What is a Manufacturing Execution System? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is software that connects the business and production layers of a manufacturing organisation. It sits between enterprise systems such as ERP and the equipment or control systems on the factory floor. Its role is to monitor, track, and control the transformation of raw materials into finished goods in real time. In simple terms, an MES turns production data into actionable insight. It provides the

FullStory is a provider of digital experience intelligence (DXI) and behavioral analytics software, founded in 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. The company helps businesses understand how users interact with their websites and applications by combining qualitative insights from session replays with quantitative data analytics to improve user experience, conversion, and retention. The company was established by Bruce Johnson, Scott Voigt, and Joel Webber, who previously worked at Goo

You’ve made it onto the shortlist. The RFP request lands in your inbox, and this is your chance to prove your value. But here’s the problem: most RFP responses never get read in full. They’re too long, too generic, and too hard to follow - and most teams responding to the RFP have never been in the recipient's shoes. A winning RFP response doesn’t just answer questions. It tells a clear story that demonstrates your understanding of the customer, their challenge, and why you a

Do you need to make a technology purchase before year-end? Or perhaps you just need to move quickly because the business is demanding it? You are not alone. Many IT and procurement leaders face the same challenge every Q4 when a critical system needs replacing, the business wants progress before budgets reset, and the selection process still takes months. The good news is that it does not have to. At Viewpoint Analysis, we have helped many organisations compress 90-day+ vendo

Aleph is a Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) software vendor built to address the challenges finance teams face when consolidating disparate data sources, managing spreadsheet-heavy workflows, and generating timely insights for decision-making. Its guiding philosophy is that finance professionals should not need to abandon spreadsheets to benefit from modern FP&A capabilities. Instead, Aleph integrates tightly with Excel and Google Sheets, providing a structured back end

Companies often find that their revenue processes are scattered across different functions and systems. Sales teams use configure-price-quote (CPQ) tools to generate offers, legal departments manage contracts in separate repositories, finance teams run billing and revenue recognition systems, and customer success teams handle renewals in yet another platform. This fragmentation creates inefficiency, opens the door to errors and revenue leakage, and makes compliance with finan

In September 2025, Workday announced its acquisition of Sana, a Stockholm-based AI startup, for approximately US$1.1 billion. This move signals Workday’s ambition to expand beyond HR and finance software into a broader, AI-driven employee experience. Or in the words of Workday themselves - Sana will turn Workday into the new front door for work. In this blog, we’ll look at who Sana are, what they do, and how they could help your organisation. Who are Sana? Sana was founded in

Who are Quartic? Quartic.ai is a provider of industrial artificial intelligence and decision intelligence software, founded to help manufacturers transform real-time operational data into actionable insights. The company is headquartered in the United States, with additional presence in Canada and India. Its leadership team, including founder and CEO Rajiv Anand, brings deep expertise from fields such as process automation, reliability engineering, and data science. Quartic

Betty Blocks is a Dutch software-as-a-service company offering a low-code and no-code application development platform. Headquartered in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, the company also has an international presence across Europe, the United States, and Asia. With one of the more unusual company names in the technology industry, this is a company that is interesting on a few different fronts. Founded in 2016 by Chris and Tim Obdam, Betty Blocks has grown into a recognised player in

Selecting the right Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is one of the most important technology decisions a business leader can make. CRM software sits at the heart of sales, marketing, and customer service operations, providing the single source of truth for customer data and enabling teams to manage relationships more effectively. The challenge, however, is that the CRM market is crowded. From global platforms with extensive feature sets to specialist, industry-fo

What Asset Lifecycle Intelligence Is and How It Works Asset Lifecycle Intelligence is best understood as an evolution of asset management. Where traditional systems might track maintenance schedules or manage equipment inventories, ALI provides a continuous, integrated flow of information across every phase of an asset’s life. The core principle is that decisions should be informed by complete, accurate, and timely data, no matter where in the lifecycle they are made. The fou

Who are Workhuman? This blog explores Workhuman, a global leader in employee recognition. It covers the company’s background, platform features, and how it helps organizations improve culture and retention. It also highlights alternative vendors and explains how Viewpoint Analysis can guide you through the technology selection process.

When you're looking for a reliable, performance‑driven technology vendor - especially one centered on digital experience and observability - Riverbed deserves a close look. This blog serves as your one‑stop resource: who they are, what they do, how they add value, suitable alternatives, and how Viewpoint Analysis can help you find your perfect partner. Who are Riverbed? Riverbed is a long-established player in the enterprise technology space, best known for helping organizati

An RFI (or request for information) is usually the first step in the procurement process. It is a tried and trusted way to research the potential options available in the market and then narrow those options down to a shortlist. But, how do you run the best RFI process? An RFI that will engage the market and deliver the outcomes that you need? In this article, we look at what an RFI is and what you need to do (and not do) to really get the most out of the process. Viewpoint A

Who are SmartRecruiters? SmartRecruiters is an enterprise talent acquisition (TA) platform - an applicant tracking system (ATS) with recruitment marketing, AI assistance, analytics, and onboarding - that helps large and mid‑sized organizations attract, select, and hire at scale. On August 1, 2025 , SAP announced an agreement to acquire SmartRecruiters, with plans to integrate its capabilities into the SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite while continuing SmartRecruiters as a standalo

If you are in sales or marketing, knowing about company profiling - the mechanism by which we understand a prospective customer and as a result, we can target them effectively - is exceptionally important. It is only by putting the time in to research a client, that we can then tailor our content, messaging, and language to differentiate our business and service. It is perhaps the most unpopular job for any sales or marketing team. For large accounts, the process should take

Has your IT relationship broken down or on the brink of it? If you are looking for an IT mediator, someone to help mediate between the...

If you are soon to be entering the market for new software - you will likely be writing a software RFP - a request for proposal built explicitly for the purchase of enterprise software. Viewpoint Analysis runs software selection processes for companies of all shapes and sizes, and in this blog, we will run through some of the key elements that you are going to want to include in your software RFP - items that will make the difference between a successful RFP process, and....n

Warehouse Management Software is a fundamental technology for a range of key industries - from manufacturing to retail, and from distribution to post. Utilising modern warehouse management solutions (also referred to as WMS) is a game-changer and should be seen as a differentiator to outflank competitors. Viewpoint Analysis acts as a Technology Matchmaker, we run vendor selection services for companies of all shapes and sizes. We believe the enterprise technology market is c

Astronomer is a global software business operating in the data area, offering one platform for a company's entire data pipeline lifecycle. Headquartered in New York, they are most closely associated with the 'Astro' unified DataOps platform built on Apache Airflow. In this blog, we look at who Astronomer are, what they do, and everything you need to know to understand the business and its technology capability. What Do Astronomer Do? Astronomer's technology helps organization