Business Bits

By Zoe Francis, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Kleinfelder Recognized for Project Excellence

Kleinfelder has been recognized for its innovative execution and successful implementation of a $3 million, 22-month project.

The employee-owned firm won the coveted 2014 Award for Project Excellence given by the Project Management Institute. The project recognized was the firm's successful, company-wide migration to the Deltek enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

"Kleinfelder is a fast-growing, global engineering, architecture and science consulting firm which was quickly outgrowing the existing ERP system," Linda Lannen, Kleinfelder's CIO, said. "As a result of this implementation, Kleinfelder achieved its goal of having a single, central enterprise system for company financials, project management and reporting while realizing the benefits of improved operational efficiencies. Great project management was the key to our success, and we are honored to be recognized by PMI for our hard work."

The award honors successful projects and project teams that exhibit superior project management performance. Kleinfelder's ERP migration illustrates a growing trend in which top-performing firms focus on lowering costs while improving overall operational efficiency.

Learn more about Kleinfelder, based in San Diego with a Hacienda office, at kleinfelder.com.
Chicago Company to Use MarketLive Software

MarketLive's award-winning e-commerce technology will be licensed to Plum Tree Group's retailer clients who want a sophisticated commerce platform that enables shopping across multiple channels.

MarketLive is the leading technology platform that enables total commerce for fast-growing retailers. The company's target market is online retailing. Chicago-based Plum Tree Group has a broader focus on business performance.

"Plum Tree Group is well regarded for their RIO (research, innovation and optimization) practice, which helps companies improve not just their commerce websites, but their entire business performance," Ken Burke, MarketLive founder and CEO, said. "We are proud to be working with Plum Tree's top consultants and contributing our e-commerce technology as part of their digital solutions."

MarketLive provides software as a service (SaaS) e-commerce technology that integrates channel data, customer profiling and personalization and analytics into one online shopping software platform. The company's solution includes a complete suite of omni-channel e-commerce tools that deliver exceptional cross-channel customer experiences.

Learn more about MarketLive, based in Petaluma with a Hacienda office, at marketlive.com.
Hitachi to Acquire Penaho & oXya

Hitachi Data Systems Corporation has acquired oXya and intends to acquire Pentaho Corporation in separate business transactions.

oXya is a leading provider of services for cloud and systems applications and products (SAP) solutions. The company helps information technology organizations manage private and hybrid cloud environments more easily and designs the infrastructure for more effective and efficient implementations of SAP solutions, including the SAP HANA platform.

oXya, with more than 500 employees, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Data Systems and will continue to operate under its current business model. The deal was finalized March 31.

In a separate transaction, Hitachi Data Systems plans to acquire Pentaho, a leading big data integration and business analytics company with an open source-based platform for diverse big data deployments.

When the deal is finalized, expected by the end of June, Pentaho will become "Pentaho, a Hitachi Data Systems company" and will retain its brand.

Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo-based Hitachi. The Santa Clara-based HDS has an office in Hacienda. Learn more about HDS at hds.com. Click on Corporate and then Press Releases for detailed information about the acquisitions.
Plex Software Adopted by Accuride

Plex Systems' unique manufacturing management software will be used by the Accuride Corporation to manage its financials and supply chain systems.

Indiana-based Accuride is a leading supplier of components to the North American commercial vehicle industry, such as school buses, big rigs and fire trucks. The company has adopted Plex Enterprise Edition financials and supply chain applications.

"Accuride manufactures many of the same components at more than one production facility, but Plex now will enable us to easily view real-time production and business information at the enterprise level," Paul Wright, Accurides's IT director, said. "This portfolio view of our operations that the Plex applications provide will unlock a host of efficiencies, such as fulfilling orders based on inventory and proximity to the end-customer and improved forecasting across all of Accuride."

Michigan-based Plex, with offices in Hacienda, offers software specifically created for manufacturers to manage production from start to finish. Plex pioneered cloud solutions for the shop floor, connecting suppliers, machines, people, systems and customers with capabilities that are easy to configure, deliver continuous innovation and reduce information technology costs.

Learn more about Plex Systems at plex.com.

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June Business Bits

Business Bits