R3Now.com – ERP, SAP, and IT Solutions for IT Decision Makers

SAP CEO Leo Apotheker’s Departure – What is SAP’s Future?

Even though the timing of Apotheker's departure is a little unusual I can not say I am surprised by it.  If I look over the landscape of a CEO's job responsibilities (sales, strategy, etc.) and compare that to Leo's short tenure I don't see any direction coming from the top.  Leo Apotheker came in at a difficult time, but even in the midst of a global economic downturn it is still possible to succeed. Setting aside some of SAP's maintenance fee mis-steps there just hasn't been a compelling fo...

Business and IT Alignment – Integrating Technology and IT Spend with Business

  Recently I was reading an article on CIO.com (where I also contribute).  The basic premise of the author was that IT is already integrated with business and all of the hype about business to IT alignment is overblown.  This is not entirely true.  As I commented: Traditional business schools teach two key concepts around business (once you have settled on a product or service) and those are value propositions and competitive pressures. IT (Informatio...

Using Key Performance Indicators for Building a Strategy Focused Organization

The key performance indicator acronym (KPI) is used so much that it has come to be associated with any type of business measure.  Everything is called a KPI and it is a silly distraction from an important business tool.  Not every measure is a KEY Performance Indicator, only those measures that are critically important to making a difference in the marketplace are truly KEY to your company health and performance. Because of this confusion what many call Key performance indicators often lo...