Taft Chicago partner Marcus Harris will be one of the featured speakers during Digital Stratosphere Live Online Edition, April 20-22, 2021. The event offers independent advice and lessons learned for organizations embarking on a digital transformation. The sessions on April 20 are open to all and the other days require registration. Click here for more
Remanded for Damages: Navy Was Not Authorized To Copy Software
The U.S. Court of Federal Appeals (CAFC) just released its decision in another breach of software license case. Bitmanagement Software GMBH v. United States, Fed. Cir. 2020-1139 (Feb. 25, 2021). This is the second case where the court recently found for the contractor and held the Government to have overextended its use of a
What to Consider When Restarting ERP Projects During and After COVID-19
Despite COVID-19 shutdowns, re-openings, and partial re-closings in some parts of the state, Illinois manufacturers of all sizes are grappling with serious management decisions. Many halted the implementation of planned installations or upgrades to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system or deferred part of their project when the pandemic began. Now, they are trying
Six Missteps Smaller Companies Must Avoid with an ERP Project
Since their inception, ERP software systems have historically been used almost entirely by large organizations: major corporations, financial institutions, federal and state government agencies, and similar behemoths with complex structures and massive operations.
Over the last few decades, ERP vendors have focused aggressively on the small to medium-sized business market. Today, a growing number of
Reducing the Risks of Being the Next ERP Failure
Failed ERP software system implementations and integrations happen frequently and the problems are legion. However, there are ways that organizations can avoid their own failures. In a recent Taft Technology Insights post, we discussed how to avoid a failure if restarting a deferred integration during COVID-19.
We are frequently retained by companies whose projects
Six Ways Users Can Control Their ERP Integrator
If ERP software system integrators were as smooth at integrating new or upgraded projects as they are at selling, it is likely they would be involved in fewer court disputes with users. Often, disputes happen because senior management hands off responsibility for the effort to the integrator rather than owning it as an integral part
Avoiding Problems With an ERP Restart During COVID-19
Many organizations are looking at ways to restart ERP projects that were deferred when the pandemic forced widespread lockdowns. Whether a company was in the midst of upgrading a legacy system or had been on the verge of moving forward on their first ERP software system, we suggested five ways senior executives can fast-track an
Five Must-Do’s When Assessing ERP Data Security
As we wrote recently, a global survey of senior technology executives conducted by KPMG and Oracle revealed that worrying about data security is the thing that most keeps them awake at night. The concern is especially acute for data stored in the cloud, but it also exists for on-premises servers.
For users of ERP software
Five Ways ERP Transformations Can Be Fast-Tracked Despite COVID-19
A debate is raging between some politicians and public health officials over the timing of reopening the economy. Noisy arguments in the news media, on Facebook or Twitter aside, the fact is that corporate executives need to be thinking seriously about the status of planned ERP software system upgrades or proceeding with projects that were
Deepfakes Can Mean Deep Water and Deep Pockets for Your Business
State Farm got the Internet’s attention this year with a deepfake advertisement of ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne. To many, this was an introduction to a new and accessible technology that creates convincingly realistic fake videos.
Nearly anyone with Internet access can create a realistic video clip of events that never happened. Deepfakes are videos