Renee Boucher Ferguson

Enterprise software giant SAP AG will not force its customers to adopt a Java architecture if they want to use Microsoft Corp.s .Net instead, a company spokesman said. Rebutting a report published yesterday that said the Walldorf, Germany, developer will announce at its developers conference next week that it will adopt Sun Microsystems Inc.s Java […]

Enterprise software maker PeopleSoft Inc. this week unveiled Version 8.4 of its Strategic Sourcing application for Web-based procurement of direct and indirect materials. The upgrade includes analytics that enable a company to evaluate the performance of its suppliers — a core differentiater as far as PeopleSoft is concerned — as well as the ability to […]

Beefing up the business process integration capabilities for its WebSphere integration software line, IBM announced this morning that it is purchasing CrossWorlds Software Inc. The $129 million acquisition strengthens IBMs position in the fast-growing e-business infrastructure market. CrossWorlds, which competes against Tibco Software Inc., Vitria Technology Inc. and webMethods Inc., provides connectivity tools that integrate […]

Business-to-business collaborative e-commerce software vendor Agile Software Inc. is upping the ante for direct procurement with three new direct materials sourcing modules. The three solutions, announced last week, fall under Agiles Product Sourcing rubric and are used for direct materials sourcing that provides visibility into a products basic components so that manufacturers can manage the […]

Tibco Software Inc. has introduced an upgrade to its EAI software that officials said will help companies better model business processes, integrate the latest applications with mainframes and tap emerging technologies such as Web services. ActiveEnterprise 4.0 provides a breadth of integration capabilities through support for Java 2 Enterprise Edition, XML (Extensible Markup Language), Web […]

Ariba Inc. and i2 Technologies Inc. are attempting to make their respective business-to-business systems easier to use and more robust by breaking down the inherent silos of information. Ariba is readying an analytics dashboard for its Spend Management products that pulls together various data feeds dealing with corporate purchasing to enable better planning of corporate […]

Optiant Inc. on Monday will announce PowerChain Architect, software that officials say will help manufacturers design and configure optimal supply chains – even as it sits on top of existing supply chain software. PCA has a graphical user interface that maps out the end-to-end supply chain and brings data to bear that enables the collaborative […]

i2 Technologies Inc. is hoping its latest software update will help break down the silos in business organizations. i2 Five.Two, announced on Thursday, will provide new functionalities that combine a common interface and a common data model across i2s products that will allow for better reporting across CRM, SCM (supply chain management), and SRM (supplier […]

With a mix of good and bad news Ariba Inc. reported its fiscal fourth quarter financial results today. The good news: Ariba beat the consensus earning estimates of analysts surveyed by First Call, which was a 13-cents-per-share loss. The bad news: The loss was still 11 cents per share. During the corresponding quarter last year, […]

NEW YORK – In an era when CRM software implementations are failing at an alarming rate, Craig Berkson has some advice for fellow IT professionals: Understand your organizations business drivers and requirements before deploying any software enterprise wide. Berksons insights should count for something. As CIO for the portfolio management group at Thomson Financial, Berkson […]