Dave Duffield

• Stressed keeping Workday’s commitments despite economic slowdown.  Workday continues to invest and hire.
• Drew parallel between the emergence of SaaS/on-demand and the client/server revolution that pushed big iron away from computing’s leading edge.
• Spoke about how the SaaS business model is particularly relevant in today economy.  This comes from the obvious cost savings, but also the not-so-obvious shifting of datacenter and IT operations to specialized companies.
• From a study with current customers, showed data illustrating that Workday is 50% less expensive versus legacy on-premise applications.
• 67 customers and rising steadily.
• All four updates this year have been delivered on-time to customer population.
• Reasons Dave is optimistic (but realistic) about 2009: (1) shift to SaaS gaining momentum; (2) Workday is financially stable; (3) dedicated focus on customers’ continued success; (4) experienced management team; and finally (5) customers, who are the best salespeople Workday has (seems Workday truly understands the power of word-of-mouth).

Aneel Bhusri

• Headcount has enjoyed an amazing growth from 141 to 319 since 2007’s Workday Rising conference.
• Heavy staffing within the development ranks, which differs from other SaaS players and legacy app vendors.
• Huge investment in Quality Assurance, which is the fastest-growing part of the company.
• Workday had a fantastic year from press and analysts.
• Four main technology drivers for Workday: (1) cloud computing moves into megatrend status; (2) mobile phones (thanks to iPhone, BlackBerry Storm) are finally ready for enterprise apps; (3) user interface evolution; (4) social networking – it’s not just for kids anymore.  (Facebook’s fastest-growing user demographic is 35-54 year olds.  Who knew?)
• Aneel optimistic about 2009 because: (1) cloud computing is bigger than just SaaS; (2) technology initiatives open brand-new frontiers; (3) Workday is close to reaching functional parity with legacy apps; and (4) customers.

These are just rough notes; there was so much good information dumped on us that I couldn’t record it all.  The customers were thrilled about the company’s continued investments and clarity of direction, and Workday, in return, was clearly thrilled to have such plugged-in, progressive customers.  It’s a symbiotic ecosystem all the way around.

It was great stuff, and coming on the heels of Dreamforce, it’s becoming downright impossible to be a SaaS naysayer with a straight face.  All day long I met with clients who were running Workday’s HR app and were considering its Financials.  And let me tell you: once Workday cracks the Financials code, it will be a brand new wave of validation for the SaaS model as it relates to mission-critical enterprise app functionality.  To me, that’s the big tipping point.

Questions, comments?  I’d love to hear them.

As an exception, I’d like to take a moment to announce a new addition to MiPro that we’re very excited about.

For the past several months, we’ve been rigorously interviewing high-end candidates for a new VP of Business Development position, and we’re thrilled to say that search has come to an end.  We’re happy to announce that we’ve just brought aboard Tom Asby to the MiPro management ranks, and if you’re familiar with Oracle, PeopleSoft or Workday, you probably have heard of or worked with Tom.

Prior to joining us, Tom was at SAP America as a Regional Sales VP, where he bagged the highest total of net new wins in the Midwest region and 2007 and dramatically increased channel revenue via an impressive program of coaching and mentoring channel partners.

Tom has already started with us to prove that he could beat the press release to the wires.  He’s still being indoctrinated learning, but he’s already running with multiple things and we can’t wait to see what he brings to our sales and business development operations.

Welcome, Tom!  If you have any questions whatsoever, remember that whoever writes the blog is almost always right.

Full article here.

Impressive strides in animatronic devices, but still creepy in my book.

(via SvN)

This idea — that excellence at a complex task requires a critical, minimum level of practice — surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is a magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours.

I’ve also read that number about three years ago in one of my issues of Scientific American, and I suppose that study – as well as many others – has helped the research community settle on the figure.

(via DF)

Despite the economy, election and lingering questions about whether Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is enterprise-ready, this week’s Salesforce.com Dreamforce conference drew nearly ten thousand energnetic attendees and exhibitors to celebrate the power of the ‘cloud’.
The event not only dispelled any questions about whether the SaaS movement can withstand today’s economy, it also helped to resolve the needless debate over whether there is a difference between SaaS and cloud computing.

