The idea of buying an enterprise application from a start-up company might sound like anathema to a CIO, but there are good reasons why one might want to do just that.

For the majority of companies, service parts have much higher margins than the original equipment and are crucial for the success of the organization.

Never mind the naysayers: Del Monte Foods is a big believer in cloud technology. In just three years, the $3.7bn company has placed its entire inbound supply chain in the cloud. The result, according to senior manager of global trade compliance Brian White, has been tighter relationships with suppliers, and greater visibility of product in the pipeline.