When you export a report from SSRS (to PDF or Excel, for example) the filename defaults to the name of your report. But recently, one of our clients wanted to have the current system date automatically added to the report name. For example, if the report is called “Task List” and it was run on January 1, the client wanted the file saved as “Task List 2013_01_01.” (Yes, you can… Read More »
Over the years, I’ve gotten pretty good reviews of my training. People say I communicate clearly, understand the material and am even somewhat entertaining. (Go figure.) But I also know that even though most people like my training, they often don’t remember much. I think it’s because I’ve been following the standard methodology of software training, which means covering as many features as possible. This satisfies the goal of completeness… Read More »
Per my last post, I’ve been thinking a lot about where to go next with my business. About what has gone right and what hasn’t over the years. And I’ve realized that many of my mistakes came from taking advice from people, often well-meaning people, whose risk/stress profiles are different from mine. Let me explain.
Everyone confronts risks and the attendant stress differently. In our personal lives, this is self-evident.… Read More »
Consulting is a challenge. Most people don’t really understand what we do. Over time, our tag line “the reports you need from the software you already have” has helped explain it and has sparked some interest.
But looking at how we actually get business, I realize that while having a good pitch is nice, the people who hire me and become long time clients do so because they believe we… Read More »
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how I make a living. And by that I don’t mean building the Red Three business. I mean where I direct my energy.
Here’s the challenge: Over the last couple years, we’ve had some success with our tag line, “The reports you need from the software you already have.” And it’s true we do spend most of our time working with reports and data. But… Read More »
Like most people, I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs test. It may surprise you to learn I score very, very strongly as an introvert.
In my work life, I’m generally the certain of attention. While I’ve tried over the years to package myself as a reporting or ERP expert so I can more easily scale my business, fundamentally I’m Mr. Fixit. I’m the go-to guy when teams aren’t working and things need… Read More »
The AS400 is a great system. But unfortunately, it’s not the future. I’ve written about how to preserve your investment in the AS400, but for most mid-size companies, the move to a different platform is not a question of “if,” but “when.”
Here, I’m talking about moving to Windows specifically. While there are ERP and accounting systems that run on Unix, there’s really only SAP ECC and Oracle EBS. Most… Read More »
As I’ve written before, I’ve gone over to the dark side when it comes to Microsoft. I really like SQL Server solutions and do lots and lots of work in Excel. But I also have years of experience working with AS400 systems. (No one I’ve ever met refers to them as Series I or iSeries.) What Windows and Unix folks don’t understand is that it’s possible to have a server… Read More »
Moving from Lawson to Oracle EBS – The Challenge of Replacing Software that Works Well
When I started working with enterprise software, the projects were challenging. But my team had one big thing going for us: People believed we were going to give them something better than what they had. Way better. And we did.
It wasn’t that we were geniuses. Rather, the software most clients had back then was out of date. Very out of date. As in, custom developed over 20 years ago… Read More »
I’m in the middle of a project where we’re replacing Lawson with Oracle EBS. This is the second time I’ve done this for a client. Replacing software that still works, as opposed to software that’s mostly not working, brings new challenges. I’m going to cover some of these in my next blog post.
But before getting into the challenges of this type of project, it’s worth considering why you’d want… Read More »
