Top 5 Facts
Top 5 Reasons for Selecting Dynamics NAV as Your ERP Solution
Top 5 Reasons for Partnering with eSoftware Professionals
Top 5 Reasons ERP Projects Succeed
Top 5 Reasons ERP Projects Fail
Top 5 Reasons Companies Should Understand Technology
Top 5 Reasons Software Implementations Don’t Go According To Plan
Top 5 Reasons for Selecting Dynamics NAV as Your ERP Solution
Date: June 26th, 2008
Author: eSoftware Professionals
- Adaptability – Dynamics NAV is very robust, highly configurable, and 100% customizable. This application is designed to wrap around your business and evolve with you as business processes change.
- Scalability – Dynamics NAV utilizes SQL Server as the RDBMS and is designed to meet the needs of small, single site companies as well as large, international, multi-site corporations with thousands of users. In short, with very few exceptions, you’ll never outgrow Dynamics NAV.
- Visibility – Why go through the process of implementing an ERP solution if you do not get the information you need, when you need it? Dynamics NAV is a true, on-line, real-time, seamlessly integrated ERP application. With Dynamics NAV, the visibility you need is right at your finger tips, and always current.
- Reliability – Visibility into your business is meaningless unless you can rely on the data. Dynamics NAV offers a comprehensive set of business rules and processes designed to ensure your transactional data is input correctly according to the business rules you have put in place.
- Roadmap – Microsoft is currently investing nearly 2.5 billion dollars annually into Research and Development for Dynamics NAV. The product roadmap always charts a path for five years into the future. It’s nice knowing that your investment in Dynamics NAV is not at risk!
Top 5 Reasons for Partnering with eSoftware Professionals
Date: June 26th, 2008
Author: eSoftware Professionals
- Outcome Focused – eSoftware Professionals helps organizations move beyond ‘problem solving’ into a more ‘outcome focused’ approach. We start with evaluating where you are currently in your business, and comparing that with where you want to be. This discrepancy then provides the basis for defining the appropriate roadmap to achieve the desired outcome. This sounds simple but it’s not. That’s why we are here, to help organizations go beyond problem solving and help them create improved business process using technology as a tool.
- Experience – As one of the first Dynamics NAV Solution Centers in North America, eSoftware Professionals has been selling, implementing, and supporting Dynamics NAV for over 15 years. With over 150 active customers, we are considered one of the largest solution centers in North America. The average tenure of our delivery team is 7 years and all of our team members are certified experts in Dynamics NAV.
- Philosophy - eSoftware Professionals is committed to delivering your project on time, on budget, on target and with the functionality you require. Our contractual philosophy is one that guarantees an open and honest collaboration with our clients to create and ensure clear expectations on both sides. We strive to define the project clearly, accurately and with specific and documented standards of performance and quality. It is our goal and passion to participate in making our clients successful by leveraging our experience to meet their business needs using software as a tool. We are keenly aware of ways to help our clients realize measurable increases in efficiency and effectiveness through proper use of technology and streamlining of business processes. It is to our benefit that our clients are happy with their software, business processes, overall solution, and, of course, with us as their partner in technology.
- Implementation Methodology – A critical key to our overall success is our project methodology. Each step of the process is designed to allow the client a clear picture of where the project is currently and what to expect next. The Pre-Implementation Plan is done before any other portion of the project begins. This plan is a series of discussions between eSoftware trained business analysts and the client. This is designed to make certain that we all have the same goals and expectations for the project. The scope of the project as well as expected costs for modifications, training and implementation are based on these discussions. Reporting procedures are in place to keep lines of communication open. Success criteria are determined and the project is measured against them.
- Customer Service / Support – Clients come to us for our expertise in helping them implement both basic and sophisticated ERP solutions. They stay with us because of our strong emphasis on customer service and support. Each Client is assigned a dedicated Planning and Delivery Manager who coordinates all major engagements. Our support desk is staffed by three members between from 6:00 A.M. PST to 6:00 P.M. PST. Support requests can be initiated through our support desk, our web site, or through email, with an average response time of less than 2 hours. We offer customizable support plans that can be based on time and materials or a flat monthly fee for unlimited technical support. - Back to top
Top 5 Reasons ERP Projects Succeed
Date: June 26th, 2008
Author: eSoftware Professionals
- Focus on Outcomes – When organizations move beyond problem solving and into creating outcomes, great things are bound to happen. The implementation of an ERP system is used as a tool to get you there.
- Buy-In – Organizations that have buy-in from the top down through all levels of staff are much more likely to successfully implement an ERP solution. Most people do not like change, but will embrace it if they believe it helps them create the outcomes they are after, and those outcomes are required from the top down.
- Planning – Planning is critical to the success of an ERP implementation. It is a major effort to properly implement a solution of this nature and, in general, a phased approach is most successful and realistic.
