Laurence Ledford

What is the value proposition for Cloud Computing? How does it vary by company size and industry?

Analytics

Big Data

Business

1 more topic

Feb. 23, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Defining Cloud Computing [2/23 @ 11 am]

The major value proposition for cloud computing is that the buyer doesn't need to make the same capital investment into their IT infrastructure compared to a company that is looking to have the software located on-premise.
I would say that the value proposition does vary ... more

What is the difference between Cloud and SaaS?

Cloud Computing

Enterprise Computing

Mainframe

Feb. 23, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 10 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Defining Cloud Computing [2/23 @ 11 am]

The term Cloud is often misrepresented. The could is really a generic term that refers to something that is not considered "on-premise" with the user. Within the "cloud" there are two concepts that should be defined. The first is, as you mentioned in your question, ... more

Do we have the ability to host an even ourself or are they only setup by Focus? more

Cloud Computing

Enterprise Computing

Mainframe

Feb. 17, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 3 other people answered this question

What are Focus Events?

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

ERP – Priming Your Business to Deliver Value From Strategy to Operations [2/15 @ 1 pm]

How do you devise a strategy-driving ERP plan?

If I understand the question correctly, you should check out our recent blog posting (the first of a mini series that we are doing) that discusses the proper steps any business should take when deciding to upgrade or purchase business software: http://www.discretemanufacturingerp.com/manufacturing-news-blog/bid/122432/St...
Thanks,
Laurence
www.tlcgroupinc.com ... more

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

ERP – Priming Your Business to Deliver Value From Strategy to Operations [2/15 @ 1 pm]

When defining requirements, is business process mapping a useful exercise?

I agree with Dana. This is an absolute must when it comes to defining requirements. You should check out our recent blog posting (the first of a mini series that we are doing) that discusses the proper steps any business should take when deciding to ... more

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 4 other people answered this question

Who are the most important mid-market ERP vendors for manufacturers?

I would say hands down Infor is one of the most important mid-market ERP vendors for manufacturers. Infor is changing the way traditional ERP works. "Survival of the fastest" is the new law of business success. Where once companies could expect to be industry leaders ... more

Enterprise software users prefer Excel... what can vendors do about that?

Manufacturing

Vendors

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

Using Excel instead of the Enterprise Application usually happens in companies for two reasons. ONE: The application is old and out of date - data is not easily accessible. TWO: The information needed to run the business, meet the goals of the company were not ... more

How can you translate business requirements into ERP requirements?

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

ERP – Priming Your Business to Deliver Value From Strategy to Operations [2/15 @ 1 pm]

All are valid points with the exception of "holes in existing processes you'll need the system to plug". Software doesn't fix bad business process. Best practice fixes bad business processes. You can check out our recent blog posting (the first of a mini series that ... more

Feb. 16, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

How do you assess operational gaps and key business process requirements?

I agree with Brian that these steps are the ones you will need to take to get a fully defined picture of your business. But how do you see what the requirements are for each area? Where do you begin?
These are the questions I ... more

Feb. 16, 2012

1 person recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

Should companies change their approach to ERP/CRM projects given worsening market conditions? How?

I agree with Barbara. When the economy is down it is the best time to check out your business and see what you can do to put you ahead of the competition. Too often companies bury down and go into fire fighting mode and decide ... more

CRM

For businesses, what are the downsides to increasing automation in the U.S. workplace?

Enterprise Software

3 more topics

Feb. 15, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

For the case in point about change, it should be thought of from a bigger perspective. Let's follow this through....Embracing change may mean they may have had to let workers go and even hire differently qualified workers. This is a fact that cannot be changed. ... more

Economy

Human Resources

What are the best organizational tools to assign and manage tasks?

2 more topics

Feb. 15, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

There definitely are better options out there to manage workflow and projects. With today's technology there is software that allows you to create and assign workflow and tasks that link directly to projects, as well as the whole Microsoft Suite. Gone are the days of ... more

Feb. 15, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

What factors affect the perception of ERP implementation success, ranked by importance?

It is important to define these factors for your company when you put together your plan. Your projects success should be measured by the goals you are hoping to obtain. Quite simply said, if you are looking to reduce errors in inventory or reduce late ... more

Salesforce.com is partnering with Infor and Workday. How will this shift the ERP industry?

Implementation

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford is now following Clint Wilson and 1 other person

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Clint Wilson

Caty,
This is great news as one our @cazoomi teams have spent the whole year building out a robust connector for Infor FACTS to Salesforce.com utilizing @Boomi so this will make the process of standardizing it for our clients much, much easier.
Awesome first steps here for ... more

What will be the most important factors for business software (ERP, etc)?

Cloud Computing

Enterprise Applications

4 more topics

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford answered this question

I believe the one of the most important factors of ERP software, will be focused around software that is specialized by industry, but maintains a broad enough set of functionality that it doesn't constrain the purchaser. The other major factor is that is it should ... more

CRM

Enterprise Architecture

Do you find that end users more often embrace a technology change or resist it? Why?

1 more topic

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

I find that users are usually willing to welcome technology change if the right approach is taken. Users need to feel comfort that their jobs are being considered and understand how they will be affected.
When technology change is approached using proper selection processes, user involvement, ... more

Which ERP vendors offer packaged solutions for manufacturing?

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

There are many different software solutions out there for manufacturing companies. The bigger questions are which ones are really viable options for your business and how to decide?
It is best to evaluate what your company truly needs from a software solution and what are the ... more

How do I decide if my nonprofit should be a public charity or a private foundation?

Fixed Price

Implementation

Feb. 10, 2012

0 people recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

A current business partner and I share a passion for horses and are looking to start a small business separate from our current business providing rescue to horses. Since it will be small and we do not have funding to start it up aside from ... more

Economy

Small Business

Charity

Legal & Regulatory Compliance

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Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

Upcoming Roundtable: "Driving ERP Success": what topics would you like us to cover?

I think the topic about 'marching your ERP implementation across the finish line' is a good topic. My company often helps companies with their ERP implementations and it is very often underestimated what is needed to make it successful. Many times we are called in ... more

What are the challenges of a company growing from small to medium size?

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

Companies often face challenges during growth in many areas. The most difficult one I have seen is aligning their operations with the growth. Companies often try to manage medium size companies the same as the did when they were small. Operating with large gaps between ... more

Feb. 10, 2012

Laurence Ledford recommends this answer by Theresa Kramarz

Does it make sense to implement ERP if your business isn't planning to restructure its operations?

The hard part is companies often misunderstand implementing a new ERP solution with restructuring their operations. While ERP solutions are a large part of the solution, they cannot solve operational problems without addressing the structure put in place around them. It is in a company's ... more

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Organizational Change

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