SIS Global

No matter what business or industry you are in, at some point someone will ask, "Is it time to change our ERP, or should we continue with our current stsyem?" This week we look at Software Technology as a driver for change. Software technology changes quickly. A great example is that in a matter of only a few years user interface technology has progresses from the green screens of the 1980's, to WIndows point-and-click graphical user interfaces of the 90's, to the Web browser look and feel complete with hyperlinks and search bars. This measn that you need a system that keeps pace with new technology to enable you to remain competitive. As you assess the technology of your ERP system, the key drivers of change are integartion, availability of support and resources and customisation. Integration

Many companies on older ERP systems have multiple ancillary software systems that handle various aspects of their business because they have either enabled departmental autonomy for their systems, or they have requirements that the core ERP software vendor was unable to provide at the time they bought their systems. The data from these systems must be passed to and from one central financial or ERP system. Companies that lack comprehensive system integration have difficulty managing data in multiple locations, have additional costs to upgrade software from multiple vendors, and have to employ IT personnel that are focussed on maintaining integration between systems.

In recent years, modern ERP systems have treid to solve these intgeration problems by expanding their functional capability. The goal is to be a "one-stop-shop" of integrated functionality to replace disparate or stand-alone systems. To further extend functionality, independant software vendors offer industry specific add-ons that are tightly integrated to the core ERP application. For those organisations that still require third-party applications, ERP vendors offer APIs (application program interfaces) which are strong integration tools that facilitate integration.

Availability of Support and Resources

As you evaluate the technology of the software you are using, you need to consider the resources that will be available for you for the next 7 to 12 years. Your current IT personnel have invested time gaining expertise in the technology of your current systems. Some will embrace a change to newer technologies. For others the change in technology will be extremely difficult. In fact, we have seen employees leave organisations because of a technology change. You will need to understand the culture of your organisation and IT personnel. Finding future rsources to support your technology may also affect your decision.

Customisation

In the early days of computers companies would build custom software from the ground up to run their business. This created a very functional system but one that was built without thought for technological upgrades or the possibility of integration with newer systems. These systems had a tendency  to be narrowly focussed on specific requirements that changes in business processes or industry direction would quickly render them inefficient.

As ERP systems became more prevalent in the 1990s,companies found that while ERP software provided most of the general funcitonality they needed, there were certain requirements that were not available "out-of-the-box". Vendors offered customisations to meet these specialised requirements that required changes to be made to the source code, but ended up taking the company off the upgrade path. This meant that over time, the company was left with outdated functionality and technology - with no support.