The Integration Engineer
When it just has to work.

One of the common data formats that we encounter today is XML.  This could be just plane XML, or any of the standardized versions; cXML, ebXML, etc.  But there are some basic commonalities between these.  And if you haven’t dealt with XML much, you will need to know something about it sooner or later.  This post is a brief introduction. (more…)

Sometimes we hear and then use industry jargon without having a clear definition of what they are.  I think all of us are guilty of this from time to time.  This post clarifies what a SKU is, and discusses how SKUs are used in the supply chain, and in EDI.

Definition:  SKU stands for “Stock keeping Unit” initially used for identifying items that a company keeps in stock so that they can track how many they have and such.  Now also used for services, and for contracts or warranties. (more…)

I was reading an article on Spend Matters, by Jason Busch, and I had an idea. Jason was writing about Twitter entering the B2B Mainstream. Now to be honest I had heard about Southwest’s proactive use of twitter to monitor and shape how their customer experience was being perceived.  And like many things with Southwest’s business, I find it to be touched with brilliance.  So as I read about it, I was suddenly struck with a much deeper way that twitter and twitter like technologies could be used. (more…)

Want to get in the head of SAP CEO Leo Apotheker?  Charlie Rose does in this interview.

Leo answers a question from Charlie about what makes a software company successful.  Leo responds and explains that it is taking good ideas, and incorporating them in software.  He then goes on to explain that industry leaders like SAP are made by specializing in one line of business.  Companies that only have Enterprise software as one of their business lines will never achieve the same level of expertise.

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