News | Nogalis, Inc.

Michaela Goss at Search Networking Tech Target shares an interesting read on the disruptive technologies we can expect in 2020 and in the future of networking technology. Among the top the list as 5G, edge computing infrastructure and WAN technologies. Goss found from other tech bloggers that technologies such as 5G and edge computing will play key roles in network infrastructure transformation, while WAN technologies will continue to grow and thrive.

There is a prediction that the number of enterprise locations that solely use internet WAN connectivity could triple by 2023. In 2019, fewer than 10% of these locations had only internet WAN connectivity, according to Andrew Lerner, research vice president at Gartner. Additionally, the next big thing in the future of networking technology is edge computing, more specifically Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). SASE is a single cloud platform that combines an organization’s network and security services, and Lerner also predicted SASE will see significant growth in the early 2020s. According to Chris Drake, principal analyst at GlobalData Technology, edge computing promises significant benefits for the future of networking technology. One tech that experts can agree on that will guide us to the next wave of innovation is 5G. 5G will set the stage for the future of networking technology and, in particular, a new type of network model, according to Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp. “The new network model is a shift in how operators deal with incremental enhancement and modernization for their networks. Because many 5G deployments will be new strict guidelines and a one-size-fits-all service don’t exist for 5G networks. This drives the need for a new, open network model that will be based more on open source or open hardware capabilities, which vendors will likely attempt to conquer throughout 2020,” says Noelle. Drake concludes, “in 2020, expect more alliances and more use cases that take advantage of the ability to combine edge technologies and 5G network architectures in ways that enable the development and delivery of new digital applications.”

01/23/2020

A Brief Overview into the Lawson Requisition and Approval Process

Lawson allows for requester users to submit requisition orders for their organization. To make sure the orders are valid, Lawson also supports approvers to verify and approve/reject the orders.

The core of this is done by setting up Requisition Locations (RQ01) and Requisition Strings (RQ02) and having a workflow process everything in between.

Requisition Strings can be used in many different ways, but in our example it is to have individual approvers approve for a particular location. This can also be general titles like Manager, VP, etc. or however your organization wants to set it up.

As you can see below, these are strings for Company 100, Requesting Location RQ210 with Approvers starting at Level4 and stopping at Level6. The lower limit on the left is the amount that the users approve orders for and depending on the IPA flow logic, could notify or skip them.

When users track requsitions in say RQ10 for example, they can drill around and see history log via the strings themselves:

This is only half the setup for this particular organization.

Approvers have to be setup on the Landmark side via Rich Client or Process Server Administrator web application. This is done via “Filters” and these have to be named accordingly to what your IPA Requisition flow will coincide with.

Below is an example of how we would mirror the RQ02 strings in Rich Client (custom report).

The Level 4, 5, and 6 are the “auth id” that our custom flow matches up on. It then grabs the user from Landmark and send notifications based on where the requisition is in the flow.

Some organizations simply don’t use RQ02 strings as they may find it easier to process everything on the Landmark side. Landmark does have a set of its own reporting tools and filters (See my other article titled “Generating a simple approval level report from the Landmark database“ for a custom database report I created).

The benefits of RQ02 strings in my experience is that the frontend functional users could setup the strings for the developers to mirror in the back end (or by an automated process if done right).

Hope this was helpful in giving you a brief overview of requisitions and approvers.

01/22/2020

How AI in ERP will create the finance team of the future

Having the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology has heavy influence on a finance team’s ability to focus on the strategic instead of the tactical aspects of a firm. Accounting and financial activities are critical to determine business growth. Unfortunately, as digital innovations are progressing in most departments, finance doesn’t have the first priority with new changes. With the move to the cloud, ERP systems found new ways to embed artificial intelligence (AI) for better productivity. This partnership opens the doors for better financial set up as well. Bill Wardwell shared an article on Accounting Today on how AI integrated ERP systems will benefit finance teams greatly in the coming years.

Automate manual tasks
“Machine learning-driven automation results in cost reduction, increased staff productivity and overall operational efficiency gains. Because they’re spending less time re-keying information or pushing paper around the organization, team members will have more time to spend collaborating with one another, solving problems they were previously too busy for, and further optimizing the finance function.”

Deliver richer, more actionable insights
“Machine learning makes it possible to analyze massive amounts of clean data and detect patterns and other relationships to make predictions — even from potentially disparate sources — with incredible speed and accuracy. Machine learning embedded in the ERP system can examine historical data from multiple internal finance functions and external sources such as bank accounts to help an organization more accurately predict cash flow.”

Improve the experience for end users and external business partners
Natural language processing, which powers digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, is another technology that can make ERP system interactions more human and intuitive. Natural language processing can help users more easily search and interact with massive amounts of data that may be stored across applications or other silos, with a simple voice-based search. This technology could also be applied to analyze conversations between trading partners and work in conjunction with AI to suggest the next steps after a conversation has concluded.

While we are at a rich time in technologial advancement, AI and machine learning is still in their early stages when it comes to impacting financial and business management tools, including ERP. Wardwell concludes that it is no question that there is no question these technologies will ultimately transform work for the masses the same way they have transformed our consumer lives.

01/21/2020

Generating a simple approval level report from the Landmark database

Lawson natively supports requisitions and a hierarchy requisition approval system within organizations. Some use both the approval strings found in RQ02 and setup filters within Lawson Rich Client (An application in Lawson Landmark). More info on this can be found in another one of our articles titled: “A Brief Overview into the Lawson Requisition and Approval Process”

To generate a database dump of all approvers and their levels using my method, you’ll need read access rights to the LSL, IPA, and GEN databases and must be using SQL.

