Austin.

"We have already drawn definitive correlations between improvements in data and key financial performance metrics of businesses today, as outlined in our initial installment. Unlike previous studies, we are continuing to further peel back the onion to more holistically understand how better data influences a company's health and profitability."

Even the most incremental investments made towards improving only two data attributes -- data accessibility and intelligence -- can deliver dramatic impacts on the following key business innovation and growth metrics:

"Every day, we have conversations with our customers about how their data can be leveraged in new ways to generate revenue, whether it be through the development of new products and services or reaching a new market segment," said Dr. Raj Nathan, executive vice president & CMO, Sybase.

"In the end, we always come back to one thing -- empowering employees with effective data so that data itself doesn't become an impediment to business growth. This study deductively shows that simple, pragmatic improvements in data intelligence and accessibility help employees better understand evolving demand patterns, customer preferences and market dynamics that enable companies to both drive innovations to market faster and attract new customers."

Press Release Business Wire 27/09/2010

SAP contributes to Unilever’s saving of £980 million in costs

In recent years, Unilever has moved to “dramatically” cut the number of suppliers it uses, after at one point using 160 vendors for 1,200 applications. That project, alongside the SAP rollout and a company-wide reorganisation, has helped it save £960 million from costs.

Earlier this year the company said its own SAP rollout, with supplier Accenture, was significantly improving “operational execution” and efficiency, as well as dramatically cutting complexity. The most effective cost cutting was being effected in western Europe, it said, the first region to go live with the system.

Unilever is now facing a large SAP integration, following the announcement it will buy TRESemmé shampoo maker Alberto Culver for $3.7 billion (£2.3 billion).
Unilever, which makes related products including Dove soap and Sunsilk shampoo, as well as other household brands, is standardising globally on SAP enterprise resource planning software.

Unilever said it would become the world’s second largest shampoo maker as a result
of the acquisition, emphasising the importance of the UK, US, Canadian, Mexican and Australasian markets.

Unilever boasts a portfolio of over 400 brands. “With 400 brands spanning 14 categories of home, personal care and foods products, no other company touches so many people's lives in so many different ways.” They are leaders in almost every field within which they work.

The world’s leading, largest and best companies are using SAP and yet it is now within reach of small to midsize companies, supporting them on their quest to become a best run business.

SAP Business One has been designed specifically with small to midsize companies needs in mind. Visit www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie to find out more

Intelligent Targeter

Enables Sales Targeting From SAP Business One

Intelligent Targeter enables users of SAP Business One to set targets for customers and sales employees.

Functionalities

•Set targets for customers.
•Multiple Measurements.
•Progress Alerts and Reports.

Business Challenges

All Business starts with Sales. One of the elements of Intelligent Essentials is Sales Targeter. This solution enhances SAP Business One around the areas of Sales Forecasting and budgeting. This ensures that your business is monitoring sales performance against the initial budget and the ever changing forecast.

Key Features

•Track sales against Budget and forecast
•Set sales targets by Sales rep for Customers, Customer group or customer properties.
•Measure Sales against individual products, product groups or product properties
•Set the targets by one or all of the Qty, Turnover, Gross Profit

Business Benefits

By setting Sales budgets for the year within SAP Business One each sales person can be monitored against actual sales. The system also enables a user to manage their forecasts for the coming months based on feedback from customers or the level of sales quotes being generated. Every business needs to be able to track sales and ensure that the sales figures are on par with the initial company budgets. Sales Targeter enables management and sales people alike to track their sales to ensure the company is on track to achieve its numbers.

Find out more about other Intelligent Essentials elements at www.beabetterbusiness.co.uk or www.beabetterbusiness.ie

Intelligent Essentials, Making SAP B1 Better!