Subject:	SAP-Suckers
Date:	1999/09/03
Author:	Paul Milne <fedinfo@halifax.com>
	Posting History

Issue date: 2 September 1999 Article source: Computer Weekly News Bang & Olufsen sounds a discordant note with SAP As the Danish hi-fi company breaks the unwritten rule about keeping the lid on, Cliff Saran takes a look at the public falling out   The public criticism of the SAP enterprise package from Danish hi-fi manufacturer, Bang & Olufsen, has opened up the debate over whether it is wise to allow business to rely on ERP.   To combat potential problems with its existing Y2K system, Bang & Olufsen embarked on the fraught SAP project in 1997. The DKK30m (#2.7m) move had three main goals: to protect the company against Y2K problems; to replace the existing IT system, and to enhance working procedures.   However, the project has encountered problems and is running late. Moreover, SAP has been blamed for damaging Bang & Olufsen's supply chain, resulting in a lower cash flow.   ========   Here's the part of the article that I found most salient...   "What makes Bang & Olufsen's problems particularly important is that problems with SAP or other implementations of enterprise packages, are often never made public. "   Never made public. Of course not, for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, it would hurt their stock, if they are a public company.  No company will come right out and tell the public tht it is dangerously behind. Not one of any significance has yet. But, we are to believe that the majority of these companies will finish on time.   Bang & Olufsen started more than three years ago. For those with short memories...the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies did not get cracking until after Jan 1, 1998.   THIS is the stuff that doomers are made of.....facts......reality.     http://www.computerweekly.co.uk/pagelink.asp?page=article&link=%2Fcwarchive% 2Fnews%2F19990902%2Fcwcontainer%2Easp%3Fname%3DC12%2Ehtml   Paul Milne

-- a (a@a.a), September 06, 1999

Answers

THREE bashing posts, 'a'? Let me guess the results: ONE will be a thread bashing Hoff, and TWO will be threads bashing Flint. [grin]

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), September 06, 1999.

Here Anita - I dedicate this one to you:

Subject:	Re: Mainframe Nattering.
Date:	1999/09/04
Author:	cory hamasaki <kiyoinc@ibm.XOUT.net>
	Posting History

On Sat, 4 Sep 1999 02:50:54, The Goobers <d ocdwarf@home.com> wrote:   > James Johnson wrote: > > [snippimente] > > >  I'm already working 6-7 days a week, and the company I work for > > doesn't believe in paying for overtime or giving comp time. > > No offense, Mr Johnson, but I would say that folks like you, who accept > such conditions, encourage them. > > DD   No offense, DD, but a code-head's gotta do what a code-head's gotta do. Not all code-heads are in a position to negotiate for fair conditions. Sometimes you gotta give a little to keep rice in the bowl and SS-109 in the mags.   Here are some terms that I've encountered  or heard about in the last year:   - Rates well above $100/hour.   - Assignments in vacation spots such as Waikiki and, be still my heart, Detroit.   - One person support contracts paying over $250K/year.  OK, it might be $100/hour if (s)he worked 2500 hours but it's not.  It's fixed price and as far as I can tell, the geek's getting closer to $200/hour based on effort expended.   - $1,000/month retainers; if we don't call you, bill us anyway.   - Firm-Fixed-Price contracts paying $5,000+ for changing 2, 4, maybe 6 lines of JCL.  The old one dollar for turning the screw, 99 dollars for knowing which screw to turn.   I've seen armies of drone-like, horn-haired management "working" overtime because their projects are running late and their clients have increased the funding.  Their battle-cry, "Increase the burn-rate" echo's through the email systems.   I fail to see how appreciating the problem, talking about how important the goals are, and holding long and mind numbing status meetings contributes to the solution.   I'm tracking a situation similar to James' here in DeeCee.  A subsystem shared by several projects is not finished and schedules are slipping.   This one is not critical yet, sometime around day 99 or less, everyone will know   cory hamasaki http://www.kiyoinc.com/curr ent.html 

-- a (a@a.a), September 06, 1999.

"a", thanks for including Anita. I think she felt LEFT OUT!!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 06, 1999.

THIS was supposed to be FOR ME, 'a'? Cory has yet to answer ONE of the questions I've addressed to him in the same thread in which the questions were asked. I had to add that last part because I HAVE seen some Cory RESPONSES to me in other threads or other mediums, but I've still not heard the answers to my questions.

-- Anita (spoonera@msn.com), September 06, 1999.