EDITOR'S COMMENTS
2nd September 2010
Choosing a suitable vendor to supply an accounting or business system is a decision riddled with pitfalls. Historically the ‘Invitation to Tender’ or ‘Request for Proposal’ route has been the preferred approach but seems increasingly irrelevant when cast against the backdrop of in growing systems complexity and highly configurable packages. Suppliers become frustrated by the weighty documents that they are expected to answer and potential buyers find little value in the bland responses such a document encourages. In practice neither party comes away satisfied that the requirements are fully understood, yet the stakes are very high. Suppliers stand to lose profitability and potential customers feel exposed to hidden costs arising from misunderstandings and incompletely defined needs. So is there a better way? For some vendors and in certain situations, the ‘Proof of Concept’ (a form of rapid application development) provides a helpful alternative to the long-winded Invitation to Tender route. This week we explore the benefits of such an approach sharing experiences with the management of Tagetik who make widespread use of the technique to help customers and themselves gain certainty around a project before work commences in earnest.
FSN HIGHLIGHTS
-
Leading vendors to exhibit at iXBRL and Financial Close Conference
Leading vendors in XBRL and Fast Close technologies will be present at FSN’s financial controllers’...
-
Keller Group selects Tagetik for group reporting solution
Keller Group plc, the international ground engineering specialist, has selected Tagetik 3.0 to simplify...
-
Guascor Fotón implements Infor ERP LN
Guascor Fotón, a specialist in the sale, manufacture and installation of photovoltaic concentration...
-
Global pharmaceuticals embrace best of breed Runbook for financial close in SAP
Runbook, a specialist provider of financial software solutions for automating the financial close, internal...
-
UNIT4 reports license growth and improved outlook
UNIT4, the ERP provider which owns the Agresso and Coda brands has reported a 7% increase in total revenues...
-
CFO’s less confident in economy
The 2010 second quarter Deloitte Chief Financial Officer Survey, published a short while ago, indicates...
-
Japan and the U.S. press on with convergence of global accounting standards
Representatives of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) and the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards...
-
European local government held ‘hostage’ to external IT Consultants
Research among 240 European local authorities, including cities, towns and boroughs, carried out by UNIT4,...
-
Mamut Software compliant with iXBRL filing using Forbes Accounts
Mamut has teamed up with Forbes Computer Systems to allow small businesses to comply with iXBRL corporation...
-
UNIT4 urges organisations to register for Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme or face fines
UNIT4 Business Software (which owns the CODA and Agresso brands), is urging organisations subject to...
-
Clarity claims 100 percent record in XBRL filings
Clarity Systems, says 100% of companies using CLARITY FSR for their SEC XBRL submission successfully...
-
ReZolve to implement Access financials and carbon tracking solution
Access, the mid-market consulting, software and solutions provider, has announced that ReZolve has chosen...
LATEST FEATURE - enterprise financials
Integrated or integration ready? Where ‘Cloud’-based financial applications meet‘On-premise’ solutions.
6th September 2010
The Cloud may have solved some problems but it is also creating others. Lesley Meall, FSN contributing editor looks at the new challenges posed by linking financial applications in the Cloud and on premises.
LATEST NEWS
-
Leading vendors to exhibit at iXBRL and Financial Close ConferenceFinancial Reporting
-
Guascor Fotón implements Infor ERP LNMid-Range Accounting
-
Keller Group selects Tagetik for group reporting solutionFinancial Reporting
-
Global pharmaceuticals embrace best of breed Runbook for financial close in SAPFinancial Reporting
-
UNIT4 reports license growth and improved outlookEnterprise Financials
-
Japan and the U.S. press on with convergence of global accounting standardsFinancial Reporting
RECENT FEATURES
-
Feature
Proof of Concept and prototyping versus formal development methods – which is best?
The rapid emergence of highly configurable applications has changed the way that systems are designed and implemented. Nowhere is this truer than...
-
Feature
Is ERP taking off again?
Taking a best practice approach to a new or existing ERP system can be easier said than done, says Lesley Meall, FSN contributing editor.
-
Feature
What role for HR software in controlling employee absence?
HR applications are often portrayed as solutions to employee absenteeism, but as Delia Goldring, FSN writer and Visiting Professor in HRM at Middlesex...
