As 2013 becomes a dot on the horizon, manufacturers and other organizations are already looking ahead at 2014. In today’s technology driven industries, you have to keep track of upcoming trends and developments. That’s why we’re here to tell you what you can expect from the world of Enterprise Resource Planning in 2014; ERP’s future.
MOBILITY
The 21st century has seen a huge increase in mobile technology usage, especially in manufacturing and similar industries. 2014 is going to see even more mobile functionality in your future ERP solutions, from inventory-on-the-go to making key decisions through connected conversations. The ability to take your ERP with you wherever you go is going to be an important factor for ERP distribution in the future.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI)
No one can be expected to do your job for you, but ERP’s are starting to provide so much information that it’s getting hard to use that information proactively. That’s why you’re going to see a big increase in future ERP solutions that incorporate Business Intelligence (BI) functionality in 2014. SyteLine ERP is a good example of this; BI for SyteLine essentially takes all the data you are collecting about your organization and industry and feeds you specific decision-making information. The analytics provided by BI allows you to monitor your manufacturing performance, track finance costs and profitability, review sales performance, and even check the details of your inventory procedures. Pre-built and role based dashboards like the ones found in BI for SyteLine are the way of the future, and they are going to be a big support for your business.
CLOUD ERP
The Cloud was one of the big buzzwords of 2013, and it’s not going away in 2014. More and more businesses are gearing up for cloud based ERP systems due to the low cost of ownership and less dependance on internal IT personnel. While this trend is going to keep rising, you’re going to need to be ever vigilant in determining whether The Cloud is the best option for your business. Sometimes the choice between Cloud vs On-Premise ERP can mean the difference between usability vs security, and you don’t always get the features you need out-of-the-box when it comes to The Cloud. Keep any eye out for this one when considering your future ERP.
USER EXPERIENCE
With social networking and beautiful interfaces leading the way of the current technological revolution, the user experience of future ERP solutions is becoming more and more important. Having the biggest and fastest ERP system isn’t the only priority anymore; businesses need simplicity, convenience, and collaboration in their ERP solutions. That’s why 2014 is going to see even more social network integration in ERP systems, as well as more intuitive and enjoyable user interfaces. To use SyteLine ERP as an example again, it offers multiple out-of-the-box applications such as Ming.le and Mongoose that combine the ease of use and connectivity associated with social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn with the data and analytics you would expect from a top tier ERP.
Obviously we can’t predict everything that is going to happen in 2014, but we believe that these are the key areas to watch out for when looking at your own ERP solutions in the coming year.
If you have any questions regarding the future of ERP or anything else, feel free to contact an ECI representative today. We are LIVE and ready to help!