The big issue is what does SAP offer to the marketplace that Elite and Aderant do not have apart from a trendy name and even higher consultancy costs. Elite appears to be so well engrained now and the cost of change so exorbitant the SAP alternative would have to be so much better to make it worthwhile. I think the ROI may be difficult to justify.

What does SAP offer to the marketplace that Elite and Aderant do not? Proper back end accounting and financial management functionality for multi-currency and multi-national firms - that's what. Elite and Aderant are a joke on this issue by comparison. Don't let Elite or Aderant fool you - their respective accounting systems are developed by amateurs. Just ask a continental law firm if they would (or even could) rely on either Elite or Aderant accounting functionality (why Aderant just introduced credit notes last year! ) These firms must re-key data into proper accounting systems (e.g. SAP) to get professional level accounting data and to remain compliant with local authorities - imagine the time, labour, expense and frustration. Large law firms are replacing their old lame CFO's with truly qualified financial experts. Elite and Aderant will be thrown out just as soon as they have been amortized in favour of professional, accurate and compliant accounting tools. Trust me - the new breed of CFO's will be unimpressed with bells and whistles on the front end if the back end is a child's toy in European and international environments.

There is no doubt that SAP is excellent in terms of its back end accounting and financial management, and I wish TCS well with their venture.

However I don't see many large multi national firms going out of business or their accounts being qualified because they use Elite or ADERANT. These 2 products may not have the pedigree and depth of SAP in these areas, but they are at least adequate (though in certain areas I would agree it has taken time to get there).

And "the new breed of CFO's" are not spending their own money on their own preferences, so I believe even this new breed will be forced to consider ROI. It's all very well talking about amortisation, but new products need cash to purchase and we are in difficult times - something even the new breed of CFO's surely appreciate.

As for "These firms must re-key data into proper accounting systems (e.g. SAP) ... imagine the time, labour, expense and frustration"

Sorry, are we living in the stone age? Re-keying?? Have these wonderful firms not heard of systems integration?
If anyone would like to use any of my comments please remember to re-type it exactly as you see it; none of that fancy cut and paste stuff ...

A positive step that I know the team at TCS have worked hard to achieve. Huge commitment needed to get certified so well done to them.

So that's the plumbing and the wiring signed-off. The next questions are whether the fixtures and fittings are to taste, whether the overall price of the house fits into the budget and whether anyone is going to move in this climate. The first question is the easiest to answer definitively I am sure - the other two are more tricky.

It could be an episode of Grand Designs!

Grand designs indeed. And to continue the metaphor, considering SAP's historical propensity to blow out projects one wonders whether the 'renovations' to their product to facilitate entry into this market will see their new 'home owners' waiting years before they are happy to 'move in'? As that 'new home owner' I'd be very careful to ensure all the trimmings on show in the display home come as standard or require additional 'renovation'!

Thanks, but as the previous poster mentions, Aderant and Elite provide ample functionality, keep each other reaonably honest and importantly are focussed on legal. Good luck to SAP in their endeavors, but I'll let some other mark introduce that risk to their partnership.

What happened to SAP and Pilgrim, and SAP and Intalec? How do we know that SAP are committed to TCS anymore than they have been to any of their other 'flavor of the day' partners? And how many systems do they expect to sell in this market to justify the continued R&D going forward.

As for certification. How many of you have PCs certified for, say Vista, and how many of you want to run your businesses on it? 'Certification' of this nature is a clever marketing ploy by the vendors. Independent certification it isn't.