Renee Boucher Ferguson

Database and business applications software developer Oracle Corp. announced Monday that it will acquire Siebel Systems Inc. for $10.66 per share, or about $5.85 billion. Siebel develops CRM (customer relationship management) software. The company has about 4,000 application customers and 3.4 million CRM users, according to a statement released Monday by Oracle, of Redwood Shores, […]

Accounting hasnt changed in thousands of years—whats really different is how accounting software interacts with the applications around it. Thats the message of Microsoft Corp.s new Small Business Accounting package, announced Wednesday at the companys first-ever Business Summit in Redmond, Wash. Microsofts new Small Business Accounting suite is a remake of its accounting software for […]

At Microsofts Business Summit conference Wednesday, CEO Steve Ballmer intimated that the company is indeed working on a hosted software offering, but declined to provide any meaningful details. “We do believe that there will be a set of services that our midmarket customers, and small, will be interested in using and running—anti-virus, anti-spam,” Ballmer said […]

Gone finally is the Project Green code name for Microsofts metamorphosis of its four midmarket business application suites—Great Plains, Axapta, Solomon, Navision—and in its place is the new commercial name for the combined suites: Microsoft Dynamics. At its Microsoft Business Summit event in Redmond, Wash. Wednesday, Microsoft Corp.s founder and chief architect Bill Gates outlined […]

At the Automotive Industry Action Groups AutoTech conference in Detroit this week, QAD Inc. and Sterling Commerce Inc. will announce an enhanced partnership that provides a new set of software and services to help manufacturers more consistently integrate with partners, customers and suppliers. The QAD Extended Ecommerce Solution will build on QADs existing software—MFG/Pro and […]

At Salesforce.com Inc.s Dreamforce user conference in San Francisco later this month, the company is expected to demonstrate its Multiforce platform and showcase software-as-a-service providers that have geared their applications to Multiforces development environment. One such SAAS developer, Intacct Corp., based in San Jose, Calif., will announce its ERP On Demand for Multiforce, a compilation […]

Spend-management software developer Ariba announced Tuesday new software and services that enable users of procurement software from other vendors to link into the companys namesake supplier network. Ariba Inc.s new Supplier Connectivity Adapter is geared primarily toward users of SAP AG and Oracle Corp. ERP (enterprise resource planning) software who would like to connect into […]

New tools from BPM software developers are enabling users to analyze processes and quickly implement changes. Metastorm Inc. announced last week a new module in its e-Work suite of business process management products that lets companies take a much closer look at the world of process simulation and analysis. /zimages/5/28571.gifIs Metastorms customer service lacking? Click […]

Small and midsize manufacturers and suppliers faced with daunting RFID mandates from the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Albertsons Inc. and the Department of Defense now have new hosted offerings to consider. IBM, which last year staked its claim in the RFID (radio-frequency identification) market with a $250 million investment and the creation of its […]

Business intelligence software developer MicroStrategy Inc. announced Wednesday the latest release of its software, which is more tightly integrated with SAP AGs NetWeaver integration platform than past versions. The latest release, MicroStrategy 8, is designated a “Powered by NetWeaver” suite by SAP, of Walldorf, Germany. The certification means the MicroStrategy software is certified for SAPs […]