Gartner urges firms to use cloud computing with caution in 2010

Analyst group Gartner has identified cloud computing as the top issue for CIOs this year.

The research group said that businesses will relinquish control over some parts of their IT estate in 2010 as the new technology takes hold, and that using analytics to look forward instead of back will be a major trend.

Steve Prentice, vice president of Gartner, said that technology is “not the silver bullet” that will pull the UK out of the recession, but by keeping customer needs in mind, the IT industry will thrive this year. He also advised caution and careful planning when using cloud computing rather than “throwing technology at things.”

Prentice predicts that 20% of businesses will get rid of their IT infrastructure, saying that “small and medium companies and start-ups” would not bother building a datacentre but instead “have access to someone else's." The change-over to cloud computing is not expected to be sudden, but 2010 is seen by many analysts as they year that attitudes towards the technology will shift significantly.

Houston Spencer, vice-president at Alcatel Lucent, said, "Enterprises always have to evolve their legacy applications. They cannot just decide to 'go cloud this year'. It will take a while, but the next couple of years will see a tipping point."

Home Office shows how ERP can improve autonomy within organisation

The Home Office last week completed its shared services enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The new ERP system cost the Home Office £13 million, but is expected to save the government department as much as £50 million due to greater back office efficiency and economies of scale using centralised systems and services.

As well as this, Home Office staff expect that the new system will improve productivity by allowing more self-service facilities and optimising processes like invoice payment and expense claims.

The system uses Oracle software as a shared service for a number of agencies, providing finance, procurement and human resources tools. Streamlining processes is about more than upping productivity, according to Fiona Spencer, Home Office Director of shared services; it also provides a strong basis for a better ethos for the whole organisation.

Spencer said that the new ERP system will "enable strong leadership and business ownership, the ability to make tough decisions and trust between all partners."

Inatech’s implementation of Oracle ERP to Harvest Foods is a similar case in point. In this project in June 2009, Inatech successfully managed the implementation of Oracle E-Business Suite R 12.0.5 to Harvest Foods Egypt, significantly reducing supply time.

Harvest Foods distributes over 80,000 units a month worldwide and required a system that allows project managers to plan customer demand and supply from raw materials to product delivery. Prior to the implementation of Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) by systems specialist Inatech, Harvest Foods struggled to provide a high-quality responsive service to its customers; the new high-performance integrated system will now reduce supply time by 50 per cent.

The new streamlined supply chain process now allows Harvest Foods more autonomy, as Oracle E-Business suite will help the company with decision making, providing very high-level information from across the company in real-time.

IT manager of Harvest Foods, Ibrahim Elawany, testified to this, saying: “The most important feature of this application is the accuracy of information retrieved to be able to assess supply demands. We are now able to control inventory and current assets for distribution. Oracle is the latest technology for the Internet; I can access the application remotely giving me full control of business operations.

“It is already reducing the time between sourcing materials to customer distribution that will also improve the quality of our products immensely.”

Event: Oracle Smart Strategies 2010 - Applications Day

Inatech is participating at Oracle Smart Strategies 2010 - Applications Day, an event focusing on Roadmap to the Future. The event provides an exclusive briefing on the latest business trends and technology shifts and their pervasive impact on organizational strategies.

The two day event across four locations in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Cairo and Kuwait will focus on Business Application Strategy and the second day will focus on your underlying Technology and Platform.

Venkat, Head – Consulting Services, Middle East would be delivering a presentation on the following topics:

Oracle Financials and Governance Risk and Compliance at Riyadh on Feb 7th, 2010

SOA Done Right – Best Practices for Successful SOA Implementation at Riyadh on Feb 8th, 2010

Srinivasan Natesan - Head Operations, Middle East will deliver a presentation on
Supply Chain for Uncertain Times: Strategies for the New Normal at Abu Dhabi on Feb 9th, 2010

Joining Oracle for this exclusive event, Andrew Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, KPMG Saudi Arabia and Yasar Yilmaz Regional Head of Business Development Capgemini who will present findings from recent research studies.

This is a two day event, the first day will focus on Business Application Strategy and the second day will focus on underlying Technology and Platform.

Alun Cochrane helps make OPN Specialised programmes the centre of the Oracle Partner Awards 2010

The Oracle Partner Awards ended with much celebration and roars of laughter as even the infamous Glaswegian comedian Alun Conchrane referred to the OPN specialised programme. The British stand-up helped bring to a close the respected annual awards ceremony at the Langham Hotel in London.

Throughout the evening all speakers made significant reference to the new Partner programme that recently recognised Inatech as a Platinum Partner. The night spelt out the value that Oracle can bring to the IT industry, global commercial growth and helping businesses to have confidence in secure and stable IT platforms.

The OPN Specialised programme helps open business opportunities and differentiate Oracle service providers within the market with the tools and resources to:

• Differentiate from the competition through in-depth expertise in Oracle solutions
• Grow customer satisfaction through an accredited team
• Find new opportunities through the power of acquired knowledge
• Increase sales and revenue by broadening reach in the market through specialization

Photo: @Oracle Partner Awards - Inatech. Specialist Tech Partner

"To win you need to excel in growing business, working with ISVs and developing people" David Callaghan SVP Oracle, UK & Ireland

Inatech wins Specialist Technology Partner of the Year

It's confirmed, Inatech a sure-fire award winners. The Oracle specialists company has achieved an award hat-trick. Specialist Technology Partner of the year

@Oacle Partner Awards get under way

The Inatech team are split across three tables of 16, whispers are hurling around the room supposing who has won awards. The team are up for two categories for the Oracle UK Partner Awards 2010 - General Business Applications Partner and Oracle Specialist Technology Partner of the year.

Today, the Sun CEO Tweeted his resignation. The first time any boss of a Fortune 200 made his resignation across Tweeter. It was a suitable and excellent way, through a haiku poem, to bow out after the rollercoaster journey experienced during the Sun purchase. As we've posted, technology and integration may see significant innovation in the next few years and recent developments within Oracle indicate just this.

So there's a real buzz about the Langham Hotel, London on the night of the 12th annual Oracle Partner Awards ceremony. The 160 strong audience are in the very capable hands of Alan Hatwell, former Sun. Alan has been announced head of the new specialist partner programme it's a big tranision for the Oracle community that needs a strong leader.