Maximize your ERP upgrade with business intelligence

For many IT professionals, the thought of changing or updating an ERP system is unbearable. Aside from the selection process, which itself can take many months, the implementation project can run from a couple of months to a couple of years. During this period, existing IT infrastructure is generally put in a holding pattern and all new projects are frozen. So, how can business intelligence help streamline the transition and enhance your existing ERP solution?

A quick search online unveils many ERP implementation disasters, with most ERP projects exceeding time and budget expectations. Many professionals in medium to large companies can relate to the feeling of everything revolving around the ERP upgrade rather than around the business itself.

With many companies focusing on modern ERP systems, the value of Business Intelligence may be overlooked. Such technology not only provides actionable intelligence, but also saves time and money as a part of the ERP implementation process. If you are thinking about an ERP upgrade or migration to a cloud ERP, here are some of the key reasons why it's a smart decisions to implement implement business intelligence software first.

1. Unpredictable timeframes for ERP upgrades & migrations

As indicated above, ERP upgrades or implementations are simply unpredictable. You may think an ERP project will be quick and simple, but in reality, it usually isn't. Without a BI Analytics solution in place, business continuity can be put at risk as you move from a legacy ERP system to a newer version. Instead of operating with limited data access and reporting, or relying solely on your software vendor, you can introduce an effective BI solution that ensures uninterrupted reporting and real-time insights – without disrupting your business operations.

"When we were looking at different packages to decide the key factors that were most important, ease of implementation was huge. With other packages, we had to build silos of information and do all kinds of things. With Phocas, it was very easy to gather the information we needed and make it accessible to our employees."

David Lowenstein, Vendor Relations - Billows Electric Supply

2. Retain easy access to data & minimize disruption

If you have an end-user analytics tool in place, switching to a new ERP system will be seamless from the perspective of management and sales teams. All of your historical sales, inventory and financial data will be easily accessible at all times. When the cutover to the new ERP software happens, you simply re-point to collect data from the new ERP system and generally, within a day, everything is operational again.

Most users will continue to see the same user interface despite the backend change, ensuring a smooth user experience and preventing costly downtime during the upgrade project.

3. Reduce consultancy costs

Transitioning from one ERP system to another can involve many hidden costs. You may need to invest thousands of dollars in hiring consultants to create reports, build out dashboards, and optimize workflows in the new ERP version. The money often comes from shrinking IT budgets, making an ERP project even more challenging.

A business intelligence tool like Phocas Analytics has an in-built, self-serve reporting tool. The makes it fast and cost effective to access and view the same reports – regardless of whether you're using Epicor, Infor, Oracle Netsuite, Sage, MYOB, Microsoft Dynamics, Pronto, or SAP Business One. This reduces the reliance on consultants, minimizes the customization needed for your ERP solution, and streamlines the entire upgrade project.

4. Improve data quality and decision-making

Your current ERP likely contains years – if not decades – of business data, some of which may no longer be relevant to decision-making. Instead of migrating outdated or inaccurate data into a modern ERP system, a business intelligence tool allows you to cleanse, categorize and refine your business-critical information before migration.

Phocas Analytics will also help you identify uncategorized products, detect inconsistencies, and enhance the accuracy of your metrics – making your ERP upgrade far more efficient.

5. Reduce training time & costs

Most new ERP systems require extensive training across the business. Instead of training staff members on how to use your new ERP, which can often be more complex than an easy to use BI tool, you can save time and money by implementing business intelligence before the switchover. BI such as Phocas' BI Analytics tool requires minimal training before executives and non-technical people can use it and provides consistent access to real-time insights – before, during and after the ERP upgrade.

Phocas' BI-driven approach enables employees to generate reports and analyze data without specialized ERP system knowledge. As David Lowenstein from Billows Electric Supply puts it;

"We had bought MITS and tried to get it up and running, and it didn't really work particularly well for us. What was important to us about Phocas was that people could just use the product, They could write their own reports or use prefab reports, and it made it accessible to a much larger group of people in the company."

6. Is a new ERP system really needed?

Upgrading or replacing an ERP system is a major initiative requiring months of planning, change management, and potentially years of execution.

For some businesses, an ERP upgrade is necessary because their legacy ERP system no longer meets their business needs or lacks new features required for scalability. For others, integrating a business intelligence solution alongside their current ERP is a much quicker and less expensive option than implementing a new ERP system. It will extend its capabilities; improving reporting and enabling better decision-making among other benefits. You may also save on licensing costs as Phocas Analytics is more cost effective than many ERP systems.

Seamless ERP migrations with Phocas

As a cloud-based, Saas platform, Phocas is anchored by a business intelligence foundation. One of its specialties is connecting data, making it an ideal solution for ERP migrations. A smooth migration is achieved by providing secure data warehousing for your historical data, as well as uninterrupted reporting, data flow, and dashboards before, during and after your ERP upgrade.

Data is at the heart of any ERP system. Having access to business critical information and the ability to review and analyze data anytime, means better business decisions, greater visibility into operations and improved understanding of financial performance across your company. Implementing a BI and FP&A platform like Phocas can help alleviate some of the frustrations with an ERP system, by managing the data aggregation, integration and analysis roles. This can prolong the life of your current ERP system while at the same time extending its capabilities. And if the business proceeds with an ERP upgrade, BI can assure business continuity, as well as provide structure to your data strategy and facilitate data migration.

Before you tackle a major ERP upgrade or change, consider how data analytics can help your current business and facilitate the transition.

Watch our demo video below to see how quick and easy it is to get started with Phocas.

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