Renee Boucher Ferguson

IBM announced Friday the first set of e-business on-demand applications for mid-sized business customers, offering accounting, human resources and customer relationship management software over the Internet. The applications, from HRsmart, Intacct, Employease and Onyx, will be hosted by IBM Global Services and offer a lower, variable price cost structure, according to IBM officials in Armonk, […]

Sourcing software and services provider FreeMarkets Inc. is looking to tackle an old problem with a new solution. The company announced today its FreeMarkets Savings Implementation Solution [SIS] designed to speed new supplier adoption. An integrated offering that combines software with supplier implementation services, SIS provides users with tools to efficiently adopt new suppliers to […]

At its annual Manufacturing Summit conference this week in Fargo, N.D., Microsoft Business Solutions on Tuesday announced the integration of production scheduling software from Preactor International with its Microsoft Business Solutions – Great Plains software. Preactor, which develops scheduling software, is based in Warwick, N.Y. The Preactor 200 Finite Capacity Scheduling [FCS] Finite Production Scheduling […]

Many manufacturers struggling in this down economy are looking to tighten processes and run as efficiently as possible. SAP AG has rolled out integration software designed to help manufacturers do that by making it easier for IT managers to connect systems. The Walldorf, Germany, company last week at its TechEd developers conference in New Orleans […]

Nonstop Solutions Inc. is extending its demand chain automation software with the release of a J2EE version of its namesake Demand Network Suite and the addition of technology from its acquisition of Evant Solutions Corp. As a result, Nonstop software will enable manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers to optimize the flow of finished goods. The […]

Oracle Corp. and IBM are enhancing their respective business and financial applications for medium-size enterprises. Oracle next week will announce eBusiness Suite Special Edition, a fixed-implementation version of its core enterprise applications configured for the midmarket and based on best practices. The suite includes Financials, Order Management, Purchasing and Inventory Management software. The applications come […]

Enterprise resource planning software developer J.D. Edwards & Co. announced plans Friday to eliminate some of its senior management positions in an effort to respond to market conditions. Hank Bonde, the companys chief operating officer, has been eliminated from the employee roster under a plan to more closely align sales and development operations. “We want […]

Product lifecycle management software maker MatrixOne Inc. announced Wednesday at its Global Customer Conference in Las Vegas new architecture that makes it easier for companies to build and configure a scalable PLM environment. The eMatrix Adaptive Application Architecture supports the eMatrix Collaboration Platform and Value Chain Portfolio. The architecture helps companies create a modular, collaborative […]

IBM announced Thursday a new program, part of its On Demand computing strategy, that is aimed at helping software makers adapt their applications for the Internet and sell them as services. Big Blues Application Enablement Program is not another ASP model, officials said. Rather, the program calls for applications to be hosted in one of […]

Supply chain management software maker i2 Technologies is cutting 15 percent of its staff, a company spokeswoman confirmed today. The layoffs, which will be spelled out in a 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, will include about 500 employees, leaving the Dallas-based company with fewer than 2,900 employees. The job cuts are expected […]

SOMERS, N.Y.—IBM is working hard to make a name for itself in the midsized business market. Not traditionally known as a friendly, cuddly-type company, IBM is depending on its partners to do the handholding with midsized companies used to working with smaller, regional software providers. As part of its strategy to reach the mid-market, Big […]

Ariba Inc. and PeopleSoft Inc. are readying spend management software to help companies exert stronger control of cash flow. Ariba, of Sunnyvale, Calif., this week will announce Ariba Category Management 1.0, a suite that can improve strategic sourcing for customers by enabling users to capture category knowledge. Ariba Category Management 1.0, the culmination of Aribas […]