The start of a new year is always a great time to anticipate what’s in store for information technology.
ERP is poised to evolve and grow in a number of ways in 2015. Here are just a few trends we see that will affect enterprise resource planning in the coming year:
Mobile ERP
There’s a growing desire to access ERP systems anywhere, anytime – not just from smartphones and tablets, but even through wearable technology. And, yes, IBM i users are going mobile, too. Vendors such as Lansa, Quadrant Software and Quatred are providing the tools to extend comprehensive IBM i-based ERP functionality and access to mobile devices.
Enhanced ERP user experience
ERP Vendors are making their products more streamlined and personalized. Modernization tool vendors are simplifying their tools and making them more powerful. We’ll see more companies modernizing their green screen applications to enhance the user experience with a personalized and contemporary look and feel.
ERP heads to the cloud
Like many other SMB and enterprise-level systems, ERP is cloud bound because of capital expenditure, data storage, and data backup advantages, to name a few. Companies still reluctant to head completely into the cloud will opt to use it for High Availability Backup and Recovery systems. Either way, the cloud will bring valuable opportunities for improved IT operations with reduced cost.
More SMB options
The growing popularity of SaaS and cloud-based systems means more advanced ERP systems are now within reach of the average SMB. In many cases, companies that bought greater functionality years ago but never fully implemented it will now do so.
Increasing end-user input
End-user input into product design and functionality is becoming increasingly important as part of good product value chain management. As organizations look to improve their ERP system implementations and business processes, more IT departments will team up with their end users to streamline systems and make them more user friendly.
ERP workflow automation
Companies will be collecting and utilizing more data to help them streamline and automate ERP workflow for greater productivity and cost efficiency
Want to know more about what’s coming down the road for ERP and how it might affect you? Check out our recent blog post, ERP Tips: Trends to Watch in 2015 or give us a call.
