BlogERP: Jim Holincheck's HCM Software Blog

My Recent HCM Research

Here are links to some of my most research notes (subscription required):

The Pace of Consolidation Accelerates in the E-Recruitment Software Market -- Large vendors that have not had a presence in talent management are buying their way in through increasing mergers and acquisitions. Talent management vendors are trying to get to a critical mass to compete with the larger, more-established organizations.

Magic Quadrant for E-Recruitment Software, 2006 -- Due to the maturing market for e-recruitment software, Gartner has produced a Magic Quadrant. The vendors included here provide Internet recruitment applications for the full requisition-to-hire process to companies with more than 2,500 employees.

SumTotal Aims to Lead Talent Management Market With MindSolve -- By acquiring MindSolve, SumTotal Systems gains a strong talent management offering, including e-learning, employee performance management, succession management and compensation management applications.

Predicts 2007: Software as a Service Provides a Viable Delivery Model -- Adopt SaaS first using a modular and incremental approach. SaaS predictions provide overall guidance for SaaS delivery adoption and specific market outlooks for human capital management, e-commerce and integration as a service.

Workday's Initial HCM Offering Is Intriguing but Unproven -- The startup Workday's Human Capital Management software-as-service solution includes innovative technology and has had some initial success. Prospective customers will face the usual risks of early adopters.

Case Study: Workforce Analytics at Sun -- Sun used workforce analytics to understand the financial impact of and to target its spending around its mentoring program.

OHUG Recap

I have spent the last several days at the Oracle Human Capital Management Users Group Meeting (OHUG).  I spoke on an industry analyst panel about key trends in HCM technology.  The usual stuff.  The conference itself was very good.  Oracle did a good job balancing presenting information about the upcoming PeopleSoft v9 and Oracle EBS v12 releases with getting feedback from customers for future releases and for Fusion.  Speaking of Fusion, Oracle also had the first presentation I have seen that provided detail around how it is reconciling different approaches in PeopleSoft and Oracle EBS as it creates Fusion.  I am not going to go into details here.  I am hoping to write a research note on this in the near future.  E-Business Suite is still the starting point for much of Fusion, but there are definitely changes anticipated to EBS for Fusion.  Overall, it was a very good conference and feedback from attendees, both PeopleSoft and Oracle EBS was positive.

More next week from the SAP Industry Analyst Summit ...

What are Clients Asking About -- Week Ending August 4, 2006

Last week, there were four major themes from client inquiry were:

• Talent Management Applications (including inquiries on Recruitment, Performance Management, and Talent Management Applications Suites)
• Workforce Management Applications (Time and Attendance, and Expense Management)
• HRMS
• Specific Vendors (SAP, Oracle, Kronos)

Talent Management application inquiries were the leader this week with the rest split evenly among the other themes.

In terms of the breakout of inquiries, we had the following:

• End User Inquiries-- 71%
• Vendor Inquiries-- 5%
• Vendor Briefings -- 19%
• Investor -- 5%

What Are Clients Asking About? -- A New Weekly Feature

I had a request from our Gartner Invest service (these are services that we provide to the Investment community) for the three major themes from client inquiries for last week.  I found this to be an interesting request.  I thought it also might be useful for readers of this blog.  So, I will try to make this a regular Monday feature.

Last week, the three major themes from client inquiry were:

• Talent Management Applications (including inquiries on Recruitment, Performance Management, Compensation Management, and Contingent Workforce Management)
• Workforce Management Applications (Labor Scheduling, Time and Attendance, and Expense Management)
• HRMS

HRMS was a distant third last week.  There were an equal number of Talent Management and Workforce Management application inquiries last week.

I know that inquiring minds like to know what percentage of calls are vendor vs. end user.  Last week, we had the following:

• End User Inquiries-- 65%
• Vendor Inquiries-- 9%
• Vendor Briefings -- 26%

Interesting Gartner HCM Research from March to June 2006

It has been some time since I posted links to interesting Gartner HCM research so I thought I would give you an update. Below are research notes that I thought would be interesting. If you look at the list, you will not see my name as an author. I was a contributor to many of the notes, but not an author. Stay tuned. I will post some of my research in the next few weeks.

