From Satha, some thoughts on ERP, CRM and Others....

Increasingly, other divisions at Microsoft are studying what the Xbox folks are doing right and trying to apply those lessons to their own divisions.

 According to JJ Richards, General Manager of Microsoft's Xbox Live unit, Rule No. 1 is "everything needs to be live now because customers are demanding it," and this dictates how the products are designed, how the updates are rolled out etc..  

You want to go to where your community is and build around it," Richards noted. "And once you are connected, your ship cycle is totally different. You can roll out new stuff every six months…..

According to Richards some of the learnings included:  

o        the need for simple tiers

o        the Dashboard is the UI

o        roaming accounts being key  

There are more than 6 million Xbox Live users now – so I guess these examples have a message for everyone of us in the software business…. 

The article in this link from Mary Jo Foley has more on this subject: http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=421

Microsoft’s is aiming for “double digit growth” to continue well into the future for the Dynamics family…  

And this looks easy because all the stars are lined up that way too:  

o        the Dynamics suite is now been woven into the “Office” family – a market segment which is one of the largest in the world (and dominated by Microsoft)

o        the early signs are that the new buzz phrase "role-tailored interface" with Dynamics” is  luring  the “traditional office user”

o        Microsoft has already come up with an “office like module” for Dynamics (Dynamics Client for Office & Sharepoint Server) – priced at much lower point to the traditional ERP user bracket  

Oracle and SAP may have the market dominance in ERP right now – but watch this space folks!!!  Microsoft is READY, ABLE and FOCUSED on changing that!!  

Some interesting reading in the context: 

a)      Microsoft No Acquisitions Planning in ERP: http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/04/10/HNmsnoerpacquisitions_1.html b)      b) Microsoft Announces New Package to Extend Microsoft Dynamics ERP Solutions to Microsoft Office Users:

1)      http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/mar07/03-12Day1DynamicsOfficePR.mspx

2) http://www.pr-inside.com/rss/microsoft-announces-new-package-to-extend-microsoft-dynamics-erp-solutions-to-microsoft-office-users-r62959.htm

The abrupt news of his departure shocked the market and fuelled rumours.  

Agassi’s real reasons for leaving SAP could be various and (to some extent) largely unknown, at least for the time being.     

Now to the big question - “where does this leave the software giant”??  

the  “AFFIRMATIVE” group: 

think that Agassi’s quitting was inevitable because:  

·         his interest was more tainted towards technology rather applications

·         he never quite understood the core premise of the SAP business i.e. “solutions focused on business problems and business processes”.  

·         his obsession with NetWeaver and service–oriented-architecture (SOA’s) was bound to move SAP away from its main strengths and market advantage  

This shift in debate from functionality to technology continued to cost SAP and allowed infrastructure players such as Oracle to get back in the game.  

In summary, Agassi’s departure will allow SAP to get back on its footing - where application development becomes core and technology development plays a supporting role”  

the “not so AFFIRMATIVE” group:  

think that Agassi was the driving force behind NetWeaver and SAP’s on-demand strategy.  

His visionary thinking helped the global software giant “become more nimble and adaptive to a  market that was shifting from under its feet”.  

It was Agassi’s leadership that helped SAP (finally) come up with a response to the to the on-demand initiatives – “the market play” introduced by minnows such as:  NetSuite, RightNow, salesforce.com etc. As recently as January (this year) SAP announced that its plans to invest in a new business model driven by on demand - that would deliver products and services in a software–as–a-service model to the mid market.  

In summary, SAP will have many highly skilled managers capable of replacing Agassi – but who amongst them could rise to be a “true leader”???  

Some interesting reading on the topic (Q&A with SAP's Shai Agassi): http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070329_781289.htm

“WASHINGTON, April 2 —Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign said Monday that it had raised $20 million in the first quarter, tapping two distant but rich networks…. Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mr. Romney, said the total was “indicative of the extraordinary success he has had reaching out and discussing important issues with the American people.” And this was also largely enabled by an online system called “com-Mitt”, which the campaign had set up for use by the volunteer fund-raisers…“

Reaching out to potential customers, business partners etc.. is a core function of any business. And in “solutions speak” the software that enables such activity is known as “CRM (customer relationship management)”. Salesforce.com’s on demand platform is the foundation for com-Mitt.

With many counties across the globe getting into election mode - “campaign management” becomes a very lucrative niche market… And no doubt Salesforce.com’s own module “CampaignForce” will soon be ready to do the global “campaign trail” soon.

More about “com-Mitt” in the article reached through this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/us/politics/03money.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin