economics-software

Sorry, but this is more an SAP advertisement for why you should consider mySAP.com, than a reference on what it is. In fairness, the various industry solutions are reasonably well explained, and so is how mySAP.com addresses those industries. But it's really about the level of depth and detail, which is not much in this case. For example, at the end of each chapter, a case study is provided. These, however, are generally a bit vague and "marketing-sounding", while the name of the company or client is often omitted, affecting credibility.

Granted, the whole subject is extensive, however, I was expecting more. It doesn't help that this is a translation from German, which tends to make the reading a bit "stiff" and academic compared to what we are accustomed to in North America.

You need not be a SAP R/3 consultant to benefit from this interesting book. In fact, I am not an R/3 expert and have little direct experience with the product. My motivation for reading this book is to better understand ERP in general as it applies to various industry segments, and SAP R/3 and PeopleSoft in particular because of a consulting assignment.

Before reading this book I was under the mistaken impression that SAP R/3 was inflexible and required any company implementing it to completely redesign their business processes to accommodate the software. In many respects this is true. However, SAP has a tagline that "All Industries Are Not Created Equal", which means that a generic solution enforced by an application is not a real solution at all. Using this book I discovered two things: (1) SAP R/3 is a lot more flexible than I heard and can be highly customized using industry-specific solution maps to a number of industries, and (2) the market challenges of the 20 industries covered in this book.

What I like is the consistent way each industry if presented, using a fixed format that discusses each industry's market trends, requirements and solution maps. As a consultant who works across a wide landscape of industries I was able to quickly absorb some of the characteristics of each industry and their key challenges, as well as see how an ERP solution fit within them. Of course, learning about how SAP as a product supports these industries is also useful, and I suspect essential to consultants and constancies focused on this particular product.

The book is a quick read, informative and definitely a worthwhile investment to anyone who is involved in ERP in general and SAP R/3 in particular.

It was about the time this book was written in 1994 that I was facing a difficult time trying to articulate the relationship between business strategy and use of information technology, and the complex set of issues of alignment between the two. I was involved in the complex restructuring of a central bank in an African country and my need to explain these issues to central bankers made my job even more complex.

This book opened my eyes. Even as business thinking and technology have evolved tremendously since this book was published, I still find this text one of the clearest and most concise guides on this subject. The author's approach is highly structured and supported by excellent graphics and charts and he eschews the use of jargon in favor of more straightforwad language.

The strength of the book is its achievement of the difficult balance between business and technolgy issues. Even the concept of strategy is concisely explained with an excellent review of different "schools of strategy." The chapters on technology will definitely seem outdated to many, and the lack of discussion of the Internet and multimedia will be especially striking to a reader today. But this is less important if your interest is to see how to present the issue of alignment between business strategy and technology. The penultimate chapter on management philosophy and style quotes from Machiavelli and Sun Tzu and reminds us that all this technology is really about achieving straegic advanatge and business gain. It is too easy to miss the forest (strategic vision and goals) when the trees (technology tools) become the focus.

I have many other books on similar subjects, but find myself returning to this one whenever I seek inspiration on how to present the issue of effective alignment. It is full of practical straight talk in an area which has unfortunately fallen prey to hype and obfuscation. An illustrative quote from this book: "Clarity is hampered by colloquial definitions of the words. Therefore, we must take some time to uncover what strategic alignment between I/T and the business really means."

This is an excellent book for IT leadership who often finds itslef on a different road and cannot justify the value of IT. Unless IT is perfectly aligned with the company strategy this value is never there. This book shows you how to do it...how to align yourself. What is missing are some lessons in showing or developing ROI in IT projects.

All of the information is available on-line either in "Help" or SAP's ASAP discs. Does a reasonable job of condesing down to 180+ pages. Targeted towards the first time SAP user NOT experienced users/consultants.

It is my first book on SAP R/3, it was really helpfull during my college clases.

From time to time I have a client who needs a business plan. Most have no idea where to begin and really no desire to write a plan. I would often be asked to write the plan for them, but without a real template or software geared to it, it was like re-inventing the wheel everytime.

A few months ago I picked up this book, and the accompanying software, and my job was suddenly made easier. The instructions are easy to folllow and the software is easy to use, a plus for a non-technical type like myself. Right now I'm even using it to put together my own business plan.

If you are seeking an easy to read and use guide to business plans, I recommend this one.

Me and an associate wrote our business plan using this book as our reference. Neither of us had any experience writting a business plan and didn't know where to begin. This book helped us get off the ground in no time. If your new to writting business plans or you're just not sure where to begin, this is the book for you.

there is a lot to learn from this book

THE EXAMPLES ARE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL WHEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN IAS TO FOREIGNERS, OR WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO RELATE THE IAS TO US GAAP. I FOUND THE COMPARISONS AND EXPLANATIONS VERY READABLE TOO. THANK YOU.

If computing is to achieve its fullest potentail, it is vital that EUC is leveraged to a greater extent than at present. Certainly, the EUC area has matured considerably in the past few years. This maturation is evidenced by this book which makes a vital contribution. It is unique in its focus on a broad range of areas: medical informatics, the contribution of various factors to succesful EUC development of IS, and the role of tools in EUC. It represents the leading thinking by a range of expert researchers and practitioners in this vitally important area.

About half way through her book Bouldin starts showing the reader when analysis should start on a project, which is way before even the coding starts. The book "Agents of Change" points out the obvious problem about the difficulty of change and specifically technology transfer, then outlines a plan for the project manager to implement change or a technology transfer. For people who introduce change into organizations, Bouldin offers more than a checklist for handling the inevitable resistance, she offers explanations and options for handling different scenarios from the concept of a project to final implementation. LHC Sept 1999

The concept of Professor Scheer to analyse and structure the business processes in order to derive the IT structure of a company is unmatched in the industry. No other Software tool I have seen so far provides a general concept and the means to wholisticly map an organisation into an IS concept. This is really best of bread and for all IS Managers and Business Planning People a must.

Worth reading. First-hand account of the birth and growth of an important software company and its hallmark product: AutoCAD.

I first bought this book for a book report. I thaught since i love computers, i should write one on bill gates. I thaught that the author did a good job on this book. I liked this book alot. Very Interesting!