Managing Automation - November 2007 - (Page 12)

managingautomation FREE Online Membership Transform your business through technology news managingautomation.com maonline Go online for daily news updates in perspective Sopheon’s Accolade product, for one, automates the Stage Gate methodology, set up to allow only the most promising and highestquality new product ideas through to the design and fabrication stages. — Chris Chiappinelli Alliances, Executive Appointments, Mergers & Acquisitions, Products 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 directly connects you with vendors www.managingautomation.com ® cording to IDe) and 15% maintenance is not going to cut it financially in the long term,” wrote Jeffrey Hojlo and Michael Burkett of AMR Research in an analysis shortly after the announcement. According to AMR, Sopheon has fared much better of late but must move swiftly to expand in the market. Otherwise, the portfolio management specialist “risks being overshadowed by large ERP vendors, like SAP and Oracle, or PLM vendors that are slowly, but surely, recognizing the opportunity.” As specialist PLM software providers among those enterprise applications giants, Sopheon and a small cadre of competitors — including CA, PowerSteering, and Artemis, according to AMR — have enjoyed a niche for some time. Their alone time seems to be coming to an end, however, as the larger players look to add product portfolio management capabilities to their enterprise and product data management suites. Oracle, for instance, made a strong move in this direction with its purchase of Agile earlier this year, while Siemens entered the fray with its acquisition of UGS, and has moved its portfolio offering into its Teamcenter 2007 suite, which it released last month. In various forms, the product portfolio management vendors offer manufacturers a systematic way to analyze and improve their new-product development process. AT INFOR, IT’S TIME FOR SOME DEEP BREATHING T he recent news that Infor Global Solutions is being forced to temporarily curtail its acquisition spree may benefit the company, which can now turn its attention to other pressing matters, such as building brand recognition, upgrading its sales and service organizations, and reassuring customers and the market that the company will continue to enhance and support Jim Schaper existing applications products while building new ones, said Chairman and CEO Jim Schaper in a recent interview with Managing Automation. “In some ways, this may be healthy,” said Schaper, speaking in Las Vegas at the company’s annual Inforum customer conference. UPCOMING 2007 Extol Users Conference Nov. 11-14, 2007 Disney’s BoardWalk Resort Orlando, FL www.extol.com Oracle OpenWorld Nov. 11-15, 2007 San Francisco Moscone Center San Francisco www.oracle.com/openworld Rockwell Automation Fair 2007 Nov. 13-15, 2007 McCormick Place West Chicago www.automationfair.com Active RFID & RTLS Summit Dec. 5-6, 2007 Adam’s Mark Hotel Dallas www.idtechex.com EVENTS Asset Management Conference & Expo Jan. 22-23, 2008 Sheraton Atlanta Hotel Atlanta www.assetexpo.com ARC Advisory Group’s Winning Strategies and Best Practices for Global Manufacturers Forum USA 2008 Feb. 4-7, 2008 Rosen Centre Hotel Orlando, FL www.arcweb.com IDS Scheer’s ARIS ProcessWorld 2008 Americas Feb. 13-15, 2008 Orlando World Center Marriot Resort & Convention Center Orlando, FL www.processworld.com Visit Today! http://managingautomation.com http://www.assetexpo.com http://www.extol.com http://www.oracle.com/openworld http://www.arcweb.com http://www.automationfair.com http://www.managingautomation.com http://www.processworld.com http://www.idtechex.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - November 2007

Managing Automation - November 2007 Contents Take 1 Mailbox SAP's Business ByDesign to Validate On-Demand Model for Enterprise SW Portfolio Management Specialist Losing Ground to Rivals At Incor, It's Time for Some Deep Breathing Can HART, ISA Get Together on a Wireless Spec? Mesa Tries to Help Improve Plant Metrics Notes Cover Story: The Digital Factory Special Report: Breaking Down Walls Integration: Dreaming of One ERP Industries: Locking onto Cyber-Security Transformation: Not Your Father's Time & Attendance Program Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - November 2007

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