IT Managers Must Avoid Polarisation: Julian Beavis

IT Managers Must Avoid Polarisation: Julian Beavis

Teradata Universe 2004 Attendees Vote: Multivendor IT Delivers Competitive Edge

SYDNEY, Australia – According to this year’s Teradata Universe delegates, technology is integral to competitive advantage and no one vendor can successfully deliver a suite that meets all of an organisation’s needs. This year’s event, sponsored by Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), was attended by 274 senior business and IT delegates from organisations including the Australian Tax Office, Centrelink, Commonwealth Bank, Manukau City Council, Metcash, National Australia Bank, Qantas, Singtel Optus, St. George, Tattersall’s, Telstra, Vodafone and Westpac.

Additional outcomes that were generated by the poll include:

Just over 85 per cent of respondents believe that no one vendor can successfully deliver a suite that meets all of an organisation’s needs;

Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents feel that technology does provide their organisation with competitive advantage;

A total of 90 per cent of respondents regard the vendor relationship as an important part of the IT purchase decision-making process; and

78 per cent of respondents feel that ease of integration of single vendor suites does not justify a sacrifice in business functionality.

According to Julian Beavis, Teradata’s vice president for India, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, in a time when IT decisions are akin to “religious zeal,” these results reinforce his view that a smart middle-ground approach needs to be taken.

“It is now a given in business that technology is only as good as the leadership behind it,” said Mr. Beavis. “In the business of enterprise data warehousing, successful implementations are achieved only when leadership, process and technology are aligned.”

During his conference key note address, Mr. Beavis cited the Teradata partnership with SAP as a working example of how specialist and enterprise solutions can work together. “With SAP we have combined the industry’s leading ERP infrastructure with the industry’s leading enterprise intelligence infrastructure.”

Mr. Beavis’ comments come on the back of news that Gartner Research has been positioned Teradata as a leader in Gartner’s Data Warehouse Magic Quadrant (Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse DBMSs – Kevin Strange – June 9, 2004*).

The report, in which Gartner cites Teradata’s “completeness of vision,” defines a number of essential features of a successful data warehouse database management system

(DBMS), including the breadth and depth of partnerships with independent software vendors and systems integrators.

About Teradata Division

Teradata, a division of NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), is the global technology leader in enterprise data warehousing, analytic applications and data warehousing services. Organisations around the world rely on the power of Teradata’s award-winning solutions (www.teradata.com) to get a single, integrated view of their business to enhance decision-making, customer relationships and profitability.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a leading global technology company helping businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. NCR’s ATMs, retail systems, Teradata® data warehouses and IT services provide Relationship Technology™ solutions that maximize the value of customer interactions and help organizations create a stronger competitive position. Based in Dayton, Ohio, NCR (www.ncr.com) employs approximately 28,900 people worldwide.

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NCR and Teradata are trademarks or registered trademarks of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2004 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the “Leaders” quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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