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Over this past year, we have written about everything from high profile IT vendor lawsuits to ERP implementation best practices. We always strive to create useful and informative content that helps you negotiate your IT contracts with confidence and ultimately receive more value from your IT relationships.
To close out 2018, we have compiled our most read blogs of the year for readers who may have missed them.
1. Wipro Responds to National Grid’s SAP Implementation Billion Dollar Lawsuit
Supported by EY and Wipro, the US subsidiary of National Grid went live with SAP just days after Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. The results were disastrous. National Grid’s payroll, general ledger, and procurement systems were thrown into chaos. National Grid sued Wipro for damages in 2017 and in June of 2018, Wipro filed to have three of the five causes for action dropped.
This case was recently settled out of court, but companies can learn a lot from it. Failed projects of this scale don’t just happen. They are an accumulation of many factors and poor decisions. This blog takes a look at those factors.
2. Using Java? Here’s How Oracle’s New 2019 Java SE Licensing Affects You
Earlier this year, Oracle announced that Java SE models will be officially replaced by subscription models effective January 2019. While companies can remain on an old model and continue to pay annual support, there are reasons they may want to switch. This post covers everything you need to know about this change – including how to calculate your requirements under the new subscription model.
3. Co-Op Insurance Sues IBM for Breach of Contract: Is Agile at Scale Worth the Risk?
On the surface, this project appeared to be one of the most high-risk endeavors that we have seen in some time. Since there are always lessons to be learned from implementation failures like these, this blog covers the risks involved, a timeline of events, and the claims in the lawsuit.
4. Like Taking Candy from a Baby: Sacramento Schools Claim Workday Took Advantage of Them and File Suit
Yet another IT vendor was pulled into the legal spotlight earlier this year – this time Workday. In short, the Sacramento school system filed suit against Workday and Workday implementation partner, Sierra-Cedar, claiming the parties took advantage of them by not providing qualified consultants. This post goes into the details of what happened and of course, the lessons to be learned.
5. What Oracle Doesn’t Want You to Know
Oracle’s change in financial reporting earlier this year made many analysts wonder if it had something to do with the fact that Oracle is being evaluated based on its cloud growth. This post dives into not just what Oracle could be covering up in its financial reports, but the other not-so-great things Oracle may be hiding from its current and prospective customers.
6. A Deeper Look into Microsoft’s October 2018 Price Increases
By now, you’re likely well aware of the price increases that hit Microsoft on-premise Office 2019 customers back in October, but do you know the real motivation behind those price increases? The answer is not as simple as you may think.
7. Beware of Dante’s (ERP) Inferno
ERP implementations are complex endeavors prone to failure. Any wrong decisions can cause a project to quickly spiral out of control. Put your project on the right track by avoiding these 7 deadly sins.
8. SaaS Matters: Key Caveats for SaaS Contracting
When Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions were first introduced by Cloud and IT vendors, many companies were intrigued by the promised lower costs and flexibility that they could offer. Unfortunately, contracting issues have made SaaS solutions feel a lot like the on-premise software license agreements they were meant to replace. This blog discusses what you can do to receive more value from your SaaS agreements.
9. Top 3 Questions SAP Hasn’t Answered About its New Digital Access Model
Back in April, SAP announced its new Digital Access Model. In other words, they presented a mystery wrapped up in an enigma surrounded by a conundrum. These are the three biggest questions SAP customers had in regard to the new model.
10. Dancing with Salesforce: Make Sure to Stay in Step
Understanding and anticipating the actions of a strategic cloud vendor like Salesforce gives you the opportunity to adequately prepare. This summer, several of Salesforce’s longstanding enterprise customers noticed some changes in the way Salesforce was approaching the relationship so we covered three Salesforce tactics to watch out for.
11. 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Developing a SOW with Accenture, Deloitte, and IBM
Does it surprise anyone that system integrators are able to mitigate 90% of their own risk in the development of the master statement of work (MSOW) while their clients are often unaware of the risks and issues they will encounter? This blog covers five of the most common missteps companies make when developing a SOW with system integrators.
12. ServiceNow Is No Longer Just a Tool for IT – Why This Matters
ServiceNow has long been known as an IT helpdesk vendor but to obtain the type of growth they were expecting, they needed to transition from being a tool for IT to a platform that would enable business transformation. Since ServiceNow changed, customers need to change how they approach their relationship and their negotiations with ServiceNow.
Honorable Mention:
Avoid Being Victimized by Oracle’s Audit Exploitations [Webinar]
Though this is not a blog, it was certainly one of our most popular pieces of content this year. This on-demand webinar dives deep into how Oracle exploits the audit process to manufacture leverage and generate sales. Best of all, it covers what customers can do to get their house in order before an audit even happens and provides a detailed game plan for how to tackle an audit head-on if you find yourself in this situation. This is a must-watch for any Oracle customer.
