Despite persistent deployment failures still characterizing the ERP field, ERP systems remain indispensable in today’s business setup, especially because they give insightful views into a variety of operations, enabling faster and better decision making. Many organizations have adopted ERP solutions to achieve operational excellence without knowing that this domain is in a constant state of flux, which means that the future of ERP is likely to be affected by upcoming technology and social trends. Though this might seem like a bad thing, ERP developers and users can get lots of benefits by simply adopting an open approach to innovation.
Top Three ERP Trends for 2014 and Beyond
New trends promise the ERP of the future to be more accessible and easier to use. What’s next for ERP? What trends will shape its future?
- Wearable Technologies – Wearable technologies are not widely used yet; however, organizations in different industries, including manufacturing, logistics, oil and gas, and health care, show a willingness to adopt futuristic devices that will fill in certain gaps with time. Therefore, wearable technologies are already seen as irreplaceable tools in many industries, slowly emerging in the business sector as many other technologies did in the past. It’s believed that smart devices incorporated into glasses, wristbands, and even gloves will become a good fit for different applications, despite the fact that many organizations are currently experiencing an aversion from certain wearable devices,and wristbands. Beta testers experiencing issues like distraction, disorientation, headaches, and nausea when using wearable devices to perform particular tasks, not enough bandwidth to support constant use of these devices, and interference with other devices are a few reasons for reluctance. For the moment, it’s impossible to predict the extent to which wearable technologies will shape the future of ERP.
- Big Data – ERP software developers are required to take into account growing volumes of information an organization must collect and process in order to achieve its business goals. This means that traditional enterprise computing systems must be restructured in order to facilitate the management of large data volumes. With this in mind, the integration of new computing models into existing enterprise infrastructures has become a critical element when considering . Recently, developers have reviewed multiple infrastructure models, analyzing their impact on the future of ERP. Combining a scalable network with new technologies able to maintain the right balance between efficient data collection and processing, enterprise applications, and networks seems to be the most adequate solution for creating a new framework capable of enhancing enterprise performance.
- Internet of Things (IoT) – Many people have never heard of IoT. But is going to change the future of ERP and the way we work by saving time and resources, while opening new opportunities for innovation and growth. Also referred to as machine-to-machine (M2M), IoT is a new technology that allows machines to communicate intelligently with each other via the Internet. A relevant example of IoT would be a production manager informed by his computer that particular malfunctioning components need to be repaired or replaced in two hours in order to complete a certain project on time. IoT is expected to have a significant positive impact on the performance of enterprise performance by helping organizations increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and comply with industry-specific laws and regulations.
Eventually, wearable technologies, Big Data, IoT together with other trends, such as BYOD and context-aware functionality, will irreversibly impact the future of ERP, boiling down to the initial purpose of ERP: using data for faster and better decision making.
by Clients First Business Solutions
