How Realistic Are Cloud ERP Solutions?

A recent blog post from enterprise app pros at Panaya surveyed the ease of cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions and how likely businesses are to move to the cloud. It focused on three categories: cloud integration, security, and return on investment (ROI). Favorable to the cloud, over half of respondents support full cloud integration, with measurable return on investments in terms of agility and cost savings. On the other side of the spectrum, some still have yet to see any reliability or favorable returns to the cloud. Cloud ERP could possibly make ERP solutions easier to use, more reliable, and a worthy investment.

 

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Five Signs It’s Time to Upgrade to ERP Software

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software addresses many issues, automating and unifying critical business processes across an organization, making business data available in real-time. If your business isn’t utilizing it now, you greatly want to consider it. Below are five signs it’s time for your business to implement ERP software:

  1. Information System Neither Automates Nor Integrates
  2. Lack of Real-Time Visibility Into Business Performance
  3. Rising Production Costs
  4. Insufficient Efficiency and Transparency
  5. Less-Than-Ideal Competitive Position

It’s time to ditch manual entry tasks and embrace the impact that automation will have on your business. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you.

 

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Hilton Hotel Hires First Robot Concierge That Uses Cognitive Computing System

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) system IBM Watson will deliver a new concierge experience at Hilton hotels. A robot prototype, Connie (as a nod to Conrad Hilton, the hotel chain’s founder), will utilize knowledge from Watson and WayBlazer (the world’s first cognitive travel recommendation engine) to inform guests of local tourist attractions, hotel amenities, and popular recommendations. Like any other A.I. system, the more Connie interacts with people, the more it learns and the better it will adapt to guests’ needs. Information gained from customer interaction will positively affect the workplace by improving professional productivity, and allow companies to utilize the information gained from these cognitive systems to better understand their consumers and industry.

 

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5 retail technologies that could revolutionize the in-store experience

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales improved 15.1% in the third quarter of 2015. Though e-commerce has been growing, brick-and-mortar stores are still prominent. These five digital technologies are are making an effort to bring technology in store:

  1. Interactive fitting rooms for shoppers to request immediate assistance.
  2. Beacons for retailers to reach customers on smart devices while they are in store.
  3. Interactive window displays to draw customers into the store.
  4. Mobile devices for associates to keep current with promotions and inventory.
  5. Heat mapping technology for retailers to better understand shopper movement in the store.

Brick-and-mortar stores have only recently begun implementing these new technologies, though it’s looking to be a growing trend in the retail technology sector.

 

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Pushing education forward with education technology standards

The U.S. Department of Education recently released the 2016 National Education Technology Plan (NETP). With mobile devices and high-speed Internet access serving as platforms for numerous advanced education technologies, NETP pushes education technology standards forward. Education standards include two components: a specific education competency and a grade level. They define what students should learn and when they should learn it. Technology creates a platform for the development of new tools and its standards benefit in the education sector, simplifying unnecessarily complex features. This could mean developing specific text-to-speech tools that would function similarly across all education software, making learning simpler and improves the experience for students and teachers as well.

 

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Egbert Taylor Group Takes to the Cloud with Infor

Egbert Taylor Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of four-wheeled metal bins, recently deployed Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine). The cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application is expected to help improve decision-making, drive growth and boost customer service by improving the sales order process and enhancing visibility into the availability of new products, stock and production capacity. Additionally, the cloud would capitalize on lower upfront costs, reduce risk and ensure that the business always has access to the latest version of Infor CloudSuite Industrial. Phil Lewis, VP solution consulting for Europe Infor, says “By putting the technology behind these processes into the cloud, they can remain agile and incrementally expand the benefits of Infor CloudSuite Industrial throughout the business as it grows, without disruption.”

 

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Infor Continues to Experience Significant Growth in Healthcare

Infor shared their successful and continuously growing healthcare business unit at HIMSS 2016. Healthcare applications covering a broad spectrum in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) have contributed to nearly 450 new and expanded relationships in 2015. These include Children’s Health, UNC Health, Jackson Health System, Confluence Health, Memorial Health System and Liberty Healthcare Management. Additionally, Infor’s healthcare division completed 153 percent more cloud-based new business transactions in 2015 than in 2014. “Infor continues to be a top choice for healthcare organizations because we are a team of industry subject matter experts that understands the nuances, intricacies and demands it takes to operate a healthcare enterprise from a business perspective while keeping patient care at the heart of every decision,” said Mike Poling, general manager, Infor Healthcare.

 

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Infor Announces End of support for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and IBM Operating Systems

“This announcement is applicable only to on-premise software deployments.  It does not apply to products deployed in the cloud. 

Effective May 31, 2017, (previously announced as May 31, 2016) Infor will no longer provide corrections for issues to Infor Lawson application and technology products, including Infor Lawson System Foundation (LSF) releases 9.0.1.X and 10.0.X.0 and subsequent versions, which are caused by running the applications on these server operating systems:

  • Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 SP2
  • Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008 R2
  • IBM® i v6R1

Effective May 31, 2017, (previously announced as May 31, 2016) Infor will no longer provide corrections for issues to Landmark Technology Runtime 10.X.X.0 release and subsequent versions  which are caused by running the applications on these server operating systems:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 reached Microsoft’s mainstream support end date in January 2015 as communicated on the Microsoft Support Lifecycle site.

IBM i v6R1 reached IBM’s end of support date in September 2015 as communicated on the IBM Support Lifecycle site.

After May 31, 2017, Infor LSF and Infor Landmark Technology Runtime customers running on the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2/R2 server operating systems or the IBM i v6R1 server operating system run the risk of encountering issues in their environments that will require an update to a then-currently supported server operating system. 

To help mitigate that risk, Infor strongly recommends that Infor LSF and Infor Landmark Technology Runtime customers update their server operating systems to a currently supported version prior to May 31, 2017, as published in the Infor Lawson Compatibility Matrix document.”

-Via Infor Xtreme Support Update | February 2016

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Infor Releases New Version of Industry-Focused Supply Chain Solution

The release of Infor’s Supply Chain Execution (SCE) solution, version 10.4, promises to deliver enhanced performance and efficiency, including multiple language support, along with on-premise and cloud deployments. Infor SCE 10.4 combines warehouse management, transportation execution, 3PL billing and labor management in a single, unified solution. It is designed to help users optimize inventory, warehouse space and labor in the warehouse while streamlining the complex supply chain business processes. Some core enhancements to the new version include dynamic slotting tailored for retail and omni-channel fulfillment and enhanced inbound quality control. “The new Warehouse Management functionality along with updated dashboards and personalization makes Infor SCE 10.4 the perfect solution for our customers with complex supply chains,” says John Bermudez, VP Product Management at Infor.

 

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ERP match-making tips for your organization

Choosing the right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can be overwhelming as it can be a key asset to your company. Here are five (5) important factors you should consider when shopping for ERP to find the best system for your organization.

  1. Determine the needs of your business
  2. Evaluate various ERP solutions
  3. Evaluate the total cost
  4. Develop a realistic implementation plan
  5. Track the potential business benefits of the new system

Seek advice from your employees. Not only will they be working on the system on a day-to-day basis, they are best suited to advise on where operational gaps exist and how you can fill them by having your firm choosing the right ERP software.

 

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