My wii meets enterprise post attracted a good amount of attention. That’s nice. I was more impressed with the email conversation between myself and Ed Herrmann, chief protagonist of the Colgate-Palmolive story. During the conversation, Ed said:
What are your thoughts on how accountants have shaped the way corporate IT is today, for better or for worse? A lot of the first IT apps were accounting apps, and we often wonder how much they may have played a role in shaping corporate management and thought processes. No offense intended when I say, it seems like a lot of old school managers tend to think of IT as a set of standard processes in an accounting type of mindset. The principles of accounting don’t change much, especially when compared to technology.
My take?
Looking at enterprise apps history – it seems that most of the big $$$ packaged stuff comes back to the finance office. There is a certain, at times overly cautious mindset involved here. Compounded by SOX. PeopleSoft sold more financials than HR. Many R/3 shops started with the finance mods. Oracle financials is still a very big seller. Even though the current push is on CRM. I believe many businesses were sold a touch of snake oil with the idea of BPR and it has stuck. I’m the only commentator I know who never bought into BPR except as a one hit cost saving wonder. Things have changed but history lingers on.
We have a lot to answer for and as a sometime representative of the profession, I hang my head in shame. But lest I miss the real point:
Here is a situation where a rocking IT innovator is talking on email with an old fart accounting type? Did I miss something or did the world just change? This is innovation in action.
On being honored? Perlease…how often does IT come to YOU and ask an opinion?
Technorati Tags: Colgate-Palmolive, innovation, SAP
