In this first issue of Business Applications Digest, find advice from industry insiders on mastering the five success factors for enterprise resource planning (ERP) upgrades, choosing the best fit between 'best of breed' business intelligence (BI) and built-in ERP tools, and how to take advantage of the latest Software as a Service (SaaS) trends. 

In this paper, learn why the database layer is so important to the software selection of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Also compare Oracle database to SQL Server databases. 

This expert e-guide discusses common manufacturing ERP integration challenges you should consider before ERP implementations and provides key tips on how to overcome them. 

This expert e-guide provides best practices for integrating manufacturing procurement with ERP. Learn why you shouldn't assume all your business processes need integrating and review insights on the top ERP vendors in the market today. 

This e-tip analyzes Oracle Database bottlenecks and what IT and database administrators can do if performance lags. 

Choosing the right ERP solution for your manufacturing operations is a very important decision, one that you will be forced to live with for years to come. Learn the key elements that need to be evaluated. 

This paper explains how with a community-driven development approach, enhancements are driven by a community of users, which means the system constantly improves in the exact way a user requires. Continue reading to learn the power of community-driven product enhancement. 

Enterprise resource leader, SAP founded in 1972, is facing the slow death of traditional on-premise ERP. Customers with shrinking IT budgets are opting to outsource more of their core business systems. 

In this February 2012 cover story of Storage magazine, we announce this year’s 18 Products of the Year winners and highlight why they stand out from the competition. Read now to learn more. 

This Aberdeen Analyst Insight highlights the challenges to come, and brings focus to issues that organizations need to consider in order to successfully deploy mobile analytics to their front line. Learn how mobile BI capabilities can enhance your employees timely decisions by making real-time information readily available. 

This week’s Computer Weekly kicks off our Buyer's Guide to data security by looking at the changing role of the IT security chief. We also examine why flexible working is proving so slow to roll out and we talk to the UK's air traffic control operator about its ambitious desktop virtualisation project. 

In this week’s Computer Weekly, we look at the IT challenges facing retailers, as consumers turn increasingly to web and mobile shopping channels. Oracle president Mark Hurd talks about how the supplier intends to simplify IT infrastructures. And new government CIO Andy Nelson discusses how he plans to transform Whitehall IT. Read the issue now.