How your IT department will be affected by an Acquisition

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Your IT department will be busy during an Acquisition.

Once the decision is made which system will be the surviving system – yours or the acquisition’s system – that is when your IT department will get even busier. They may even be involved with comparing the systems and determining which might be the better system to consolidate the data into.

The obvious part your IT department will play is data extraction and data mapping for the data that needs to copied and converted from the sunsetting system and moving it to the surviving system. All of your interfaces need to be reviewed to determine which of those need to be moved or adjusted to continue “talking” to the surviving system.

When considering an acquisition there are many considerations. Some of these are:

How much history needs to be converted from the sunsetting system and moved to the surviving system?

How will historic transactions continue to be accessed from the sunsetting system when needed?

Coordination between IT departments (acquiring company and acquired organization) on current interfaces and how they will be handled in the combined organization.

Make sure to start with a BRD – Business Requirement Document – so you have a road map of what is expected throughout the process. This helps all involved – the acquired company, the acquiring company and any partner you may engage – know what is expected from all parties.

Accor Transforms its Accounting System for Hotels in Middle East with Infor SaaS Solution

Accor IMEA, an augmented hospitality leader, is transforming its accounting systems with Infor SunSystems, a powerful financial management solution, on AWS. This transformation will benefit the business from an anticipated rebound in the region’s hospitality sector as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Per the press release, Accor has deployed Infor SunSystems to develop its new chart of accounts, and to manage and automate the finances for its hotels in the India, Middle East, Africa and Turkey region. The switch from an on-premise to a cloud solution will help the hospitality business standardize its systems, and improve overall efficiency, oversight and security. Further, Accor will streamline its budgeting and forecasting processes, enabling hotel managers to improve their ability to plan ahead. It will drastically reduce downtime caused by hardware problems and software updates.

 

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Configure a Relying Party Trust to Use a Specific Claims Provider Trust

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If you have AD FS configured with one or more Claims Provider Trusts, you may want to force the user’s browser to load one of those CPT’s instead of loading the main AD FS screen that provides them a choice. This is accomplished using the Set-AdfsRelyingPartytrust command in PowerShell. On the main AD FS server, open PowerShell as administrator. Run the command Set-AdfsRelyingPartyTrust -TargetName <the name of your RPT> -ClaimsProviderName @(“<the name of your CPT>”).

For example, before making the change, users are presented with a choice of AD FS logins. In this example, one is the main AD FS instance, and the other is the Claims Provider Trust.

And after the change, the user will automatically be directed to the login for the claims provider trust (so there is no need for them to make a selection).

Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare Begins Cloud Transformation Journey with Infor

Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minnesota recently selected Infor CloudSuite Healthcare for financial and supply chain management. In 2020, Gillette was in search for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution with healthcare-specific capabilities that would clinical integration and less reliance on third-party applications as well as a single source of truth for reporting analysis. Today’s healthcare environment relies on mobility as the key to ensuring current information is at hand, enabling accurate, informed decisions. Which is what led to Gillette choosing Infor. Working alongside implementation partner Bails & Associates, the organization will implement a scalable, sustainable, and forward looking solution. Per the press release, Infor CloudSuite, built on Amazon Web Services® (AWS), will deliver embedded analytics and industry-specific functionality, and will enable employees to reduce manual data processes, quickly answer critical business questions, and analyze business performance and scenario planning. Further, industry-specific financial capabilities will help Gillette reduce data-entry redundancies and produce more accurate and timely reports. This provides transparency that leads to improved budget management, effective cost-reduction strategies and more accurate forecasting.

 

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Don’t Change Buyer Behavior — Make It Work Better

Changing consumer preferences and buyer behavior is difficult in the B2C and B2B world. With individual preferences, various processes, and other unique factors, the systems and tools that a company has in place can make even the smallest shift feel huge within the organization. However, experts like Jens Gamperl, founder and CEO of Sourceability LLC which brings global digital solutions to the electronic components marketplace, believe there is a backdoor for disruptors that believe those processes, systems and tools can be better or more efficient: don’t aim to change buyer habits. Instead, Gamperl says in a Forbes article to identify what can be improved within those long-standing processes and make them work better. The traditional buying method could be the reason for the difficulty of altering buying habits. Not only is this method slow and inefficient, but because it’s so relationship-based, it also fails to provide a complete view of the marketplace, which means purchasers frequently miss the best deals for their needs, says Gamperl. Taking a new direction such as ecommerce, online databases, a cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) system or other integrations of technology could make the world of difference in keeping up and working with customer behavior. Gamperl suggests fitting the new technology you integrate to your organization and simplifying the process. Technology is about disruptions, and recognizing the opportunities to integrate newer and efficient systems is half the battle in deciding what to use. The evolution of buyer behavior and technological changes is an easy choice, says Gamperl, not by asking those on the front lines to change what they do, but by simplifying the way they do it.

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How your IT department will be affected by a Merger

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Your IT department will be busy during a merger.

Once the decision is made which system will be the surviving system that is when your IT department will get even busier. They may even be involved with comparing the systems and determining which might be the better system to consolidate the data into.

The obvious part your IT department will play is data extraction and data mapping for the data that needs to copied and converted from the sunsetting system and moving it to the surviving system. All of your interfaces need to be reviewed to determine which of those need to be moved or adjusted to continue “talking” to the surviving system.

