Why is ERP Still So Hard?

Because you're changing the wings of the plane while it's still in the air. Check this out for a good discussion on the topic.

The key information I gleaned is this: the average SAP implementation costs $17 million, Oracle ERP is $12 million, Microsoft Dynamics is $2.6 million and other (Tier 2) systems like JD Edwards or ERP LN come in around $3.5 million.

I'm betting a lot of SAP and Oracle ERP customers wonder what they get for their premium.

Goverment Spending Cannot Create Jobs

I've long believe that John Maynard Keynes was wrong and that government spending during an economic downturn has no net effect on economic performance. I studied Keynes in graduate school. I could regurgitate his ideas well enough to get a passing grade but they never really made sense to me. This link has a good (non technical) explanation why.

The money quote, "Keynesian economists counter that redistribution can increase demand if the money is transferred from savers to spenders. Yet this “idle savings” theory assumes that savings fall out of the economy, which clearly is not the case. Nearly all individuals and businesses invest their savings or put it in banks (which in turn invest it or lend it out) — so the money is still being spent somewhere in the economy. Even in this recession, with tightened lending standards, banks are performing their traditional role of intermediating between those who have savings and those who need to borrow. They are not building extensive basement vaults to hoard cash."

A September Marker

Conventional wisdom says that the stock market leads the economy, usually by about six months. In March of 2009, the Dow hit what I hope is the bottom for the year. The very good performance since then, and the six month lag of the real economy, means the economy should start performing measurably better ... right ... about ... now!

The Depression That Did Not Happen

It's worth the read.

Does the Fed Do It's Job?

Milton Friedman was my monetarist hero. I still have his seminal, Nobel winning work, A Monetary History of the United States, somewhere in my book collection. (And, I will admit that I did not read it cover-to-cover but I have skimmed through it.)

The late great Milton would agree with the contention of this commentator that the Federal Reserve does not, in fact, provide financial stability.

By law, the Fed has two goals, financial stability and maximum employment. Yet the long look at history says it has not achieved at least the first of these goals.

The Pros and Cons of ERP Systems

This is one of the best summary accounts I've ever seen on the wisdom and folly of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)system implementations. This one is going in my "keep it" file.

Salesforce Rallies

"Salesforce.com rallied in premarket trading on Friday, a day after the company reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The company also raised its full-year outlook. On Friday, FBR upgraded the company to 'market perform' from 'underperform.' Shares gained 9.4 percent to $50.50 before the bell." CNBC Aug 21, 2009.

And the PE Ratio is now 104.5 - down from 106. Well, at least it's moving closer to Oracle's more realistic PE of 20. Only 84.5 points to go!

(Disclaimer - I use Salesforce's CRM system and it's very good software. I just don't understand the stratospheric PE. It's in Dot Bomb territory.)