Summer arrived in the northern hemisphere as June began. Globally, as businesses started to consider how they will return to work software vendors continue to offer services and solutions. Notable this week is Oracle NetSuite which has launched an eCommerce site aimed at helping the redistribution and sale of COVID-19/PPE equipment. Oracle itself launched a bundle of solutions, the Employee Care Package for the New Workplace will help companies return to work.
Appointment
Advanced has appointed Chuka Umunna, the former Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, as a non-exec director to its board.
Business
BMC completed the acquisition of Compuware, the leading provider of mainframe application development, delivery, and performance solutions. Compuware is now a part of the BMC ZSolutions organisation that serves the mainframe industry.
Campus Management has announced it has achieved SOC 2 and ISO 27001 Certification on Microsoft Azure.
Codeless Platforms has signed a partnership with Digital River, the eCommerce enabler. It means that customers can leverage its RPA platform to automate processes across eCommerce solutions such as Magento, Salesforce and SAP Hybris and backend systems.
Docusign published strong Q1 2021 financial results. Revenue increased 39% year over year to $297 million. Subscription revenue also climbed 39% to $280.9 million. It also issued a forecast for both Q2 and the full year 2021. It is targeting annual revenues of $1.313 to $1.317 billion.
IFS launched MindFuel. It is a media channel consisting of content targeted at a range of industries including construction; defence; energy, utilities & telecoms; manufacturing and field service. It appears similar to NetSuite Brainyard though not as extensive.
Oracle has selected Innoapps as one of the few partners able to implement the Oracle Employee Care Package (q.v.).
Kofax has partnered with Microsoft to bring Kofax ContolSuite to Microsoft 365 Users. The solution enhances Microsoft Universal Print delivering print management, cognitive capture and output management.
NetSuite unveiled a new Community Exchange marketplace. Initially available in the US, it aims to help companies sell and donate healthcare supplies such as PPE equipment. Companies can list the products they have available. NetSuite hopes to expand the initiative outside the US soon.
ODOO celebrated passing the 5 million users mark. It has also become one of the first IT service providers qualified under the Hong Kong Productivity Councils ‘Distance Business (D-Biz) Programme’. It enables qualifying SMEs to gain 100% funding for IT projects undertaken, up to a limit of HKD$100K per project and HKD$300k per enterprise.
Tova ERP has partnered with Priority. Priority ERP customers can leverage the Tova document scanning solution bringing documents straight into the Priority system.
Zeeco has teamed up with Salt Edge to help its shop carbon-free app to integrate with banks. It uses open banking in the UK and EU, though there are no details of which banks it will launch with.
SAP has joined the Open COVID pledge. It means that it has committed to making available all relevant patents free to help against COVID-19.
SAP has updated the SAP App Center delivering a better user experience among other improvements. The new SAP Endorsed Apps Initiative is part of a new Partner Solution Progression Framework. It demonstrates that a third party app has been properly evaluated and tested by SAP.
SYSPRO is to offer access to the SYSPRO Learning Channel to 500 recently unemployed people who worked in the manufacturing and distribution sector. Applications are available now and are open to people from locations including the US, Canada, Africa, the UK, Asia, and Australasia.
Working with Xero, the University of Johannesburg has added cloud accounting to its syllabus. Every full-time, second-year B Com Accounting student at the university – approximately 800 to 1,000 students each year – will be given a Xero license. They can also aim to become a certified Xero Advisor if they complete the certification exam.
Xero has improved its marketplace with the integration of Coveo to enhance search functionality.
Customer
Macfarlanes, the London based law firm, has selected Aderant Expert as its new practice management software.
Brick By Brick will use the Asite Common Data Environment to manage a 157 home development in Croydon.
Product
BMC unveiled BMC AMI Operational Insight. It is an AI-driven, forward-looking solution that uses machine learning to detect anomalies and maximise lead time for remediation to mitigate mainframe issues before they become business problems.
Centage announced a new Scenario Planning Service package for small to mid-sized businesses. The service will deliver two forecast scenario outcomes in the form of financial statements, including:
- P&L, 2019 actuals versus each forecast scenario
- Balance Sheet forecasts for each scenario
- Cash Flow forecast for each scenario
Clear Books launched its new Clear Books Mobile accounting app. It enables customers to view and interact with their bank balance.
Eightfold Talent Intelligence is now available as an SAP Endorsed App on the SAP App Centre.
Epicor unveiled the latest version of its Senior Living Solution, 10.2.5. It includes updates to EVA, Epicor Community Care, Residential Care and CRM. It also includes Epicor Collaborate.
Ingentis org.manager is now an SAP Endorsed App available on SAP App Center.
Ivanti has added Enterprise Mobility Management capabilities to the Ivanti Avalanche Enterprise Enabler solution. It supports both Microsoft Mobile and Android OS.
JobPts Recognition and Rewards Solution is now a SAP Endorsed App Available on the SAP App Center.
Optimized Dynamic Pricing from Pricefx has achieved SAP Endorsed App status on the SAP App Exchange.
Oracle announced the Oracle Employee Care Package for the New Workplace. The bundle of Oracle tools addresses three key concerns as organisations return to work post-COVID-19. These are Workforce safety, Employee support and the requirement for new skills.
SnapLogic announced that its Procurement Automation solution for SAP Ariba is now available on SAP App Center.
Workwise released OnContact CRM 10.7. The release adds new features such as the workflow function, and it also unveiled the Application Designer.
Xero has launched a range of new features to Australian accountants and bookkeepers. They include document packs, templates for charts of accounts, automated business activity statements and alerts following ATO assessments for their customers.
Research
Fenergo and Chartis Research has published a return on investment (ROI) report and model for CLM solutions. It provides some detailed figures on how effective the Fenergo solution was at delivering ROI to its customers. The model enables financial institutions to calculate their ROI should they be considering the Fenergo solutions or indeed CLM.
NICE published a research study detailing the experiences, opportunities, and challenges of contact centre agents who are a vital link to improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. The State of Experience and Engagement in Today’s Contact Centers study, polled over 150 agents across 20 different industries. It highlighted three key findings:
- The right tools can ensure, or hinder, the speedy resolution of customer inquiries.
- Half of contact centre staff have limited on-the-job training once on-boarding is completed.
- Business transparency leads to a more motivated and engaged workforce.
Oracle has published a new report by Omdia Consulting that analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of running workloads in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The Omdia SWOT report found that more than 52% of businesses report the inability to move workloads between clouds is slowing their adoption of cloud computing. The interoperability between OCI and Microsoft Azure seems to address this.
SAP Concur has published some research that looked at how expenses have changed from a finance point of view during the pandemic. There are some interesting insights. While 57% of business saw a decrease in expenses, 14% have seen levels rise. The research also found that 14% have introduced new financial technology since the lockdown. It also investigated how work processes have changed for finance.
Xero published information about the impact of COVID-19 on small and mid-sized businesses in New Zealand. Year-on-year revenue for small business fell by 10% in March and 34% in April. There were also significant job losses with a 4% fall in employment in the sector.
