http://www.infoworld.com/columnists/ephraim_reality.html Lead With Knowledge, from InfoWorld.com en-us Copyright (C) 2007 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. Wed, 10 Oct 2007 04:01:08 PDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Kathy_Badertscher@InfoWorld.com webmaster@InfoWorld.com 40 http://images.infoworld.com/img/img_hdshot_82x74_Ephraim.gif http://www.infoworld.com/columnists/ephraim_reality.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/27/14OPreality_1.html In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could cause more headaches than you bargained for. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/27/14OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/20/13OPreality_1.html This week I thought as a public service i would lay out the real cost of deploying a SaaS (software as a service) solution, starting with a look at two major SaaS providers, Salesforce.com and NetSuite, both of which offer CRM solutions. Tue, 20 Mar 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/20/13OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/13/12OPreality_1.html There have been so many food contamination episodes in the past several months -- tainted spinach at the supermarket, bad green onions at Taco Bell, salmonella in our beloved peanut butter, courtesy of Peter Pan -- that I decided to do a little digging and see whether technology can take a role in the prevention of future outbreaks. Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/13/12OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/06/11OPreality_1.html “It’s not the old guard in manufacturing anymore. Now there is a new guard” that understands technology and can digest the information and knowledge that advanced business applications offer to young, growing companies. Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/03/06/11OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/27/10OPreality_1.html A fast close — the ability of a company to complete its accounting cycle and close its books — is more than just a badge of honor for the finance department. It means dollars. The question is, Is your technology getting in the way or is it helping? Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/27/10OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/20/09OPreality_1.html Last week’s column was an upbeat look at SaaS (software as a service) from the point of view of companies that are currently deploying SaaS solutions. This week we’ll take a different tack. Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/20/09OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/13/08OPreality_1.html If we are ever to cut through the hype in hopes of determining how good SaaS (software as a service) really is, the best way would be to talk to companies that use SaaS. Of course, each application or service must stand on its own — SaaS can’t turn a pig’s ear into a silk purse, as they say — but I’ve been wondering what it is that’s inherent to all or most SaaS applications that makes the model so appealing to midsize and larger companies. Tue, 13 Feb 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/13/08OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/06/07OPreality_1.html If anything convinced me that the 20th century ethic of high-tech companies being technology-driven is over, it was a panel discussion held during the recent DEMO 2007 conference. If you’re the type who mocks the marketing guys and prefers to hear from the tech guys, you’re making a big mistake. Like it or not, in the 21st century the marketing guys will rule the roost. Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/02/06/07OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/30/06OPreality_1.html Creativity is alive and well. Twenty-something years after the PC revolution, new ideas and innovation, huge successes and tremendous flops, are all still part of the excitement. Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/30/06OPreality_1.html http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/redirect?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/23/05OPreality_1.html Offshoring -- especially for BPO (business process outsourcing) -- is about to hit a wall. After all, despite being a relatively new phenomenon made possible by advances in communications, it remains subject to one timeless principle of economics: supply and demand. Tue, 23 Jan 2007 03:00:00 PST ephraim_schwartz@infoworld.com,letters@infoworld.com (Ephraim Schwartz)http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/01/23/05OPreality_1.html