Returning to last weekend's topic - make sure to follow all the links (comments included). Excerpts from Nick Carr (and Sig Rinde):
NC: "New wave IT analyst James Governor has written a long post that picks up on last weekend's hubbub about the sexiness (or lack thereof) of enterprise software, a hubbub that started with Robert Scoble scratching his Charlie Brown-like head, moved on to Mike Krigsman accusing Scoble of not understanding enterprise software, proceeded to see the Grandstander Known as Yours Truly coming to Scoble's defense (as I am wont to do) ...
... and accusing Krigsman of being the one who doesn't understand enterprise software, took a detour into Ross Mayfield talking about getting laid, and eventually ended up with all sorts of yo-mama-ing Enterprise Irregulars, Regulars, and Rubberneckers leaping gleefully onto the Techmeme pig pile. (Can pigs leap?) Bottom line: nobody understands nothing.
I just saw, by the way, that the hubbub has been officially elevated to the status of firestorm."
SR: "ERP actually stands for Easily Repeatable Process: Processes that handle resources, from human (hiring, firing, payroll and more) to parts and products through supply chains, distribution and production. Known to be rigid, but handle events and transactions with precision and in volume. Systems deliver value through extensive reports and full control over resources. Resource oriented, transactional, event driven systems. Delivered by system vendors with roots in accounting using up to 25 year old technological solutions.
Barely Repeatable Process (BRP): Typically exceptions to the ERPs, anything that involves people in non-rigid flows [like] the daily unplanned issues that happen in every organization. The activities that employees spend most of their time on every day. Processes that often start with an e-mail or a call."
NC: "Bingo. There's a reason that the software tool most frequently used for everyday business analysis in companies of all sizes is still Excel.
[...] Compare Excel (or, god forbid, a typical ERP system) to a run-of-the-mill Web 2.0 site, and you get a sense of how far ahead of business apps consumer apps have jumped when it comes to ease of use and ease of collaboration.
[...] But whether it's SAP or Google or Salesforce or Facebook or 37Signals or Workday or Ozzie's Microsoft or some unknown kid spilling Red Bull on his keyboard, the kindling has been lit and there's no stopping it now. Just as pickup trucks can be brawny yet nimble, enterprise software can be stable yet sexy."
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