Salesforce.com succeeded in dissolving any line of demarcation which may have existed between the SaaS and cloud computing worlds by:

• Using the terms interchangeably throughout its keynote and breakout sessions
• Unveiling a new round of cloud-based applications and platform capabilities
• Expanding its strategic alliances to include two more pivotal ‘cloud’ players

Salesforce.com’s two most significant announcements were its move into website hosting services, and new alliances with Amazon and Facebook.

10,000 attendees?  Amazing.  I think we’ve reached the tipping point, folks.  Hang on to your hats.

Related: Vinnie Mirchandani’s The Unsung Innovations at Dreamforce

—Warren E. Buffett (discussing when to buy)

I was at the HR Technology conference last week in Chicago, and I want to share with you a few thoughts about the tenor and mood of the vendors and attendees at that show.  If you off-the-cuff think everyone was walking around with a gun to their heads, you’d be wrong, full stop.

First and foremost, yes, people were incredibly willing to talk about the economy and the state of the nation in both financial and political terms.  That’s unavoidable.  We’re well into reality-land these days, and the question of whether or not things are going to get tighter isn’t a question anymore.  People were voicing their concerns to me in the plain light of day, which I found to be refreshing.  People weren’t holding their cards close to their vests; they were openly discussing how to weather the storm and trying to get their heads around how long it might last.  I think people realize that everyone is sailing in the same uncertain waters.

Some folks told me that they’re cancelling or deferring their remaining 2008 HRIT/ERP projects and putting 2009 in a holding pattern to see how things shake out.  I think it’s safe to say a lot of people are fearful, and when fear happens, the standard corporate organizational response is to flow into pure cost conservatism and horde.  I know firsthand, because I’ve seen it in spades in my former life.

But what impressed me the most is how many said that this is the time that they’re moving forward, in some cases very aggressively.  More people than not simply smiled and said that yes, times are rough and we have to hunker down, but we are in a fantastic place of leverage.  We can invest at bargain prices, squeeze software vendors for incredible deals, and at the end of this financial weirdness, come out of it ahead.  Ahead as a company, of course, but more importantly ahead of our competition, which is letting their fear compromise their strategic vision outright.

And let me tell you, this wasn’t one or two people with this outlook.  More people than I ever expected said they are investing now so they can reap the benefits on the back end of this financial storm rather than waiting it out and hoping necessary projects begin again sometime down the line.

Sometime down the line.

While some companies will wait for “sometime” to become “the right time,” other companies will carry forward and implement their next-generation of HRIT/ERP software applications.  And these folks not only will get a deal of their lifetimes, but they’ll also have strategic momentum when things open back up.  Their competitors will be just coming up for air, and meanwhile the more shewd organizations will be in full stride.

What are your thoughts?  Which way are you leaning as you look to close out 2008 and move into 2009?  Would love your thoughts in the comments or via email directly.

— Thomas Edison

(via Jason)

If you’re going to HRTech 2008 in Chicago this week, come by and see us.  Mainly, we just want to hear how your business is doing.  There’s a lot going on in our country right now, and we’re interested in how you’re dealing with your HRIT projects and the demands you’re hearing from your management.  Even if you’re at HRTech just to collect foam squeezeballs, come by and talk to us.

(And we’ll have foam footballs, by the way.)

While you’re visiting, cast your mock vote in our booth and enter to win our biggest raffle prize ever — a $1600 trip for two to the 2009 Inaugural ceremony.  You can even get your picture taken with one of the (cardboard!) candidates, which, as customers demonstrated at this Spring’s Collaborate 08, allows imaginations to run a little wild.

Of course, we’d love to talk to you about our nationally-recognized expertise and experience within the Workday, PeopleSoft and Authoria markets, and we’d be thrilled to show you how a consulting company can be different from what you might expect.  It’s what we pride ourselves on, and we hear it from our clients every day.

We’ll be in booth 1105.

And we look forward to talking to you.  See you there!

I see this as a huge internet meme starting in 3…2…1.

Along similar lines: Here’s the Family Guy version of the same video.

But anyway, yeah, we’re geeked.

(We’ll be handing out football rockets at the HRTech 2008 conference in Chicago, Oct. 15-17.  Stop by and see us at booth 1105.  You’ll also be able to get your mock election vote on and even win a trip to the 2009 Inauguration.  Don’t miss us!)