Author's posts
Jun 01
Achieving efficiency in a new dimension
My introduction to pan-European finance technology came on the day Europhile Tony Blair became prime minister. After casting my vote, I drove to my companies newly opened Paris office to struggle with installing a French version of Windows 95 from 24 floppy disks. Since then I have become well versed in the benefits and practice …
May 01
Travellers tool bag – What to take with you for the journey
As you venture forth on a multinational project delivery, Nic Evans looks at what tools you need to increase the chances of success. As soon as you start to cross borders, the geographic and cultural separation mean that the trusted techniques such as “Management by walking around” and “the team that drinks together, thinks together” …
May 01
Go Forth and “Multi-”ply
Going multinational opens up multiple extra dimensions in system complexity. The biggest strategic efficiency for multinational systems is gained by having front-end, administration and accounting systems that can travel in these extra dimensions Multi-Format – Culture-specific number formats (thousand and decimal separators) currency symbols (prefixes or suffixes) and date formats are essential to present users …
May 01
Snakes And Ladders – The Benefits and Pitfalls of Pan European Finance Systems
Henry Ford is the father of modern mass production. His production lines established Ford as the first global car manufacturer. Yet it was not until 34 years after his death that Ford produced their first global car – the Ford Escort. Ford set out to use common components worldwide, but by the time the Escort …
May 01
European Vision – Pan-European Finance Systems Delivery
For many international finance organisations there is a holy grail of a single system and standardised global processes that can deliver best practices and major efficiencies. But can a single platform meet all the diverse needs of the local businesses? Do the complexities, costs, delivery time and risk of global projects outweigh the benefits? In …
Apr 10
The six worst things I hate about lists
1. There is an annoying tendency of bloggers to resort to lists to connect random thoughts rather than writing a coherent article2. Worse still they call it the “eight greatest..” or the “five worst..” and did they do any actual polling to find out which are the most important? I think not.3. They have lots …
Feb 22
Sorry seems to be the hardest word
I’ve been getting a lot of stick about my car. Jeremy Clarkson berates me every week calling me a “Pious Driver”. But it suddenly got a lot worse. Now it’s open season for Toyota drivers: first with the accelerator pedal problems, then with the brake problems on newer models of the Prius than mine, and now the …
Feb 09
It’s time to kill big IT contracts
“I’ve met many programme directors who’ve said ‘I’m doing a £100m programme’, I say ‘I feel very sorry for you’” Phil Pavitt – the man in charge of the UK government’s largest IT outsourcing deal – believes Whitehall needs to end its love affair with supersized IT contracts. See the interview on Silicon.com : http://bit.ly/bRj2wU
Jan 08
I have a cunning plan..
Building your project plan is the most critical step in any project. Your plan is the basic way of measuring the progress of the project – and if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it. If your project is to be successful it must start with a solid plan. Much of comedy of BlackAdders sidekick and servant …
Jan 01
2009 – A Year of Change in Finance Systems
Despite the relative absence of large new clients, lease software vendors are still investing in their products, particularly their back office functions, reports Nic Evans in January 2010 Leasing Life. Finance Companies are expecting their technology to work harder in these tough times. As many organisations start new budget periods in the new year …