1. Login to your TEST or PROD database application.
2. Create a new query window and paste the below SQL code in, one is a screenshot to show syntax highlights and the other is the raw code for your convenience.
  
  Run the query and your results should show as so:
3. Copy and paste with headers into Excel to filter down the data or edit the query.

I’ve included an Active Status to show which locations are active or inactive. This can be changed in RQ01 per company and location.

Feel free to optimize the query to your likings if you see any inefficiencies. Remember, this is only for approval levels on the landmark side, not the RQ02 strings themselves.

01/20/2020

Infor Introduces New Solutions for Omni-Channel Retailers and Fashion Brands

Infor’s Fashion sector introduces new solutions designed to help omni-channel retailers and fashion brands improve and optimize areas such as inventories, demand and supply planning and factory to market efficiency. Per the press release, the new, machine learning (ML)-driven solutions are generally available (GA) and include Infor Retail Allocation, Infor Omni-Channel Planning for Brands, the latest version of Infor CloudSuite PLM for Fashion, and the Infor Nexus RFID Scan & Pack solution. Infor’s general manager and head of Americas Rod Johnson states, “Infor’s ongoing investments in machine learning and advanced planning will give retailers and fashion and lifestyle brands very powerful new capabilities. First, they will have an incredibly precise view of their component and finished goods demand and, second, they will have an execution platform that supports even shorter product lifecycles. This combination will reduce waste, labor and markdowns throughout their supply chains, from zippers to finished goods.”

01/18/2020

Lawson Security – The Theory of Greatest Privilege Access Explained

When Lawson left LAUA security, it redesigned its hierarchical security as so:

Roles
- Classes
  - Tokens (or rules)

These all followed the theory of the greatest privilege access since v9

What does this mean?

In the simplest form, it means that if there is an ALL_ACCESS and a DENY_ACCESS rule within the same class or role, the ALL_ACCESS wins and grants access to the rule.

Real world example:

Problem: Say you wanted to grant a user access to view an AP form but noticed that the form itself shows a vendor’s number under the TAX ID field.

If the vendor does not have a vendor number, typically they use their social security number and this is added to the TAX ID field which is a field on the APVENMAST table.

If we set DENY_ACCESS on the TAX ID field within APVENMAST as shown below:

When the user loads the AP form up again, that field will appear blank or greyed out.

Let’s say this user eventually takes on newer tasks and gets a new role assigned to them to submit requisition orders and this newly assigned access inadvertently grants ALL_ACCESS to the APVENMAST table.

This new access now overrides the DENY_ACCESS set on the TAX ID field and the user can now once again see the TAX ID field and reveal sensitive information such as a vendor’s social security number.

I hope this helps when designing your security for employees.

01/17/2020

ERP’s Defining Characteristics, and Why Your Business Can’t Live Without Them

Technology has changed the way we operate systems these days. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) has gone further than having “the ability to deliver an integrated suite of business applications” (as defined by Gartner in 1990). The ERP landscape has evolved and while it still does what its original definition was, with the rise of postmodern ERP deployment and a shift toward third-party integration, the future of ERP as we know it hangs in the balance. Zach Hale shared an article on Softwareadvice.com that shares what ERP can do for your business and why you need to deploy an ERP system in 2020.

Common ERP modules and functions

Financial management. Also known as accounting, the financial management component records, processes, and organizes transactions within modules such as general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and fixed-asset tracking.
HR management. ERP software can automate core HR functions such as personnel tracking and benefits administration, as well as more strategic processes such as recruiting, employee evaluation, and training.
Inventory/supply chain management. These functions support the planning and execution of supply chain transactions to optimize inventory levels and meet customer demand, from the acquisition of raw materials to production and delivery.
Manufacturing resource planning (MRP). Using ERP’s manufacturing planning functionality helps to efficiently plan production based on materials, labor, and machinery.
Customer relationship management (CRM). Basic CRM functionality includes sales- and client-related processes such as managing contacts, leads, and cases.
Project management. Through their ERP system, businesses can manage projects independently so users can create plans, schedules, resource assignments, budgets, estimates, and more.

New developments and features in ERP systems

Third-party integration. Integration helps businesses incorporate industry-specific applications from third-party vendors into their day-to-day and tailor their system to the needs of the organization.
Cloud-based deployment options. In the last decade or so, ERP vendors have begun offering an alternative to on-premise deployment: a cloud-based option hosted on the vendor’s servers and accessed through any approved device with internet access.
Data collection and analysis. As home to virtually all your business data, ERP software can use artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics to analyze performance, project future outcomes, and inform business decisions.
Workflow automation. ERP systems can automate repetitive tasks, create workflows that trigger processes, and send notifications to users or payment reminders to clients.

With its core functions and new developments, they represent an unprecedented leap forward for the ERP market. Businesses that implement this tech-driven system stay ahead of the curve, while those who have yet to embrace it may be on the verge of being left behind.

01/16/2020

Burton Snowboards Selects Infor to Support its Digital Transformation and Global Expansion

Infor is partnering with leading snowboard brand Burton Snowboards and will implement the Infor CloudSuite Fashion, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system tailor-made for the fashion industry. A long-time customer of Infor, the global leader of snowboards and sports gears has expanded its Infor Nexus supply chain management capabilities to optimize inventory across channels, increase its direct-to-consumer business, operationalize its expansion to global markets, and upgrade its technology footprint to the cloud. Burton is constantly challenged to manage inventory with seasonal demand and orchestrate products across a global supply chain. Infor will enable Burton to standardize enterprise processes and optimize inventory flow from source to customer across all channels, including direct-to-consumer and e-commerce, while reducing its legacy technology footprint.

01/15/2020

How to Analyze a Cloud-based Log Quickly in Lawson