4 common feelings when considering an enterprise management solution

Choosing the right enterprise management solution to run your business is one of the most crucial decisions you can make – one that could make or break your future success. It’s therefore a decision that often evokes much anxiety and doubt.

If you’ve felt the following while considering an enterprise management solution, you’re not alone:

1. I can judge a solution completely with the free trial

A free trial may allow you to see the ins and outs of a less complex solution like accounting software. However it’s a lot more difficult to do so with enterprise management software, especially if your business processes are long and complex.

When selecting an enterprise management solution, it’s best to define your organisation’s objectives for acquiring the solution and your core functional requirements. The more you focus on identifying your business needs, the more effective your chosen solution will be. You can then investigate potential software providers online and shortlist solutions that closely meet your requirements.

At some point in your selection process you will want to view demonstrations of your shortlisted solutions. You should prepare and distribute scripted guidelines for the demonstrations, ensuring you see the key functional areas that are important.

It’s important to structure the timing of the demonstration segments carefully to ensure vendors don’t spend a long time demonstrating parts of the solution that work very well, while glossing over weak parts.

2. Why do I need an enterprise management solution when I have spreadsheets?

Spreadsheets are no doubt very useful for data keeping and analysis. However they rely on manual data entry and are therefore prone to human error. Research indicates 88 percent of spreadsheets have errors in them, while 50 percent of spreadsheets used by large companies have material defects¹.

Another limitation of spreadsheets is that they are isolated. Multiple spreadsheets may be used across the business, making it difficult to integrate data. And when you do, there’s always risk of double entry. Spreadsheet files may also be accidentally deleted.

An enterprise management solution helps you do away with multiple spreadsheets, allowing you to monitor your information in real time, automate processes, easily search for data and share it between departments. You no longer face the risk of double entry or lost data, and an enterprise management solution can efficiently consolidate data from across your organisation. It can provide critical insights into business performance and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

3. Why do I need to pay support charges when I have my own IT team?

Think of support payments as insurance against unforeseen hazards. Yes, your company will need its own IT team to maintain and keep the software running, but it might not possess the level of expertise the ERP vendor has of their own product.

In the future, you will need upgrades, integration to third party apps/software or assistance to ensure optimal performance of the software. Paying support charges to receive these services from your vendor is more cost-efficient and seamless than seeking the services of a third party.

4. I can put off purchasing an enterprise management solution until next year

Given the ever-increasing amount of data today’s companies collect, many risk becoming data rich but insight poor.

According to the Harvard Business Review [2], less than half of an organisation’s structured data is actively used in making decisions.

To succeed in intensely competitive industries such as manufacturing, distribution, and services, it’s absolutely critical to prioritise data management, analytics, and business intelligence capabilities – sooner, rather than later.

Fortunately, today’s enterprise management solutions enable organisations to do that by providing built-in business intelligence tools and predefined reports that centralise data. These tools can help you effectively manage your data and enable the data-driven insights needed to work more efficiently and grow your business.