It’s difficult to imagine any successful business today operation without the use of an ERP (enterprise resource planning) software system in place.  Whether a business is large or small, a manufacturer or service provider, ERP cost should not prohibit any business from adopting the use of such a valuable too.  

ERP Cost

ERP Cost Worth the Investment

There are a wide variety of business software packages on the market.  Ranging from full blown C-level software offerings to cloud-based, cost effective tools designed to meet the needs of businesses with much smaller budgets, ERP cost is no longer prohibitively high.  Many products have become far more approachable for small and mid-sized businesses.

Regardless of size, most businesses stand to benefit greatly from the adoption of an ERP system as a part of their technological architecture.  Software developers have identified a void in the market and are profiting from addressing the needs of a previously underserviced market sector.  This market niche has drawn the attention of not only proprietary and specialty ERP system providers but large software companies like Oracle, Microsoft and SAP are also seeking to grab their own piece of the small and mid-sized market pie.

Business units and IT departments within small and medium-sized businesses are finding that they have a wide variety and ever-growing list of options in choosing a business system that will be ERP cost friendly.  SaaS (Software as a Service) ERP offerings do not require sophisticated, big ticket infrastructure to run.  Relatively low hardware budgets will do the job nicely as thin clients that access software and functionality via the internet offer all the functionality of expensive alternatives at a fraction of the price.

From the standpoint of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) small and medium sized business owners and executives have a lot to smile about when it comes to ERP cost.  Maintenance (and compliance risks) are assumed by the SaaS provider and minimize the human overhead needed to support the ERP system.  Funds that may have been earmarked for IT maintenance or support staff in the past are now freed up for re-direction into other areas like R and D and customer service.

In addition to the cost savings associated with ERP functionality in general, upfront and implementation costs dramatically and positively affected.  The cost of implementation is minimized in terms of consulting dollars, time required and complexity of implementing a new solution.   The time commitment of a small company that can ill afford a lengthy transition process is minimized by the SaaS approach to software rollout.  However, in the long term scalability can become an issue if specific growth levels are called for by a structured business plan.

Hosted ERP software is another option that further lowers capital outlay and ERP Cost.   This is particularly attractive to companies and small business concerns with the most limited technology budgets.  In order to stay competitive, the ERP functionality cannot be overly limited to avoid being left behind overall.  Aberdeen, Gartner and a number of other consulting firms have studied ERP cost among traditional, SaaS and hosted systems and see the viability of each approach in varying business environments.

Written by :

Don Cooper