FEATURE : ERP required to meet organisations ’ operational and financial needs . Modular intelligent ERP systems are changing the backend software to a digital core , which is more innovative , intelligent , and resource worthy . Organisations are leveraging these nextgeneration ERP systems to the fullest . The digitisation of workflows , integration of a portfolio of products , and innovation at ‘ lightning speed ’ mean the organisation can gain greater insights , ultimately making better decisions overall ,” explained Mickey North Rizza , Program Vice President , Enterprise Applications and Digital Commerce , IDC .
Ram Ramachandran , Senior Vice President and Head , Middle East and Africa , Tech Mahindra agreed with Rizza on how modular intelligent ERP systems are changing backend software and went to say that : “ We see more customers across Africa riding the Digital Transformation bandwagon and firmly believe that business systems such as ERP help them transform into intelligent enterprises . With the advent of growth in cloud as an enabler , the adoption of ERP in Africa has grown from being a ‘ nice to have ’ to rather a necessity that can be easily adopted and deployed cutting across enterprises . This is true for SME ’ s who are adopting integrated ERP ’ s cutting across customer experience , finance automation , SCM , manufacturing and distribution as well as human experience to become intelligent enterprises .
Ramachandran explained that African countries , like most of the developing world , face challenges such as low economic capacities , limited infrastructures , limited human skills , and cultural barriers . These complexities may enhance the difficulties of ERP implementation and highlight the necessity of defining an efficient way to implement ERP systems within the African context .
one fourth-era functionality . CIOs should be looking at how the proposed ERP would deliver the following to their business including operational efficiency and resource productivity , ability for the ERP system to support scalability , change in business models , and enable modern best practices and support business resiliency .
Given the momentum around cloud ERP , IT leaders have been grappling to deal with this evolution and progression of technology in the future .
Botha said running your ERP system in the cloud provides a number of benefits including costs , agility and efficiency , resilience , innovation and sustainability . “ You can shift from a CAPEX to an
Gustav Botha , SAP Practice Lead for SoftwareONE , UK , Ireland and South Africa , SAP
Gustav Botha , SAP Practice Lead for SoftwareONE , UK , Ireland and South Africa , said as SAP is one of the leading ERP systems used , a key business trend that CIOs should be looking out for in the ERP space is ensuring that they modernise SAP ECC before the end of support deadline in 2027 by moving to S / 4HANA on cloud .
“ We expect any organisations to take a staged approach , moving their existing ECC to the cloud and then convert to S / 4HANA ,” he said .
According to Ramachandran , the focus of ERP is no longer only on enterprise-wide planning , but has expanded into a wider ecosystem encompassing customers , suppliers , partners , competitors , and stakeholders .
“ In fact , Gartner predicts that by 2023 , most ERP systems in the enterprise will incorporate at least
THE FOCUS OF ERP IS NO LONGER ONLY
ON ENTERPRISE-WIDE
PLANNING , BUT HAS EXPANDED INTO A WIDER ECOSYSTEM
ENCOMPASSING CUSTOMERS , SUPPLIERS ,
PARTNERS , COMPETITORS , AND STAKEHOLDERS .
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