ERP Software

ERP Software Reviews

With the state of world economy in the past few years being less than ideal, businesses --more than ever- are looking for anything that can give them an edge. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software systems are designed to unify the data generated by a business into one, central, cohesive database allowing for real-time access to information which leads to faster, better, and profit-producing decisions.  This software has the capacity to organize and streamline a business to the point where it can cut considerable costs and increase profit. Implementing ERP software then represents one of the major options a business can take when it is attempting to become more competitive.

Today, there are virtually over one-hundred different ERP software systems for sale on the market, and even more ERP software reviews –each one telling businesses a different system is best. This makes it a daunting task for a business to select the ERP software solution that is going to represent the best fit, particularly since implementing ERP does not equal a routine software application. In fact, most businesses will have to be re-engineered and mapped to the processes defined by the ERP software.

So what is the best strategy for a business setting out on this quest? The first thing is to look for impartial ERP software reviews; reviews that have been put together by agencies or organizations not involved in the sale of any one specific product. A well-respected publisher of independent ERP software reviews is CTS Guides.  They have been evaluating software since 1983.

Many independent ERP reviews use performance metrics such as the following: ability to match end goals of the customer; cost; ease of implementation; simplicity of use; and continuing support, to make their evaluations.

Therefore, before even beginning to look at reviews, it is crucial that a business identify its size and needs, as well as define the reasons for purchasing the ERP software and the goals the ERP is expected to help reach. Doing this will already help limit the number of reviews that have to be studied because reviews are divided by 1.) size of a company: small, medium, large, global; 2.) products or services offered by the company: manufacturing, retail, food, non-profit, legal firms, etc; and, 3.) location of the company[ies]: small town, city, national, foreign country.

Cost is another indicator used to review ERP software. The purchase price of a system will vary tremendously depending on the size of the business and the applications being bought.  Other variables to the initial investment are a business’ need for training and support.  ERP reviewers will help by comparing the pricing of similar systems.

Written by :

Amy Cruz