Topics: Software development, Selecting ERP, Technology (or Enterprise Technology), Owning or (Running) ERP
I’ve been in the ERP business for a while now and have helped all sorts of organizations with their systems from non-profit, to government, to businesses small and large.
One of the most interesting and complex ERP deployments that I’ve had the pleasure of participating in was for Santa (and Santa generously gave me permission to share what we did for him so that other businesses can learn from his lessons).
Having been in the IT industry long enough to remember when the idea of "ERP" first started making the rounds, I have watched with some fascination the struggle that organizations go through to decide how to justify an enterprise solution strategy. At the same time as a business owner or manager decides they must acquire the latest automated machinery with the belief that it will improve the business; often a decision about enterprise software is put on the back burner because the cost seems higher than anyone knows how to explain in the context of the overall business. Although it is obvious that I'm biased on this discussion, there is often a compelling case for understanding your business inputs, processes and outcomes more fully that is ignored, and opportunities to make the business function better are passed up.
Topics: ERP systems
Farming corn (or maize) seems simple, but it isn’t, and it is the business of farming corn that is so instructive to anyone interested in the spread of innovation.
Like it or not, we live in a time where every aspect of your business is impacted by innovations. Adopting innovations ahead of your competitors gives you an advantage until they catch up. And with so many innovations available, that gives you plenty of opportunities.
Big Data is a huge buzzword right now and for good reason. There are some phenomenal success stories particularly in sales and marketing.
But despite these successes, many companies are struggling to extract value from Big Data including companies like Google. Companies that embark upon a big data project without the right expectations, resources or planning, sink a lot of money into these projects for no reasonable gain. Business leaders are justifiably weary of the risks of Big Data projects.
In my previous blog on Technical Debt, I explained the concept of technical debt using software architecture as an example, and described the saw-tooth pattern of well-run businesses that consciously accrue technical debt for a period before investing time in paying off the worst of it.
The technical debt metaphor also describes the challenges of businesses maturing from the inception stage to one can make a good business case for ERP and beyond.
Topics: Business software, ERP systems, Maintaining/Upgrading ERP
Technical debt is a term coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992 to describe the software engineering phenomena of how expedient, short-term decisions can have negative, long term consequences that make it difficult to maintain and update the software. The concept does not just apply to technology companies, any company that uses technology also has technical debt and understanding the concept will help you manage it and run your business.