Join us in exploring the world of modern development, evolving technologies, and the art of future-proof software
Summary: Enterprise systems pose something of a “Catch-22.” If you don’t customize the system, it won’t perfectly fit your needs. If you do customize it, you’re locked into that system. In this article, you’ll learn how to avoid these problems and customize your enterprise system without locking your company down.
…
According to Forrester, “approximately half of ERP customers are currently on releases that are two versions behind the current release, which may be four years old or more.” For these companies, upgrading to a new ERP version or package is often too difficult or expensive. Past customizations or enhancements have virtually locked these companies into their current ERP versions. An upgrade represents countless dollars and months of extra work—a project that most companies can’t afford to undertake.
The sad reality: These companies are locked into their enterprise system. Many feel tied to the old features and capabilities of their outdated systems.
…
21 ways m-Power will improve your enterprise systemsRead More »
“Why can’t our applications do (fill in the blank)?”
How many times have you asked that (or a similar) question? How many times have you wished that your old business applications were more capable, or included modern features?
Let me ask you a question: If you could start over, and build your applications for today’s world, what would you include? Mobile apps? Maybe email and sms messaging integration? Better reporting, BI, or workflow features? The list could go on and on.
Of course, all of this wishful thinking doesn’t do you any good. You can’t throw out your old apps and systems and build new ones from the ground up. That’s an expensive, time-consuming, and risky project. That’s something most companies just can’t do.
But, here’s something you can do: You can bring these modern features to your old apps and systems. No need to replace it. You can have all of the modern features you want, today! To learn more, this guide explains how m-Power lets you build modern features over your existing system, and even gives you a glimpse of what’s possible.
Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on critical ERP upgrade mistakes, the evolution of enterprise software, and more. I hope you find them useful:
Evolution of enterprise software
Enterprise applications are changing. Giant, confusing enterprise apps are being replaced with simple, web-based applications. Companies who still use outdated enterprise apps must figure out a way to transition to modern web apps without disrupting business. …
Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on application development predictions, why ERP systems must adapt to business changes, and more. I hope you find them useful:
SMEs must be able to adapt their ERP to business change
A recent study by Aberdeen Group highlights the importance of being able to react quickly/inexpensively to business change without major disruptions. In a growing organization, change is inevitable, and companies stuck with inflexible ERP systems will ultimately suffer. If your company is stuck with an outdated ERP system, this guide outlines one way to fix that problem. …
Weekly recap: 10 development predictions, the need for adaptable ERPs, and more…Read More »
“We’d love to build mobile apps, but we can’t because our business runs on an ancient ERP system.” I’ve heard that phrase (or variations of the phrase) with increasing frequency recently. Many people think that mobile apps (or modern apps in general) aren’t even an option because their business still runs on an outdated enterprise system.
If you’re in that boat, I have some good news: You can still build mobile apps even if you’re tied to an old system. Better yet, you can even integrate these modern apps directly with your enterprise system…all without any modifications to the underlying code. To learn more, check out this video:
Many companies face this issue: They’re stuck to an outdated enterprise system (like an ERP). The reasons vary. It might be the
– cost to upgrade,
– the high degree to which they’ve customized the package, or
– the fact that their application vendor is out of business.
But the problem remains. These companies are locked into their current software.
Meanwhile the world is changing at an ever increasing rate. Their applications are looking and feeling dated, and the company is falling behind their competition.
Is your company facing this problem? If so, here’s a new guide that might help: 21 ways m-Power will improve your enterprise systems. It outlines and explains m-Power’s unique approach to enterprise system integration, what types of modern features it lets you add to your existing system.
If your company runs on an aging ERP system or has difficulty connecting disparate data sources, here’s a great success story you’ll want to read. A manufacturing company needed a centralized place to access reports on the web. The challenge: It needed to integrate with their aging ERP system and pull data from 9 separate plants. The additional challenge: No one on their IT staff had any experience building web applications.
The result: They built a custom, web-based executive dashboard that pulled data from their 9 separate plants and integrated with their ERP system…in just 12 weeks. To find out how they did it, you can read the whole story right here.
Is your old enterprise software hurting your company? It happens more than you think. Although your old enterprise system might still “work”, it could be wasting money, harming productivity, or holding your company back. How so? Here are three common ways that old enterprise software can hurt a company:
1. End users are forced to work outside of the system: If end users aren’t happy with the tools provided by an enterprise system, they find workarounds outside of the system. A common example: Enterprise systems often offer sub-par reporting options, driving users to create their reports with Excel. This is not only inefficient, but leads to errors and wasted money.
2. You pay for unnecessary licenses: How many of your licensed users actually use your enterprise software? For instance, maybe some licensed users are no longer with the company. Perhaps others have switched job roles and no longer use the software. Chances are, you’re paying more in licensing fees than you should.
3. Locks your company to old technology: Does your old enterprise software keep your company from taking advantage of newer technology like web applications, mobile apps, or cloud computing? If so, it not only makes your company appear outdated, it’s also keeping you from all of the benefits that come with these new features.
So, if your old enterprise software is harming your company, you must answer one big question: What are you going to do about it? After all, replacing an ERP, MRP, or any other type of enterprise system is no simple job. It’s expensive, risky, and time consuming. As anyone who has experienced it knows, when implementations like this fail, they fail spectacularly. …
Every week, I share the most interesting and useful tech articles that I’ve found over the past week. This week’s top articles focus on time management tips, predictive analytics, and more. I hope you find them useful:
Predictive analytics. Making little decisions with big data
As I mentioned in this article, predictive analytics is one of the next big trends in Business Intelligence. What is it, and how is it useful? This article attempts to answer those questions. …
Weekly recap: 10 time management tips, predictive analytics, and more…Read More »