- Partner – Picking the right partner to help you implement an ERP solution is one of the most vital components to the success of your project. When looking for a partner, evaluate whether they truly understand your point of view, your vision, and desired outcomes. The partner should have a proven track record implementing and supporting the solution you are implementing and they should have the capacity and desire to partner with you in technology. Your partner should help you invest wisely in technology and be a trusted advisor to your organization.
- Product – There are many good ERP solutions on the market today. Many of them may work for any given organization. Much of the success of an ERP solution is attributed more to the other factors detailed above rather than the product used. The specific product an organization chooses should support the level of adaptability, scalability, visibility, reliability, and have a product roadmap that makes the organization feel comfortable investing in that product and in the partner. - Back to top
Top 5 Reasons ERP Projects Fail
Date: June 26th, 2008
Author: eSoftware Professionals
- Focus on Problem Solving – When organizations focus on solving current problems they miss out on the big picture and only realize a fraction of the benefit available through implementing an ERP solution. Are the problems an organization faces today the same problems it will be facing in two, three, or five years? Most of the time the answer is no. This is what leads to constantly re-implementing new ERP solutions or the never ending work-arounds that we find in organizations all the time.
- Focus on Price – Many organizations focus too much energy in their selection process based on price when the true focus should be on long-term return on investment. At the end of the day, if a lower cost solution is selected based only on price, it generally fails, which leads to implementing something more in line with what the organization really needs. At this point, organizations realize they’ve spent two or three times the amount that the proper solution would have cost them had they chose it from the start.
- Focus on Ease of Implementation – It’s not uncommon for an organization to choose an ERP solution based on how easy or quickly it can be implemented. It is a great thing if the solution can be implemented easily and/or quickly. It should not, however, be one of the primary criteria used in selecting the proper solution. This is more of a problem solving approach as opposed to creating and often leads to challenged or failed ERP implementations.
- Focus on Ease of Use – Just like focusing on the ease of implementation, focusing only on the ease of use can be disastrous if the solution doesn’t serve as a tool to align business processes with an organizations vision and desired outcomes. Ease of use is important, just not as important as many other factors to consider when selecting an ERP solution.
- Focus on Features – When organizations focus on features they’re expending energy that is better spent evaluating other areas. Products have many features. The only features relevant to a specific organization are those that help it achieve its desired outcome. Again, focusing on features is a normal by product of problem solving. - Back to top
Top 5 Reasons Companies Should Understand Technology
Date: 2007-08-23
Author: Doug Bartholomew
http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Intelligence/5-Reasons-Entrepreneurs-Should-Understand-IT/
When it comes to being an entrepreneur, Luddites are at a distinct disadvantage.
That's the bottom-line message gleaned from a survey of 152 CEOs and senior executives at mid-size companies who have grown their enterprises from small businesses. The more IT-savvy business executives were, the faster they were able to expand.
Almost three out of four reported having been "totally involved" in decisions about information technology during their companies' early growth years. What's more, almost half of those who rated themselves as "total geeks"—48 percent— reported reaching the 100-employee milestone inside five years of launch, compared to only one-third of all survey respondents whose companies grew as fast.
Conducted online in July with 152 business executives and owners, the Business Rearview Mirror survey was done by CDW, a diversified technology services firm with $6.8 billion in revenues in 2006. "We wanted to learn from both an IT and a business perspective what it took for them to reach 100 employees," says Lauren McCadney, senior segment manager for small business at CDW, in Vernon Hills, Ill. The bulk of the survey participants (84%) represented companies with 100 to 500 employees; the remainder ran companies with workforces of 500 to 5,000.
Among the lessons from the responses:
- Integrate IT into the business strategy – According to survey results, while 98% of small companies had a defined IT strategy, those that viewed IT as a strategic or competitive resource tended to grow faster than those that merely "spent just enough" on technology so that employees could do their jobs.
- Understand the technology – The owner or top executive's own technology savvy was directly related to business success; 73% of respondents who rated themselves as "total geeks" had companies that attained 100 employees inside five years of launch.
- Get involved in IT decisions – Seventy-four percent of respondents said they were "totally involved" in IT decision-making in the early years of their business. As soon as their companies grew large enough, though, they saw the wisdom of assigning this responsibility to a fulltime IT professional.
- Delegate IT management to professionals – Almost half of the fastest growing companies in the survey—those that expanded at more than 20 percent annually over the past 5 years— had hired or assigned a dedicated IT person or staff prior to reaching the 100-employee level. Among the entire survey population overall, just 24 percent had a dedicated IT leader or staff before attaining the 100-employee threshhold.
- Find ways to apply technology to improve processes – Production, project management and supply-chain management were the parts of IT that had the most significant impact on the respondents' bottom lines. - Back to top
Top 5 Reasons Software Implementations Don’t Go According To Plan
Date: June 18th, 2008
Author: Enterprise Computing Institute
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-manager/?p=530
The job gets in the way.
