Big data is the all the rage and getting tons of press as it has allowed manufacturers and supply chain executives to create new and compelling data-driven strategies that help them compete, innovate and capture wallet-share. Perhaps fueled in part by the likes of leading database vendors or system integrators (SIs) looking to cash in on high-dollar predictive analytic and scoring engagements, big data represents many things to many people, but one of the most pragmatic applications is mastering all the data elements used in a business infrastructure. The term commonly used for this process is master data management, or MDM.

Apriso, a vendor of global manufacturing software, has made available Apriso for Paperless Manufacturing.

Infor has created Infor Business Intelligence 10x, an application to support data processing, analytics and planning.

From the smallest business decisions to the largest ones, risk influences all that we do. But taking a risk is not exactly like spinning a roulette wheel, where luck is the primary ingredient for success. With use of the right tools, risks can carefully be calculated, controlled and managed, greatly reducing the variable of bad luck.

Software AG has launched Software AG Live, a cloud-based, "platform-as-a-service" suite of business applications.