Business Technology

Pain is actually a good driver for coming up with new innovations because it forces you to produce new ideas. Being a leader is not painful. While you are concentrating on looking ahead, you might not detect what the competitors are doing and how your customers’ behavior and preferences are changing because you were too busy pleasing the financial market.

Travelling back after a week with Microsoft and its worldwide partners in a balmy (no pun intended) Houston, Texas. What impression did the 14.000 or so attendees leave with?

For a couple of years Near Field Communications (NFC) has been pushed by Google and others as the next big thing for smartphones. There has been a lot said about the merits of consumer applications for NFC, including digital wallets and replacing some of Bluetooth. But what about applications in business—what role could NFC play there? Here at IFS we’ve been looking into just that.

In this post I want to share tangible and intangible mobility returns for two roles that are typical of any company; the sales executive and the project manager.

Borg van Katwijk, Financial Director at Visser & Smit Marine Contracting said, “Our workforce is becoming increasingly mobile. By using business apps, such as IFS Notify Me, our employees are no longer required to be at their desks. IFS Notify Me enables them to approve purchase orders and invoices at any time and at any location—at home, at the office, or on the go. This boosts productivity and ensures up-to-date information in our central ERP system.

I like free stuff as much as the next person. Although I know very well that nothing is free. So what’s the problem? More and more, I find myself disappointed over the fact that “free” means that the product I’m consuming is less than its potential; less than I expect it to be.

I have just returned from three months paternity leave, and I must say that in addition to enjoying time with my kids it has been quite refreshing to experience IT “out of business”. Rather than reading IT press, the last few months I have seen how the iPads and Windows 8 devices work in the hands of my kids, their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Did you know that 90% of information available today is created within the last two years? Have you ever thought about the business advantages to learn how to use these tools in business? Have you encountered the risk if you don’t?

According to and IDC survey 31 percent of companies indicate CRM (e.g. management of sales, contracts, activities, and opportunities) is the mobile business app that would most significantly impact their business. We have it. Please try it.

The aim with IFS Upgrade is to help our customers upgrade to the latest version of IFS Applications, thereby quickly taking advantage of new functionality to improve productivity and their competitive edge.

A mobility business case must show both tangible and intangible returns that drive a company toward its business goals. Today IFS launches new public mobility pages where you can get inspired by the business benefits using IFS mobile solutions.

Seeing the results of the post-conference survey, I am pleased, but not surprised, by the activity that got the most positive response. It was the Meet the Expert area. Dear R&D colleagues, feel proud as your contribution to a successful conference is crystal clear.