Begin 'Future-Proofing' Your Software Investments: Understand the Most-Critical Uncertainties in the Future of Software

Author: Thompson, Ed; Friedman, Ted

All aspects of software, from technology and markets to usage and licensing models, will change radically during the next 10 years. Every CIO should recognize the most-critical uncertainties related to the future of software. These uncertainties are grouped into four categories of related factors.

Retail Time and Labor Solutions Bridge Gap Between Planning and Execution

Author: Daikoku, Gale

Despite significant investments in supply chain and other tools to help with merchandising decisions, results will fall short of expectations if stores can't execute initiatives as planned. As retailers decide where to spend their next IT dollar, store execution should be high on the list.

Integrated Financial and Human Capital Management Applications Make Sense, but Not Always

Author: Rayner, Nigel

Many organizations are considering replacing best-of-breed administrative applications with integrated solutions. This offers potential benefits, but the scale of these benefits depends on several factors. This decision framework enables users to assess if these benefits outweigh any challenges.

ExcellerateHRO-Cardinal Health Deal Heralds Healthcare HRO

Author: Brown, Robert H.; Lovelock, John-David; Stone, Lisa

ExcellerateHRO's and Cardinal Health's human resources business process outsourcing deal shows how such services are gaining popularity in the healthcare industry. Look to see if ExcellerateHRO posts other wins in 2006.

Evaluating Software-as-a-Service Providers: Questions to Ask Potential SaaS Providers

Author: Lheureux, Benoit J.; Desisto, Robert P.; Maoz, Michael

More software functionality is being delivered in the form of software as a service. We provide key issues that users should discuss with SaaS vendors.

Software as a Service: Negotiate Key Terms to Avoid Unexpected Costs

Author: Bona, Alexa

Gartner is seeing more software deals purchased "as a service." In these deals, the contractual terms are different from traditional on-premise perpetual licenses. Buyers must understand the hidden costs and different types of protections needed to negotiate sustainable deals with predictable costs.

SAP Pricing in Evolution: Five Key Items to Negotiate With SAP

Author: Bona, Alexa; Disbrow, Jane B.

Many organizations find SAP's licensing and pricing complex. Because SAP is a strategic vendor with a high initial and ongoing investment, this lack of clarity and predictability brings significant risk. Focus on five areas to avoid unexpected costs and improve flexibility.

Technorati Tags: HR, HCM, HRMS, HR BPO, SaaS, Software-as-a-Service, Workforce Management

Finally - My Research Agenda for the 1H06

Ok. It is almost the end of March. It is a little late to post my first half 2006 research agenda. But, it is better late than never. Here it is:

- MarketScope for Retail Time and Labor Applications, 2H05 - Complete
- Magic Quadrant for Midmarket HRMS, 2006 - Complete
- Continued Consolidation Headlined the Human Capital Management Software Market in 2005 - Complete
- Tough Competition Force Consolidation in the Expense Management Software Market - Peer Review
- Understanding Emerging Offerings for Global Payroll Outsourcing (Presentation for Gartner Outsourcing Summit) - Complete
- Single Sourcing Global Payroll Outsourcing - Peer Review
- Five Key Considerations for Global HR Implementation - Peer Review
- Cool Vendors in Human Capital Management Software, 2006 - Complete
- Market Landscape for Contingent Workforce Management Solutions - In Process
- HR BPO and the Importance of the Underlying Technology - Not Started
- Case Study on Next Generation Workforce Analytics - Not Started
- MarketScope for E-Recruitment Software - Not Started

I have been spending some time over the last week or so trying to determine if I should do a Magic Quadrant or a MarketScope for the update on E-Recruitment Software. For those not familiar with these notes, Gartner uses MarketScope in markets that are early in life and where there is a lot of dynamism. In addition, we use the MarketScope for markets that are very mature where there is little change. The reason for this is that a MarketScope is an absolute rating of vendors. Each vendor is evaluated independently of the others. Because it is an absolute rating, it is easier to change as the market changes (or keep the same if the market does not change frequently). A Magic Quadrant is a relative rating. That means every time it is published, all vendors must be evaluated relative to each other. In an established, growing market, this relative evaluation is important to customers to understand vendor differentiation.

On the one hand, the e-recruitment market is dynamic. There is significant M&A activity going on and a MarketScope can keep up more readily. On the hand, it is an established, growing market and customers would be well-served to have a more differentiated analysis. Why am I spelling this out? I want to get your input. Please e-mail me or comment to this posting with your thoughts.

