News & views

Personal Message from Michael Burns about Covid-19

My adult children are spending quality time with their kids. It reminds them of when they were young when we spent weeks at a cottage together. The kids played outside and inside, made up plays to perform, read lots of books borrowed from the library and we all enjoyed our time together. Many of us are now enjoying more quality time with our family. But there are so many people on the front lines risking their health and that of their families to battle COVID-19 and look after the rest of us. There are also many people who have lost […]

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Opportunity at 180 Systems

We are looking for a senior consultant with the following job description.  Responsibilities Assist clients with ERP software selection and implementation projects. Key responsibilities include: Interview clients to understand their business process Prepare business process review documents Prepare process maps Evaluate vendor demonstrations Provide project management during implementations Help grow the business Assist in marketing and sales Assume leadership position Learn all aspects of the business Qualifications: Expertise in multiple industries such as manufacturing, distribution, professional services or public sector and not for profit MBA or CPA Superior writing & presentation skills Strategic thinking and demonstrated ability to communicate with […]

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Top 10 ERP Systems

If you do a search on the Top 10 ERP systems, you will find lists of the most well-known systems developed and maintained by the largest vendors. These vendors do offer advantages over many of the smaller vendors, who are not as well funded and may not be able to invest as much R&D in their system. The largest vendors will often have extended functionality for bigger enterprises that could also be used by smaller companies with complex requirements. They will also have more resources including multiple business partners to implement the system. And the owners will perceive less risk […]

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Beware of Roles and Responsibilities in an ERP Implementation

Let’s assume you did a thorough job in evaluating the ERP systems/vendors and are in contract negotiations with the preferred vendor. You will be asked to agree to many things including their assumptions on roles and responsibilities for activities such as testing, integration, documenting business process design… The problem is that you have no idea whether the allocation of activity between the vendor and your organization is reasonable. Unfortunately, you may learn the hard way when the vendor issues change requests (and higher costs) for work that was assumed to be your responsibility but for which you need a lot […]

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National Technology Forum (NTF)

The National Technology Forum (NTF) is back for it’s 3rd year and was scheduled on May 25-26 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. However, it will be postponed because of Covid-19 at a future/safe date. At NTF, you will be able to compare leading ERP systems (Microsoft, SAP, Infor, Workday, Epicor, Multiview and Sage), obtain guidance from thought leaders, learn about emerging technology, network with your peers… NTF is presented by CPA Canada and 180 Systems and there is no better place to get up to speed on enterprise software and disruptive technologies that are changing the way we do […]

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Understanding ERP Deployment Options

If you’re confused by the different options, you are not alone. The vendors add to the confusion as they refer to the deployment options in different ways and they don’t include some of the options. On premise has been around the longest and it’s easy to understand. You pay a one-time fee for the license and annual maintenance fees, but the vendors are all heading to the clouds. The cloud is confusing as there are different types. A public cloud is hosted by the ERP vendor and includes all the software and data, also referred to as Software as a […]

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National Technology Forum

For the 2nd year, we have joined forces with CPA Canada in presenting the National Technology Forum (NTF). NTF will occur on May 22-24 with a conference for the 1st 2 days and workshops on the 3rd day. The conference is mostly about enterprise software (ERP, CPM, HR and BI) and emerging technology and is targeted to senior leaders who are responsible for technology investment decisions in industry and public practice. Conference Highlights ERP, HR, BI and CPM (Corporate Performance Management) sessions delivered for customers, by customers, featuring plenty of real-life experiences, lessons learned and valuable advice Industry challenges (manufacturing, […]

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It’s 2018 so why isn’t my ERP vendor multi-tenant?

August 7, 2018 from diginomica – “We may be at a point in the software space where application vendors that haven’t produced a multi-tenant suite may never do it. It matters and here’s why…” Click here to read the article. 180 View – Multi-tenant architecture allows one instance of a software system to serve multiple customers. The vendor is responsible for patching and updating the inevitable changes to a system. The article makes a persuasive case why multi-tenant matters but, in our opinion, it is just another criteria to make a decision.   […]

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National Forum On Technology Solutions

180 Systems and CPA Canada developed a new conference that was targeted to senior leaders responsible for technology investment decisions. The conference focused on enterprise software (ERP, BI and CPM) and included customers speaking about their journey through selection and implementation by industry (manufacturing and distribution, not-for-profit and financial services). It also included solutions for today’s industry challenges and emerging technologies such as AI, Blockchain, and IOT. The conference took place on May 28-29, 2018 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and we will do it again next year. Click here for more information about this conference […]

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Is Your Implementation On Track?

February 2018 from CPA Magazine and written by Michael Burns – “Senior executives of any organization that is going through a major system implementation worry whether the implementation project will cause huge problems when it goes live or whether the costs and time estimates are accurate. The project manager might be telling them all is well but project managers have been wrong on occasion. How do you look under the covers of a project to see what is really happening?”… Read more […]

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