Author Archives: thedoctor

Bye, Bye to Monochrome UIs …

In recognition of what’s to come …

A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that black screen used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make that cursor dance
And maybe they’d be happy for a while

But colour displays they made me shiver
With every app I’d deliver
Bad news on the ‘Net chats
I couldn’t sell more DOS apps

I can’t remember if I feared
When I read about this message clear
But something touched me deep inside
The day monochrome died

So bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Did you write the book of code
And do you have faith in monochrome
If MRP tells you so?
Now do you believe in best of breed?
Can GUI save your efficiency?
And can you teach me how to colour scheme?

Well, I know that you’re in love with new
‘Cause I saw you were mesmerized too
Sat and kicked off your shoes
Man, you dig those yellows and blues

I was a lonely teenage hacker, mate
With a fifty six six and an X-8-8
But I knew I was out of luck
The day monochrome died

I started singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Now for decades we’ve been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the hacker wrote for the king of blue
Coding up screens for MRP-2
For a dream that came from me and you

Oh, but while the king was looking down
VGA stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned

And while Heilmeier read a book on Crookes
Tang and Slyke wrote a new cook-book
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day monochrome died

We started singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Helter skelter in a summer swelter
Xerox flew without a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast

Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While Three Rivers played a marching tune
We all got up to buy
Oh, but the system did not fly

‘Cause old Xerox tried to take the field
Apple Lisa refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day monochrome died

We started singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
‘Cause fire is the devil’s only friend

Oh, as I watched ERP on stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan’s spell

And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day monochrome died

He was singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

I met a girl who coded Shell
And I asked her for some happy tell
But she just smiled and turned away
I logged in to the BBS
Where I’d learned the code and to transgress
But the admin said we’re now dispossessed

And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
CRTs were all broken

And the three men I admire most
Wozniak, Moore and Tim Berners Lee
They caught the last train for the coast
The day monochrome died

And they were singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
Singin’ this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die

Yes they were singing bye, bye, to monochrome UIs
Took my green screen to the market but the interest was dry
And them good ole boys were drinking whiskey ‘n rye
And singin’ this’ll be the day that I die

S2P Nirvana is a LONG Way Off!

And no amount of M&A is going to change that.

Why?

  • 1. There are still lots of problems software does not address
  • 2. No provider can address everything, even with a narrow functional focus
  • 3. Benefits only come from integration, not acquisition

1. There are still lots of problems that software does not address.

Software is simply automation of process by way of (mathematical or logical) algorithms. It is not intelligent (despite claims of AI supporters to the contrary), cannot sense the problems you need to solve, and cannot tell you what you are not doing outside of the process it was coded to support.

For example, in spend analysis, it cannot tell you what spend to look at, how to slice and dice it for unidentified opportunities, and where the functionality is lacking. It can identify trends, indicate what processes worked in the past to take advantage of those trends, but cannot identify any new, unknown, variables that could prevent those processes from working again.

2. No provider can address everything, even with a narrow functional focus.

There are at least half a dozen pure-play best of breed providers in pure spend analysis, and these follow half a dozen pure-play best of breed providers in pure spend analysis that were recently acquired, and all have unique capabilities. Thus, when there is still no provider that does it all, and still so much innovation to do in each narrow functional domain, it’s obvious that S2P Nirvana is still a long, long way off.

3. Benefits only come from integration, not acquisition.

Without integration, there are no more benefits than each solution had on its own. Just because the two solutions are now owned by the same provider does not mean there is any benefit besides potential volume-based cost leverage (if the provider can be persuaded) or more staff for additional services support. Benefits come from simplified and expedited processes, which generally only come from smooth integration, and, sometimes, even absorption of a smaller product into a bigger one.

In other words, S2P Nirvana is a long way off and M&A isn’t going to change that, so while the M&A train is going full steam ahead, it doesn’t mean it’s going to get you to your destination any faster.

The Coupa Factory … Rethink!

