ERP Predictions That Will Amaze You in 2016
We were jazzed to read Eric Kimberling’s article, Top 10 Predictions for the ERP Industry in 2016. Kimberling hit on a majority of the key messages we’ve been sharing for a few years now, and clearly the marketplace has shifted to bring these ERP predictions into the mainstream. We’d like to comment on three of his ERP predictions that stood out the most for us.
“Classification of Tier 1 ERP system will become obsolete.”
Move over Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle and SAP! The ERP options available today give greater affordability to all sizes of organizations. Even the largest corporations are taking notice of the huge ERP savings experienced by their mid sized competitors. Whether companies are opting for SaaS and Cloud ERP solutions like Trek Cloud ERP, or open source ERP like iDempiere, they are finding the customizable, comprehensive, robust and scalable global ERP they need at a lower cost. We are pleased to recall that just last September, iDempiere was acknowledged with the Bossie Award for its complex functionality that supports large organizations. It was also hailed by ERP Focus as the “big dog” of free ERP. Among all the ERP predictions, this one has enormous ramifications for the ERP industry.
“Cloud ERP becomes a non-issue.”
We believe there are two reasons for this change. One was noted by the Aberdeen Group in 2012, which found that companies using on-premise ERP were seeing twice the amount of downtime and data loss as those with cloud-hosted ERP. The security and infrastructure standards adopted by cloud ERP vendors are making a difference. (Learn about Trek Cloud ERP’s high availability and dependability.) We’re also seeing that the mobility provided by cloud hosting benefits companies in terms of profitability and ultimately customer satisfaction. By having anywhere, anytime and any device access to your business system, cycle times of key business processes can be cut in half. Take a look at our data sheet, Cloud ERP by the Numbers, for more compelling reasons to move your business to the cloud.
“ERP project recovery becomes a hot skill set.”
Several of Kimberling’s ERP predictions dealt with the project management side of ERP implementation. We agree that having the right implementation partner to guide your project is critical for success. Our team has performed numerous rescue operations for companies that either tried to implement on their own or selected an inexperienced consultant. It’s never too late to turn your project around, and our team can help. You may be interested to learn that the most common problems companies faced following an unsuccessful implementation included:
- Certain configurations that were made are either incomplete or incorrect. While companies have found it tempting to blame the system for their problems, usually the person who configured the system either made incorrect settings or overlooked a number of important settings altogether.
- Unnecessary (and unwise) customizations that could have been supported by less disruptive configurations are creating issues in the system.
- Not enough information was gathered from key team members during requirements gathering.
- Inadequate communication and training has resulted in poor user adoption.
If your interest in ERP predictions is related to a future implementation project, we invite you to take a look at a few of our other articles on this topic:
ERP Implementation Failure: 10 Steps to Avoid the Pitfalls
6 Reasons You Should Migrate to SaaS ERP in 2016
5 ERP Implementation Strategies for Deploying Ahead of Schedule