As we continue to deploy SYSPRO at new sites, it is become increasingly more evident what an impact the Millennial generation has in our workplace. Most Millennials are “touch savvy”: they are so used to having information at their fingertips that it is sometimes difficult to help them understand the difference between Angry Birds and an integrated ERP system.

Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I have repeatedly seen the positive impact education has made in people’s lives and how it changes everything for the better. At SYSPRO we have always known the value of education and supporting the youth in growing their skills in networking to become the business leaders of tomorrow.

A common problem among young entrepreneurs is that they don’t know how to present their ideas to potential investors and are not well connected enough in the business world to help their ideas gain momentum.

Many companies opt for innovation when faced with disruption in their markets. They think of an innovative product or service or even a new mobile app as a quick-fix for dwindling revenues or declining market share - a sort of nip-and-tuck or crash diet for the business that will help it look more attractive to its customers and shareholders.

A technical blog can sometimes be as dry as a week old bowl of Weet-Bix left out in the Sahara desert.

Rather than simply rattling off jargon or spouting technical specifications – I wanted my next blog to reflect the human side of what we do.

Why shouldn’t you let a Pokémon shower with you? It might Pikachu.

Apologies. I couldn’t resist.

Love it or hate it, Pokémon GO has become a global phenomenon. Bigger than Candy Crush, less useful than Gangnam Style, and unfettered by generational barriers, this location-based augmented reality mobile game has become the most talked about app on the planet.

The evolution of the user experience (UX) is nothing short of remarkable. From Dieter Rams’ Blaupunkt designs in the 1960s, to the game-changing innovations of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 – the UX has expanded from individual design silos into the unified and much contemplated mission of entire organisations.

There has been a lot of hype about automation, including job automation, over the last few years. It seems to have created a bit of panic about vital jobs that could be lost to robots in the foreseeable future. 

Over the years, I have heard many customers and prospective customers suggest that customization is a bad word. People of change, ERP vendors, sometimes customize the software to the nth degree and then struggle to deploy the latest and greatest of their existing platform.

There’s no doubt that the global manufacturing industry is evolving at a rapid pace. During SYSPRO’s time exhibiting at MACH 2016, the UK’s largest manufacturing and machine tool trade show, and at our SYSPRO Europe company day, we have been looking closely at the future of the sector with one question in mind – where does ERP fit into the factory of the future?

Renowned economist, Michael Porter, says that ‘innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.’ Seems that those in the Electronics game agree. The Electronics industry is innovating at a ridiculous rate – almost 25 percent of the global research and development investment in 2015 can be traced back to this sector.