In recognition of Coupa’s recent acquisition of Spend360 and it’s planned acquisition of Trade Extensions …

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
Our goal is a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dah-dall
But demands are too high when suites promise all

What do you get when you go enterprise?
Encroaching upon the ERP course?
Where they are spending to salvo back?
What do you think will come of that?

I don’t like the look of it

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-dar
We were all willing, and we went far
We wanted to give you happiness too
Like the Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
We built a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-done
but it’s not enough, it must be the “One”

There was a time best-of-breed tickled pink
Multiple products working in sync
But platform providers promised it all
Now the market expects us to fall [in line]

Amongst the propaganda

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
But here at Coupa, we said you’d go far
That You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
So now we buy great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-derd
If you are wise, you will heed our word

Use Spend360 to find all your waste
Use Trade Extensions to eliminate
Use Contractually to manage your deals
And Use InvoiceSmash to balance your Riels

And ZenPurchase to manage it all

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
Now here at Coupa, we’ll take you far
You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-do
I have a great product for you
Oompa Loompa Doom-pa-dee-dise
If you are wise, you’ll buy enterprise

You’ll buy our whole line, from source down to pay
You’ll Source and Procure the new Coupa way
Finance and HR, they’ll be happy too
With the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

You’ll have no … you’ll have no … you’ll have no more wants!

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-dar
Yes now with Coupa, you will go far
You will buy in happiness too
Like the Oompa-Loompa doom-pa-dee-do

Dave Caroll was Lucky! United Only Broke His Guitar!

Reading this incident (reported on cbc.ca) about how United is now forcibly removing paying passengers from planes after assigning them a seat and allowing them to board, and knowing how little room there is to maneuver in those aisles, it seems that boarding a plane now comes with the risk of getting broken bones! (While it, fortunately, did not happen this time, getting an arm or leg caught on an armrest or having one’s head banged into the overhead bins could easily result in a dislocation, fracture, or even a break!)

I guess the lesson here is clear! Do NOT fly United! (And when sourcing travel, leave them OFF of the potential preferred carrier list during negotiations.)

For those who have forgotten, you can go view the entire trilogy of videos Dave made about his horrendous experience on YouTube through the links in this 2010 post:

United Breaks Guitars (The Trilogy): 10 Million Views, All Thanks To You!

(FYI: The trilogy is now closing on 20 Million Views.)

Coupa Enters into a Share Purchase Agreement for Majority Ownership of Trade Extensions

SI typically does not do analyze of acquisitions and, unlike it’s brethren, does not do public analysis of transactions until the deal is done because it ain’t over until the fat lady sings, or in silicon valley, it ain’t over until the money hits the bank. And even though the chances of this deal not completing are, in the doctor‘s view, extremely small, he’s still going to withhold his analysis until the deal is done.

That being said, there are huge implications for both parties once the deal completes, and just like you should be doing risk mitigation when a potential disruption event is identified in your supply chain, you should be doing a cost/benefit advantage/disadvantage analysis as soon as a large acquisition that impacts your primary platform is announced. Every acquisition brings with it opportunities, but if an organization is highly resistant to change or locked into an existing platform or, even worse, a current (but now no longer) partner solution, there could be disadvantages as well. So do your homework and be prepared to take advantage of any opportunity that arises.

And if you want analysis, Spend Matters US and Spend Matters UK have chimed in already. You can start there. SI is providing these links as information only. While the doctor did provide his insight into the Trade Extensions’ technology platform strengths and capabilities for an upcoming piece on Spend Matters, he is not releasing his views on the merger (announcement) until its done and none of the speculations as to the implications of the merger in that piece are his. (However, the technology assessments of Trade Extensions are likely all his, and as these are not impacted by a business transaction, he will comment on these freely if asked. Great thing about software is it’s code, and code is algorithms, and algorithms is math, and it does what it does.)

Coupa Enters an Agreement to Buy Trade Extensions: A Game Changing Move For Strategic Sourcing by the prophet, Spend Matters US

Coupa Acquires Trade Extensions, Leading Sourcing Optimisation Software Provider by the public defender, Spend Matters UK

The SEC filing is online for those interested.