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Friday, July 14, 2006 |
In further consolidation of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, Made2Manage Systems has acquired Seattle-based Intuitive Manufacturing Systems, an ERP supplier focused on discrete industries.
The acquisition, backed by investors Battery Ventures and Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, marks the sixth one since the company became private in August 2003. Intuitive's Microsoft .Net applications were said to be compatible with Made2Manage's .Net implementations. The Seattle office will remain.
5:04:29 PM 
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A post from Jon Udell of Infoworld. Interesting thoughts to consider as we continue to build more stuff into desktops--portals, manufacturing intelligence screens, diagrams of the process, etc.
A distraction-free deskop.
Recent research has shown what common sense always should have told us: Computers multitask way better than people can. As we perform the intellectual work that powers the information economy, our ability to achieve focus and flow is constantly challenged by distraction and interruption.
The paradox, of course, is that interruptions are vital, too. We are all required to be interrupt-driven in ways that vary according to the circumstances of our lives and our work. The trick is to find the right balance. Sadly, by inviting us to interrupt ourselves more than necessary, our software tends to contribute more to the problem than to the solution.
Consider the effects of the graphical user interface. At hospital admitting desks, in accountants' offices, and at video retail stores, I watch people perform tasks for which the desktop metaphor -- with its cluttered surface and overlapping resizable windows -- is at best a distraction and at worst an impediment. [Full story at InfoWorld.com]
... [Jon's Radio]
10:45:59 AM
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Have you read much about "net neutrality?" The idea is that up until now the Internet has been pretty much open to all comers. But with the tremendous industry consolidation going on in the cable/telecom industry, these "telco" companies are looking for ways to enhance their income. When there is little to no competition, one way is to unilaterally restrict supply relative to demand so that the price goes up. The telcos want to do just that. They call it a tiered payment system. But they also are now acquiring the technology to give preferences to certain content providers and degrade the performance of others. Now, that "certain" group wouldn't be the telco's own content group and the "others" its competitors, would it? They would never do that, would they? I'm on Time Warner cable. If I want broadband, and I do, and I pay extra for it, then I pretty much have to use Warner. But Time Warner is a huge content provider as well. Wonder what that would mean to me?
Now the libertarian, free-market think tanks are lining up behind the telcos. The idea being that they don't like any type of government regulation. "The free market will decide," they say. But what if there isn't any free market? An oligopoly is not a free market. Who's on our side? Manufacturing companies have structured a lot of communication depending on the availability of the Web.
Not a lot of winners in this argument, as Molly Woods, CNet executive editor points out in this excellent column.
One cool point she makes--open leads to innovation. We're still debating that in the automation market. If I can lock customers up with a proprietary solution where the cost of change is high, then I can protect my turf while I look for extensions and upgrades and other ways to make money. If I'm a small company, I need some openness so that I can connect to the systems companies to make sales. If I'm a user, I'm in the predicament that I'd like to have one stable automation partner, but I'd also like an "out" just in case things don't work out or my partner goes away. And how much incentive to innovate do I have if all my custmers are locked in? Ah, open does lead to innovation.
I think it's the same for the telcos as it is for any automation systems company thinking along that proprietary model. Both will have short term success, but both will be vulnerable to small, nimble companies with superior technology that meet the new needs of customers at a reduced price. It can happen. You might think you've got things all wrapped up only to discover the game has changed.
(More on that in a post coming that will discuss Geoffrey Moore's "Dealing with Darwin.")
9:52:10 AM
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Jim Pinto's latest enews is out. He addresses how Jack Welch's management ideas are oh, so 1980s. I didn't know that that was news, but it must be because "Fortune" magazine ran an article. I started clipping articles about Welch's successor Jeff Imelt and how he was changing the Welch rules for the new era. Jim has a nice table of new v old ideas. He also addresses publicly something I've been touting privately for a while--how Invensys keeps going on despite turmoil at the top. You know that Process Systems president Mike Caliel left last month. I agree with Jim (but would broaden the idea) that Foxboro has lots of talented long-timers who just keep doing the job. The turmoil just hits them at times when there isn't enough investment money coming from London. Ditto that idea for Wonderware, Triconix, Avantis.
Jim's taking a vacation for the rest of July and talks of having to drive from Chicago to Rhome, ND to visit friends of his sister's. Hey Jim, I've driven Sidney, OH to Bozeman, MT twice in the last few years. About twice your distance. You see some nice country--and then some really flat country. It really gives you an appreciation for the variety of landscape in our country. Your also not that far from the SD Badlands where Mt. Rushmore is (and Wall Drugs). Might make a good side trip, then return to Chicago through South Dakota for a change. Well, just a thought.
7:32:54 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Gary Mintchell.
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