The market is flooded with ERP vendors; this makes the task of selecting an appropriate package really tough. In order to choose the most suitable ERP platform, companies must carry out an in-depth analysis. This is a very vital step before finalising a product because an incompatible choice could lead to degraded performance and quality. Most companies desire a fast and robust ERP platform and this point is given the highest preference. This is because the ERP platform and application must be in sync with each other in terms of speed. This is important because every company has to meet delivery deadlines and live up to the commitments they make. So a high-speed platform will help a project recoup delays or time losses. Other interesting point to consider while selecting an ERP platform is internet compatibility, past performances of the application on a platform, communication facilities and error handling abilities.
Business houses in India and African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria feel that any application can work on a given ERP platform by simply meeting the requirements of the software. But the reports derived out of widely-publicized ERP failures indicate that this is a faulty approach. Choosing the right ERP solution in any part of the world, be it Tanzania or India, needs to be a transformational business initiative. It should provide the company with key competitive advantages. So any call that is made must be a serious one that is decided out of a comprehensive information base. Some steps have been outlined below to help companies in selecting the appropriate ERP platform for their ERP application.
- All the current business processes, twinge points and strengths of a company must be clearly documented so that it is easier to define the look of a process in the future. Business requirements must be aligned to them so that the potential product vendors are able to demonstrate their ERP platform capabilities.
- The company must clearly understand how a potential software solution will align with the current company infrastructure. A clear example is that Microsoft shops can work better on platforms built on .NET.
- A very interesting technical feature that needs to be an integral part of the ERP solution is an internet feature. This must be robustly supported by the ERP platform for the best possible utilization of facilities provided in the ERP. Only then e-commerce, fast data transfer and instant communication will be possible. This is because the lack of internet access or a slow connectivity speed can badly affect the functions within a competent ERP solution.
Free flow of data through channels always benefits organisational functions. Moreover, good communication capabilities of the ERP platform with other networks and platforms are welcome. Most rigid platforms may not allow the users to utilize all functionalities of the ERP application to the maximum possible extent.
Lastly, even the wealthiest of companies from Nigeria, India or South Africa must accept prospective costs early in the ERP selection process. This will help them to uncover all hidden costs associated with the ERP platform product. Hence an easy, fast, secure and feasible communication channel for data transfer has happens to be the biggest points for selecting a good and affordable ERP platform.
It's been almost twenty years of mine enjoying working with the software industry and I Nadeem Jafar, saw various changes in technology as well as the user requirements specially after the introduction of internet. In these years, many interesting system softwares & web based application was introduced to me which are incredible.
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joseph loe
December 19, 2017 at 10:08 am
Thank you Jafer. This information is very helpful for those people who want to start a new business as they can easily find out which software is good for their business. Thank you once again Nadeem Jafer!