Ready to Go!
Continued
Oracle partners can also help with data conversion, training, and change management, a process that often draws them deeply into the organization. This, says Oracle’s Kender, is a good thing for everyone. “You know there are always glitches when you’re implementing new software, and if you don’t have a good relationship with your integration partner when those problems arise, there will always be finger-pointing,” he says. “It comes down to people and relationships. If you’ve got a connection, your partner is going to be there whenever you call.”
This type of partner program is unique, says AMR Research’s Jacobson. Although other ERP providers have partner and integrator networks, they don’t incorporate
partner-to-partner networking or have requirements as stringent as Oracle’s, he notes. “Oracle is really doing its best to simplify the onboarding process to make the partner recruitment process very easy but at the same time is setting a high bar in terms of partner requirements,” he says.
This is something Telegent’s Zadig noticed right away. Zadig says his company considered “two or three” other integrators but went with an Oracle partner in the end because he could tell they were willing to create a rapport and would ultimately meet all of his requirements. Telegent’s implementation was extremely successful. Today, the company can perform procurement tasks in less than an hour, most of which would have taken several days to complete in the past. Using an integrator was key, Zadig says. “We’ve had relatively few hiccups getting the software up and running, and we’re running at a rate today that is probably approaching three times when we went live with the system,” he adds. “We’re managing an explosive amount of opportunity from our revenue and volume standpoint.”
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Oracle for Midsize Companies
Karen J. Bannan is a freelance writer based in New York.
