ERP Modules

ERP Modules And SaaS Are Driving Software Demand- Implementation is the Key

ERP Modules Spurring Consumer Appeal

ERP modules are spurring demand for enterprise solutions once solely dominated by large enterprise-side on premise solutions. Saas, or software as a service, applications are growing in popularity and sparking demand across smaller the mid-sized companies across the globe. The key attractive features of these software solutions are its low capital cost of entry, the incredibly fast deployment times required for these enterprise solutions that greatly increase the projects ROI and the modular system design that is impacting the development of on premise solutions as well. In a nationwide survey, one out of six mid-sized businesses is using a SaaS based solution.

Enterprise solutions that are developed with a modular framework that focus on one area of business processes at a time, such as ERP modules focused on sales and marketing, or ERP modules focuses on customer relationship management, for example, are enabling companies with smaller capital and human resources to enjoy the benefits of an enterprise application without rolling out a companywide-enterprise wide solution.

The ERP implementation team need to make sure that the implementation of the software with the back-end is as smooth as possible as any increase in the implementation creates a negative impact the positive return on the projects return on investment or ROI. This is a key concern to IT managers as the implementation phase of an ERP system is the top concern of CIOs and technology managers when choosing an enterprise application for their company and why many managers are not going with SaaS solutions. Security concerns with hosted applications is another reason for hesitation as many IT manager feel that SaaS vendors do not have adequate hosting or back up facilities.

To mitigate this concern, there are a quite a few implementation approaches technology managers can model when installing a SaaS based solution. Two approaches are the extract, transform, load approach and the integration appliance approach. A way to determine which integration methodology is right for you is to test out a trial integration with one data record for both methodologies and perhaps with several integration consultants. You may be quite shocked to find that one consulting firm may be able to load the record up in an hour while another implementation consultant may not be able to at all despite using the same methodology.

A Saas based system that can integrate with your current back end system is only one piece of the puzzle. You need to determine if that system can also grow with your company. You may find that your SaaS based solution may not be able to keep up the pace with your organization growth strategy 3 years down the road and need to start the process all over again. To further help you with your integration and implementation, there are a wide selection third party solutions, appliances, and off the shelf tools that can help with you. There are also new specialty consulting firms in the marketplace today that specifically focus on third party integration with SaaS based solutions, and even within the giant consulting houses like Accenture. Whatever option you choose, the traditional systems integration approaches are the wrong methodology for Saas based solutions and knowing that from the start will save you a lot of time and aggravation.