When considering an acquisition there are many considerations. Some of these are:

How much history needs to be converted from the sunsetting system and moved to the surviving system?

How will historic transactions continue to be accessed from the sunsetting system when needed?

Coordination between IT departments on current interfaces and how they will be handled in the combined organization.

If your IT department is already taxed, consider taking on a partner to assist with the process.

Make sure to start with a BRD – Business Requirement Document – so you have a road map of what is expected throughout the process. This helps all involved – both companies and any partner you may engage – know what is expected from all parties.

Calvert County Uses Infor Technology to Quickly Distribute CARES Act Funding to Constituents

Long time Infor customer Calvert County has seen success with Infor’s cloud-based public sector solutions. The Washington, D.C. suburb needed a new technology solution that could help teams quickly distribute funding received through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to support businesses and nonprofits. Per the press release,  Calvert County had to quickly create a brand-new, public-facing process that was easy to navigate, able to facilitate a solid audit trail for funds attribution, and ready within days in order to complete allocations to businesses in need. Using Infor Public Sector solutions, Calvert County was able to create a new program within four weeks to support its constituents in need. Further, the tech giant helped Calvert County utilize the Infor Field Inspector application, which delivers more functionality in the field to allow its teams to resume operations promptly and more efficiently, even during the pandemic lockdown, providing better service to constituents.

 

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Roll Back WebSphere Application Server

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Occasionally there may be a need to revert to an earlier version of a WAS fix pack. The IBM Installation Manager has a “Roll Back” feature that works just for this purpose.

To roll back WAS, first stop all running IBM services. Then, open the IBM Installation Manager. Select “Roll Back”.

Choose the package to uninstall

Select the version to roll back to.

Click “Roll Back”

Verify a successful rollback, and click “Finish”. Be sure to go and roll back any other packages that are applicable.

 

5 Warning Signs Of A Growing Business That’s Outgrown Its Legacy ERP

As the digital age continues to grow, the shift from legacy systems to online/cloud is becoming prominent. Growing companies, for example, are making the shift in their legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to address evolving needs and maintain sustainable growth. However, as much as the direction is headed this way, there are still some companies who have yet to make the shirt. SAP expert Oliver Schoenborn shares an article on Forbes explaining the warning signs of a growing business that’s outgrown its Legacy ERP.

Sign #1: Massive data left unused
“Every organization collects large volumes of data every day, internally and externally. But when growing companies move from a legacy ERP to a more intelligent one, they are usually caught off guard when they see how much valuable, much-needed intelligence is left unused. Frustration across the leadership team intensifies when it considers opportunities missed from not tapping that wealth of knowledge.”

Sign #2: Disconnected user experiences
“Connecting employees, suppliers, and customers to relevant resources and data points is critical to meeting everyone’s expectations. Unfortunately, most organizations have spent years developing and adopting different ERP tools, such as custom functionality and spreadsheet-driven analytics. In return, the ERP landscape becomes so overly complex that applications, processes, and data are challenging to maintain and integrate.”

Sign #3: Delayed actions and process bottlenecks
“Every employee wants to think, understand, and move swiftly with data-driven insights and confident decision-making. Most legacy ERP systems are batch-oriented, limiting real-time information availability even if an add-on is designed to augment the system with real-time data.”

Sign #4: Inflexibility to scale operations up or down on demand
“Businesses that respond to the ebbs and flows of operational performance and market demand with balance and ease are well-positioned to lower costs, optimize employee engagement, and yield a high rate of customer satisfaction. When using an ERP that is intelligent enough to keep up with every twist and turn, organizations can scale business needs – such as production capacity, pricing models, and workforce augmentation – with precision.”

Sign #5: Decisions that routinely lead to less-than-optimal outcomes
“Without the effective use of Big Data, companies can get swallowed up by their competition quickly. Without access to a real-time, complete data set, guiding the business is extraordinarily tough. People require a combination of transactional ERP data and data from the applications of other organizations and third parties to feed their analytics tools and derive insights that inspire timely and productive action.”

Schoenborn concludes that having the right technology is what helps move a business forward. Ask yourself if it’s time to move from a legacy ERP system to an Intelligent ERP. The beauty of moving to the latter is, according to Schoenborn, gaining critical capabilities to ignite present-day and future growth.

 

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Tresoldi Metalli Chooses Infor for Stainless Management of Business Processes

International metal-cutting service center Tresoldi Metalli has implemented the enterprise resource planning (ERP) manufacturing solution Infor LN to help improve production planning and control of the company. This decision was done in an effort to make the most efficient and effective management through the review of business processes. The project, which also saw the implementation of Infor OS (Operating Services) platform and Infor Factory Track for warehouse management, was entirely managed by Infor partner Know-How. Founded in 1963 by Giuliano Tresoldi, the company offers semi-finished products such as strips and sheets for industry up to construction products such as pipes and gutters in steel, copper and aluminum. Per the press release, following a software selection process, Tresoldi Metalli chose Infor LN, together with Infor OS and Factory Track, for the flexibility and wide functional coverage offered by the solutions. Further, Infor LN has brought about an organizational change among the employees, bringing greater productivity of the plants and optimizing the production of orders. All areas of the business now benefit from more streamlined processes.

 

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