The most common reason our ERP Implementation projects stall is that day-to-day business gets in the way. We see this happen even when there’s project support from all levels of IT management. In the “keep it up and running” vs. “operational improvement” clash, the real-world activities of the business always win - much in the same way problem management is not done because incident management always trumps. In this case, of course, the underlying problem with the IT infrastructure is not the technology, but the processes themselves.
This is neither unexpected nor unreasonable; the business needs to run, so releasing the latest business service must take precedence over attempts to improve IT. So, how do you get process improvement started and keep it rolling? Focus early and often on a Pre-Implementation Plan.
A well thought out Pre-Implementation approach recognizes that few, if any, organizations are going to have the time or resources to conduct a complete, one-shot overhaul of their IT services. The Pre-Implementation Plan is a means of establishing and organizing a series of agreed-upon process improvements (both tactical and strategic), including prioritization, timeframes, and resources. The smaller and more focused the items, the better organizations will be able to steal time away from daily tasks and focus on accomplishing IT improvements. We generate the Pre-Implementation Plan as the first project deliverable and require it to be reviewed at least monthly.
You already own the technology.
We hear all the time, “But we already own a tool to perform [process xyz], so that process is complete.” This is wrong — from so many standpoints.
Remember, the big picture requires people, process, and technology. Technology by itself is almost never an adequate solution. What is more useful, a great tool used ineffectively or a mediocre tool implemented intelligently? The latter can be an important component in a mature IT Service Management solution; the former can be a very expensive mistake.
Don’t let the tool blind you to the needs of training staff and developing workable processes. A fool with a tool is still a fool. Your initial focus should be on designing processes that meet your organization’s needs and then implementing the tool to meet the majority of the process requirements.
You don’t know your status quo.
The first question isn’t “Where do you want to go?” it is “Where are you now?” Think of it like a road trip. Unless you know things such as your starting location, your goals for the trip, and the trip timeline, it will be difficult to plan an effective itinerary.
Many organizations skip the “Where are we now?” question and try to design new process in a vacuum. There is a general sense of “we know what we do now, we do it every day.” It’s important, however, to move beyond a general sense to a more concrete understanding.
Before embarking on an ERP Implementation, take the time to understand important questions such as:
- What are your drivers (business, technology)?
- Who are your IT stakeholders, what are their needs, and are their needs presently being met?
- What will the impact be — on both the IT org and the business at large — if you make no change?
- What processes are now in place?
- What skill sets do you have in place?
- What technology do you have in place?
By taking the time to understand the status quo, you’ll have better insight into the scale and complexity of your improvement program.
Organizational change is too hard.
Unless you tackle the people component, your ERP Implementation is very likely doomed. Many organizations want to gloss over this very important piece, either because they don’t understand its significance or it is just too overwhelming.
Guess what? Organizational change is hard, and, as is the case with the process and technology pieces of ERP Implementations, it will vary greatly based on your size, structure, and culture. Are there then some common threads that will enable you to get the necessary buy-in to succeed with organizational change? We find the organizations most effective in their efforts to have a multi-pronged approach:
- Training for your IT staff and IT management. Give yourselves a common vocabulary and a common understanding of IT service management best practices. If you don’t have the time and budget to put everyone through Foundations-level ERP Implementation training, consider bringing in a trainer to conduct half- or full-day seminars about the service delivery and support processes.
- Simulations for your customers and management (both IT and non-IT). There are a number of simulations available that help illustrate the challenges faced by the IT department and the value of process improvement in enhancing service delivery. These simulations typically increase the willingness and commitment of non-IT staff in improving your processes, and show IT participants that improvement is possible.
- Workshops with stakeholders to facilitate planning efforts. Involve your staff, customers, and other stakeholders in your process development. This will require a degree of time commitment in terms of scheduling the workshops, and it is highly advised to bring in an outside consultant to facilitate the workshop and keep things moving forward
Different parts of the IT organization have vastly different priorities.
Once an organization has become excited about implementing a new ERP, we almost always see tension arise between those with strategic responsibilities and those with tactical responsibilities. The strategic thinkers typically want to focus on growing the business , while the tactical teams knows that the focus must be placed on day-to-day operations like change control and incident management. If you choose a solely tactical approach, you’ll alienate the strategists. Choose a strictly strategic effort, and your tactical team may see the ERP Implementation as just another thing being pushed on them that doesn’t improve their day-to-day operations. Then you can say goodbye to organizational change.
To drive success, it’s vital that good energy be focused on process improvement. The best way to do this is to give as many parts of the organization their piece of the pie. Let the tactical team tackle change management improvement and task the strategists with developing some meaningful key performance indicators to feed into other processes.
In other words, be prepared to support multiple improvement activities concurrently so you can foster healthy competition (whose process was implemented the fastest) rather than begrudging acceptance. - Back to top
