Managing Automation- July 2008

FREE Online Membership managingautomation.com news managingautomation.com maonline Go online for daily news updates in perspective offering. “R/3 users will have to ask themselves whether what SAP is providing is enough to justify the increased costs,” Wang said. “Or do they want to turn to somebody else, at least until they upgrade or move to another platform?” — Jeff Moad Alliances, Executive Appointments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Products Transform your business through technology FREE Membership includes: • Award Winning Editorial • Web Exclusive Articles • Whitepapers & Webcasts • Improved Online Tools and Expert Forums • Product Comparison Engine • Targeted Newsletters • Special discounts for Executive Conferences • My “MA” which allows you to save products, comparisons and more Sign Up Today at: MANAGINGAUTOMATION.COM nance from within the SAP’s installed base is driven by rising maintenance rates and the fact that many users of older versions of SAP applications face the phaseout of standard maintenance offerings. Earlier this year, for example, SAP introduced a new Enterprise Support plan that, among other things, raised maintenance rates for new customers to 22% of net license fees per year from 17%. Users of older SAP applications also face the phaseout of standard support offerings. Support for extended maintenance on SAP R/3 4.6C, for example, is scheduled to expire at the end of 2009. Users of R/3 4.7 will be offered extended maintenance only through March 2010. After that, R/3 4.6C and 4.7 customers that want to remain on those releases and receive support from SAP would be offered individual or customer-specific maintenance deals that, Wang said, are often priced at 23% to 25% of net license fees per year. Despite those pending increases, “We don’t think there will be a big demand for Rimini Street’s services” in the SAP installed base, said Bill Wohl, an SAP spokesman. Third-party maintenance services, he said, have historically been accepted by customers running legacy or endof-life ERP products. “I don’t know of anyone who describes R/3 as a legacy product or a product without a future,” Wohl said. He predicted that R/3 customers would continue to seek out SAP support as a proven, safer alternative. Observers, however, predicted that some R/3 users will at least review the Rimini Street ROCKWELL STEPS UP ITS ACTIVITIES IN SOFTWARE t takes a lot more than a few strategic acquisitions to turn a hardware company into a software company. It actually requires a transformation in culture and talent, a feat not to be taken lightly. Just ask the executives at Rockwell Automation, who have been executing the commitment required to position the company in new market segments while innovating around applications. That’s the message that came through during Rockwell’s RSTechED and Manufacturing 2.0 event, which took place in Orlando in June. Company executives highlighted some of the critical acquisitions that started in earnest in November 2005 when the automation vendor scooped up Datasweep, a purveyor of MES applications. Since then, Rockwell has made a handful of process-oriented acquisitions, the most recent being Pavilion Technologies, which makes predictive modeling software, and manufacturing intelligence provider Incuity. While it’s not unusual for automation vendors to diversify their product portfolios with I UPCOMING 2008 Siemens Automation Summit July 23-25, 2008 Navy Pier Conference Center, Chicago www.sea.siemens.com/summit 2008 Material Handling and Logistics Conference Sept. 14-17, 2008 Grand Summit Resort Hotel & Conference Center Park City, UT www.mhc2008.com Oracle OpenWorld 2008 Sept. 21-25, 2008 Moscone Center, San Francisco www.oracle.com/openworld PLM Road Map 2008 Sept. 23-24, 2008 The Inn at St. John’s, Plymouth, MI www.cpd-associates.com EVENTS WonderWorld 2008 North America Oct. 6-10, 2008 The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino Las Vegas, NV Open.wonderware.com/sites/wworld08NA Inforum 2008 Oct. 14-16, 2008 The Venetian Hotel and Sands Expo and Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV Inforum.inforum2008.com Consona Connect 2008 Oct. 14-17, 2008 MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV www.consonaconnect.com KronosWorks 2008 Oct. 19-22, 2008 Walt Disney World Swan and Dophin Lake Buena Vista, FL www.kronos.com/KronosWorks Request Information Directly from Vendors you choose http://managingautomation.com http://managingautomation.com http://www.sea.siemens.com/summit http://Open.wonderware.com/sites/wworld08NA http://Inforum.inforum2008.com http://www.mhc2008.com http://MANAGINGAUTOMATION.COM http://www.consonaconnect.com http://www.oracle.com/openworld http://www.cpd-associates.com http://www.kronos.com/KronosWorks

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation- July 2008

Managing Automation- July 2008 Contents Take 1 HP's Acquisition of EDS May Face Integration, Global Delivery Challenges Rimini Plans to Woo SAP Support Users Rockwell Steps Up Its Activities in Software Microsoft Targets the Process of Innovation Supply Chain Standouts Honored by AMR Notes Who Are Today's Influential Thinkers? The Robot Revolution Is the Price Right? Without a Trace Harvesting the Suggestion Box Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

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