What is an Agile ERP Implementation?
I have experienced and seen plenty of successes using agile development methodologies in various types of projects. Agile addresses many of the failures that have often plagued waterfall projects and can be a powerful approach. Then again, I have also seen agile used very poorly, as essentially just an excuse to have no structure for […]
Avoiding Land Mines During your ERP Software Selection
There are endless blogs on software evaluation best-practices and steps to take, such as documenting requirements, requesting demonstrations, negotiating, etc., and then there are the details within these steps that will crush your initiative if ignored. The phrase “The Devil’s in the details” holds very true for software evaluation. An effective ERP selection process can […]
A Perspective on Data Migration in Digital Transformation
Data migration is one of the most difficult and complex portions of any digital transformation. To better understand this, I recently interviewed Daryl Crockett, the CEO of ValidDatum, which is our technology-agnostic data migration partner at Third Stage. She is a leader in the industry, so we work with Daryl and her team to help […]
Why Digital Disruption is Overrated
Industry analysts and academics often tout the concept of digital disruption as a good thing. But the reality is that while technology has the ability to positively transform your business, it is more likely to create operational disruption of the negative kind. Digital disruption vs. operational disruption For example, while many companies look to disruptive […]
The 4 Pillars of ERP Implementation Success in 2020
We have seen a recent rush of requests for ERP implementation assessment and project recovery. Despite vendors’ use of accelerators and ERP software best practices, ERP implementations are becoming more and more difficult. Reasons for this include the complexity of system capabilities, the number of integrations needed as well as an absolute onslaught of data. […]
What is ERP Software? Explaining to My Kids What We Do
Although we advise clients on it every day, ERP software isn’t a commonly known term outside of the IT and consulting industry. Understanding the basics of what ERP software is and how it works is something that we often take for granted as independent ERP consultants. With this in mind, I set out to teach […]
The ERP Go-Live: Three Key Considerations
Through our years as digital transformation experts, one common area of concern in nearly every ERP initiative is that of Go-Live readiness. It’s a huge subject and critical path for any organization implementing any form of enterprise software. In fact, lack of go-live readiness is a key driver of recent ERP failures. Companies such as […]
SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud: Clash of the Titans
When considering new enterprise technologies, many of our clients consider SAP S/4HANA vs. Oracle ERP Cloud in their ERP software evaluation process. In fact, our upper mid-market and larger enterprise clients choose between these two systems on an extremely frequent basis. In the most recent rankings of the top ERP systems, it’s not surprising that […]
Undercover: “Independent” ERP Software Selection Firms
Whether your current system is approaching the end of life, your business has grown beyond the capabilities of your current ERP, or your users are complaining that the “green screen” era is dead, nearly every company faces the need for a new ERP software every decade or so. Many organizations still try to select and […]
My Company Doesn’t Have an ERP System
We often encounter clients that don’t have a true enterprise resource planning system (ERP). That doesn’t mean they don’t have processes. This isn’t limited to just small companies. We also work with pretty big midsize companies following similar patterns of relying on QuickBooks and spreadsheets. Thus, there must be very real practical reasons why these […]
Self-Serve ERP Software Please
Don’t underestimate the influence of Generation Y (Millennials) or Generation Z (Gen-Z) on how the top ERP systems will continue to evolve. They are changing the rules both as employees and consumers. Their preferences and actions are dramatically altering how businesses operate as well as how they use technology, and at an ever-increasing pace. As […]
Common ERP Organizational Change Management Challenges
When I’m speaking with executives at our clients, one of the most common things I hear is: “our people are ready for change, so ERP organizational change management isn’t going to be an issue for us.” This is one of the most challenging perceptions to overcome. Employees may be tired of the old legacy systems […]