FSN - Market Analysis

Could negative consumer attitudes put a stop to Big Data projects before they have even begun?

Back in Dec 2012 FSN published a white paper “Mastering Big Data” which highlighted a Big Data initiative being undertaken by the Co-operative Insurance company involving the remote data capture of location-specific information to monitor car usage (speed, time of day) remotely via a black-box (Telematics) and adjusting premiums accordingly. However, as Michelle Simon FSN writer finds the latest research from Deloitte suggests that a third of 18-24 year olds would not be willing to use a telematics device at any discount to their insurance premiums viewing it as an invasion of privacy.

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UK business loosens its belt, spending over £1 billion extra on expenses

A report by Concur, a provider of integrated travel and expense management solutions, has analyzed expense claims made by more than 200,000 employees and reveals that – despite a tough economic climate – UK business spent an additional £1.2 billion on expenses in 2012 compared with 2011. The statistics are a surprise considering the on-going concern about the impact of austerity in the country and in Europe more broadly.

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CFOs - who is looking after the store when you are away?

For many CFOs, staying in touch with the office when travelling is becoming a major concern. But the rapid coalescence of mobile technology and Cloud computing is removing a lot of the stress of being away from one’s desk. Gary Simon, Financial Systems News’ (FSN’s) managing editor explores why it is becoming increasingly feasible for CFOs to not only stay in touch with the office but to manage the business as well.

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Finance will be challenged by the new BI

Business intelligence (BI) has always been a confusing term of reference – for many – but it has never been as confusing as it is now, says FSN writer, Lesley Meall.

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UNIT4 Business Software achieves business continuity re-certification

UNIT4 Business Software, the UK subsidiary of UNIT4 the global cloud-focused business software group, has achieved recertification for business continuity management under the requirements laid out in the new ISO 22301 standards. Formal certification is sought increasingly by customers, regulators and governments who want assurance that suppliers have been audited and that their business continuity processes are deemed robust, future proof and able to cope in the event of a diverse range of incidents without causing costly disruption to a business’ everyday activity.

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Is social collaboration in ERP and PSA set to move beyond the enterprise?

The idea that social media tools should be embedded within financial applications is slowing gaining acceptance though finance professionals remain sceptical. For many, the experience of social networking tools is limited to their (or their family’s) leisure use of Twitter and Facebook but this consumer experience of the social networking phenomenon may be tainting their views of the usefulness of social tools in a business setting. Even vendors of business software have been slow to develop applications that leverage social capability but as Gary Simon, Financial Systems News’ managing editor reports, there are one or two notable exceptions.

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PwC & Microsoft in strategic alliance

PwC and Microsoft Corp. have formed a strategic alliance to help companies engaged in enterprise transformation projects using Microsoft Business Solutions technology.

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Consolidation in the Cloud

The move to Cloud – it’s about far more than just cost-saving

The benefits of cloud computing are firmly established for many CFOs. According to Gartner Research¹, 80 percent of Fortune 1000 enterprises will pay for Cloud computing services, and 30 percent will have paid for a cloud-computing infrastructure by the end of 2012. In more austere times the ability to save costs and simplify business processes is particularly welcome – but, as some organizations are discovering, the Cloud offers transformational qualities for certain business processes that reach well beyond the simple advantages originally envisaged by the transition to the Cloud. Chief among these is the financial close and consolidation process says Gary Simon managing editor of Financial Systems News.

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Gartner predicts by 2017, half of employers will require employees to supply their own device for work purposes

As enterprise bring your own device (BYOD) programs continue to become more commonplace, 38 percent of companies expect to stop providing devices to workers by 2016, according to a global survey of CIOs by Gartner, Inc.'s Executive Programs.

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The challenge of managing professionals on the move

According to Intel, there will be more than 15 billion devices connected to the internet by 2015 - many of which will be mobile devices as sales of laptops, tablets and mobile phones continue to outstrip sales of PCs. Interestingly, British Airways reports that nine out of 10 flights carry more mobile devices than passengers. Mobile computing is literally taking off!

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