Technorati Tags: HR BPO, HRMS, E-Recruitment, Payroll, Workforce Analytics, Contingent Workforce Management, T&E Management

Gartner HCM Research from February and March 2006

Cool Vendors in Human Capital Management Software, 2006
Author: Holincheck, James

Summary: These "cool vendors" represent emerging trends in HCM technology. They take familiar HR and workforce problems (such as timekeeping, analytics, recruitment, employee engagement surveys and benefits) and use new technology to achieve improved results.

Best Practices for Uncovering Differentiators in Midmarket Financial and HR Evaluations
Author: Herrmann, Michael E.; Recknagel, Kirsten L.

Summary: When midmarket organizations are evaluating financial and HR solutions, they should employ three techniques to highlight the differentiators necessary to make well-informed decisions.

Continued Consolidation Headlined the Human Capital Management Software Market in 2005
Author: Holincheck, James

Summary: The HCM software market continued to consolidate in 2005. In 2006, if you make new HCM solution decisions, consider the effect of ongoing market consolidation. Before making any HCM software purchases, evaluate vendors' underlying talent management application suite strategies.

Findings From the Gartner 2006 Global Research Meeting: Prepare for the Business Application Decision Olympics
Authors: Rayner, Nigel; Genovese, Yvonne; Holincheck, James; Eschnger, Chad; Phelan, Pat

Summary: For multinational companies, recent vendor consolidation in the business application market appears to have simplified selection decisions between megavendors SAP and Oracle. The opposite is true, however; many users will face hard decisions through 2012.

Updated Magic Quadrant and New MarketScope Published the Week of January 23, 2006

Well, after 5 long months of effort, two large research projects have come to fruition. We published the following research last week.

Magic Quadrant for U.S. Midmarket Human Resource Management Systems, 2006
Author: Holincheck, James; Recknagel, Kirsten L,

Summary:
Leaders have emerged in the HRMS market for midsize companies. Automatic Data Processing and Ceridian have strong positions. Employease, through its relationship with ADP, is well-positioned. Ultimate Software and Kronos are strong alternatives for organizations that want to keep payroll in-house.

MarketScope for Retail Time and Labor Applications, 2H05
Author: Daikoku, Gale; Holincheck, James

Summary:
This research focuses on vendor capabilities within the context of retail workforce management. Industry interest is expected to grow as Web-based solutions mature and leading retailers use technology-optimized workforces to improve store productivity and deliver a differentiated value proposition. (This research is only available to Gartner clients who subscribe to the Retail Industry Advisory Service).

Technorati Tags: HRMS, Retail Workforce Management, Time and Attendance

The Impact of the Aging Workforce on Human Capital Management

Yesterday I posted an entry on the Gartner High Performance Workplace Blog about the impact of the aging workforce on companies. This is going to be a big issue for many companies by the end of the decade and HR organizations need to get ahead of the curve in to help ensure that they acquire, build and retain key talent.
Gartner High Performance Workplace Blog

My Upcoming Gartner HCM Research (Nov. 2005)

In addition to the update to the U.S. Midmarket HRMS Magic Quadrant (A Reminder from Gartner's US Midmarket HRMS Research), I am working on a number of other research notes including:

- MarketScope for Retail Time and Labor Management Software
- Five Key Considerations for Global
- Sole Sourcing for Global Payroll Outsourcing
- Market Landscape for Contingent Workforce Management Solutions

These research notes are at various degrees of completeness. In addition, I have some additional topics that I am looking to cover in 2006 including:

- The Verticalization of HR Software
- HR BPO and the Importance of the Underlying Technology
- Service Oriented Architecture and its Impact on HR Applications
- MarketScope for North American Government Administrative Applications
- The Impact of Software-as-a-Service/On Demand Model on HR Software

I am planning on updating the following MarketScopes/Magic Quadrants next year:

- Employee Performance Management Software
- E-Recruitment Software
- Large Enterprise HRMS

In addition, I am thinking about creating a MarketScope on Talent Management Application Suites. Any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated (as would comments on what topics would be important for 2006).

Technorati Tags: HR, HCM, Software, Research, HR BPO, ASP