The consistent feedback from customers, partners and analysts was that SAPPHIRE^® NOW was a great event and I couldn’t agree more. Folks like Thomases Otter, and Wailgum, Ray Wang and Dan Howlett did a great job outlining the details from the show floor, so I wanted to focus on my takeaways from this year’s show.

First, SAP has probably taken one of its most courageous leaps in recent history with their “On-Premise, On-Demand and On-Device” initiative. Some have slated them as being late for the party and said the acquisition of a 2nd tier DB company makes no sense. On the contrary I think Bill, Jim, Hasso and Vishal showed that this acquisition makes a lot of sense when you also consider SAP’s existing investments in in-memory DBs, mobile and a Cloud platform + applications

Next, one point that has received less attention is how this acquisition will open up even more opportunities for SAP’s already vibrant partner ecosystem. As a long-time member of this very unique club, we have already been given the opportunity to take part in many programs (some official and some not ☺) around helping SAP innovate. The TalentOnDemand application built on SAP’s cloud platform we showcased at SapphireNow is yet another example of this.

Finally, it was great to see that SAP is back on track with a renewed focus on its customers. Bill is the right guy to lead the charge as he has consistently focused on customers while climbing the C-ladder at SAP.

Nakisa has always strived to make our customers champions and I think this was clear both in Orlando and Frankfurt seminars which are still available for you to watch via SAPPHIRE Online. It’s always an honor when our customers share their Nakisa experience with others.

Although SAPPHIRE may be over, I feel this is really a great beginning. Don’t forget to register for our upcoming webinar with Kohler on June 2nd and until next time, don’t forget to Visualize What Matters Most™

A recent blog by George Anders of the Harvard Business Review discussed the take-home lessons of a recent talent management conference. Although industries are moving beyond the economic downturn, it is clear to many major organizations that they have yet to “get talent management right.” For example,  attendees mentioned issues with developing an effective internal talent pipeline. Imagine how difficult it would be if your organization does not even have the right people to put in the right place. It would be extremely difficult to optimize talent deployment in this setting- as was discussed in a previous blog.

The most striking statistic from Anders’ post is that 72% of companies consider the war for talent as “an endless struggle in which they are neither gaining nor losing ground.” It is therefore necessary to start thinking of solutions to this challenge.

After having read the blog, I was happy to see the following comment posted by a reader:

“Companies who want to win the very real war for talent need to radically change the way they build talent. They need to make talent practices simpler (so that managers will actually use them) and more transparent (to avoid the negative impacts of secrecy), and enforce managerial accountability (since building great talent is their highest responsibility!)”

I couldn’t agree more. Simplicity, transparency, and increased accountability will be essential for organizations seeking to win ground in the war for talent.

As an aside, I would like to announce to all the readers of this blog that Nakisa has been nominated for an SAP Pinnacle Award in the category of Global Software Solution of the Year. Thank you to all of those who have supported us in the past year and, until next time, remember to Visualize What Matters Most™

It’s late into the night, and an entire stadium of energetic fans falls silent. Both teams have made it through regulation and extended play but are still tied for points. The entire game comes down to a moment of truth—the shootout.

Many different types of competitions have a standardized method when it comes to selecting the best team, the best athlete, and sometimes the best candidate.

The question I pose to readers this week is, “What happens when you are encountered with two seemingly equal candidates to fill a key position in the organization?” Some individuals rely on a list of “pros” and “cons” of either candidate, but this may be based on arbitrary preferences. Others may be willing to “go with their gut” and rely purely on instincts to decide which candidate is best suited for a position. But when it comes to the critical roles that are essential to the proper functioning of your business, the “moment of truth” needs an objective and consistent decision support system.

It is for this reason that the latest release of SAP^® Talent Visualization by Nakisa^® features tools such as the enhanced succession calibration grid to help you clearly identify the right person for a role. The solution also features our unique profile match capability. Nakisa’s profile match provides a flash based interface to track down and compare, side-by-side, potential succession candidates based on the role requirements. If the showdown is still “too close to call” our profile match also displays non-shared competencies that may not be required for the position, but may prove to be a valuable asset, putting the winner over the top.

Click here to find out what our Global Service Partner, ROC, has to say about it our latest release.

Until next time, remember to Visualize what Matters Most™

My team and I were very excited to attend SAP HR 2010 last week in Orlando. Each year, SAP HR proves to be a great event for us as we connect with the right people in the SAP/HR arena. However, this year was especially interesting for us as Nakisa was featured in over ten sessions throughout the event (the majority of which were volunteered by customers and partners without our solicitation). Each day in Orlando, our booth was constantly visited by individuals saying things like ‘I just came from a talk that highlighted Nakisa. How can I learn more?”.  As the attendees met with us, they were very interested in the demos of our latest release and our video presentations on Advanced Competency Management. It was great to touch base with the different conference participants and to demonstrate our commitment to providing innovative solutions in talent visualization and management.

I invite you all to get to know us better through our videos, and by following our posts on Twitter. For those of you who were unable to attend SAP HR in Orlando, we have posted some information on the seminars in our VIP Zone.

Until next time, remember to Visualize What Matters Most™.

Strong relationships with partners we can truly count on continue to support Nakisa’s success. Nakisa’s partner ecosystem has grown to include a vast array of Vendor Partners, Services Partners and Reseller Partners.

Our new partnership with EPI-USE is a great example of how we’re working to enable first-class implementations of cutting-edge talent visualization solutions around the globe. In a recent webinar, we highlighted how Nakisa and EPI-USE together extend the power of your SAP HCM data. If you were unable to attend, click here for the slides.

The same goes for ROC Consulting, another one of our Services Partners. They made it clear in a recent blog posting that “implementing and developing OrgChart can be relatively straightforward, but the key – like with any SAP solution – is integrating it into business processes.”

Nakisa will continue to exceed the expectations of its customers by further building on its partner ecosystem. Currently, we are closing in on a total of over 215 trained consultants around the world. To help these system integrators reach the next level of expertise, Nakisa will be offering further advanced courses and formal certification in the near future. With the advanced certification program, both partners and customers can move forward with even greater confidence.