When was the last time you updated your ERP system? Not just patched, repaired, or tampered with. Do you remember the last time a substantial update was implemented that enabled real business innovation? The one that generated enthusiasm and unleashed a wave of ideas and productivity from its users.
Is your ERP system really cost / quality efficient?
About half of ERP customers are on releases that are two versions behind the current version, which may be four years old or more. In today’s fast-moving environment, that could be in the Stone Age as well. More than likely your ERP was designed in an era where fax machines were still relevant. A time when going global meant having the expensive infrastructure to support growth.
The fact is, the world is innovating faster than ever, but ERP facilities seem to be frozen in time. It’s hard to believe that a five-year-old outdated ERP system could be relevant to a business in a hyperactive world.
Technology has transformed the broader world of business software and consumer applications. Workers are now interacting via mobile devices and social media, and applications are increasingly connected via the Web.
However, many ERP implementations have remained oblivious to these changes: it is as if the iPhone was never invented as if social media were a futuristic concept, and connecting ERP to web channels was a strange concept.
Local ERP systems like Sage, Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains), and SAP have locked businesses on a treadmill with annual maintenance fees of more than 20% for the right to make a support call and download the latest software…
The danger of ERP “version locked”
The sad reality is that for almost all companies “version blocking” is the Achilles heel of their local ERP. An ERP that seemed so innocuous at the beginning of a deployment years ago has built up over time like silicon board.
Gradually your ERP hardens to change because an upgrade to local technology means re-implementing and testing those changes from custom schemas, integrations, workflows, and reports.
Unfortunately, your business will be faced with colossal risk, cost, and resource requirements for what may seem like an incremental upgrade. Your users begin to work around your system with unproductive manual processes and spreadsheets to fill in the functional gaps that have grown over time.
With companies already spending an average of 5% of their revenue on IT capital and operating budgets, there is little appetite to further erode margin by increasing the IT budget without delivering sustained transformative value and real competitive advantage.
Does Running Old, Outdated ERP Really Hurt Your Business? Does it matter if your ERP is “version locked”? After all, isn’t it just about automating the same old accounting?
The only fact is that the damage is real, and in addition to your ERP having your business stuck in quicksand, your competitors are not stopping. Your business needs an ERP that supports real transformation.
From Obsolete ERP to Cloud ERP: NetSuite
NetSuite frees companies from the fragile, inflexible, and change-resistant ERP of the past. With a NetSuite implementation, companies get the latest innovations automatically, from new features to support the latest regulations. No more waiting, no more expensive upgrades, no more upgrade risks. No more outdated ERP.
ERP in the Cloud enables companies to experience ERP innovation as fast as consumers experience innovation in the enhanced web applications, they use every day.
Better yet, companies no longer have to live in fear that customizations will act like “silicon concrete,” hardening their ERP to change and slowing down their business. You can finally customize your ERP with confidence because with NetSuite, customizations automatically migrate with each new version. Personalization is no longer a barrier to innovation.
Using the NetSuite mobile app, quality engineers can perform inspections, review standards, log data, and submit data for analysis directly from the inspection area without interfering with the process.
