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How a Legacy ERP System Could Be Damaging Your Business

How a Legacy ERP System Could Be Damaging Your Business

How a Legacy ERP System Could Be Damaging Your Business

A full-on ERP upgrade is something that a lot of people don’t like to think about, partly because they’re ashamed to admit the last time they made an upgrade. I’m not talking about a couple tweaks and patches here and there. I’m talking about the full monty. According to Forrester, half of all ERP customers are using releases that are two or more versions behind the current release. In today’s world where technology moves at unprecedented speeds, an ERP system from as little as four years ago could really be hindering your business.


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Unfortunately, for nearly every business, “version-lock” is usually a major weak spot of their on-prem ERP system. While a few customizations a few years back may have seemed harmless at the time, become increasingly resistant to change. This is because small changes to the system would require re-implementing and testing customer changes, workflows, and reports. With all these changes reliant on customization you made years ago, you may find your business is stuck with a legacy ERP system that no longer fits the business’ needs.

A “version locked” ERP system can hinder business velocity. The web allows businesses to reach a global network of customers instantly. Some of the most successful companies aren’t stuck with the same on-prem ERP systems. If companies are looking to expand globally they should find an ERP system that allows them to do so. Many older versions of ERP software are designed for country by country growth.

The antiquated ERP system was meant for deploying multiple ERP instances and databases for every market and location. Modern systems instead provide businesses with ability to lay down an applications footprint for every individual country and subsidiary in a couple weeks. Cloud deployed ERP systems keep businesses from worrying about scaling pricey IT resources and heavy capital expenditures on IT Infrastructure.

An old or legacy ERP system can also put significant limits on mobility, a major trend in modern businesses. Mobility has been a feature of the modern enterprise that the millennial workforce has come to expect. When it comes down to it, a mobile ERP system positions your organization for the best results by giving you system visibility anywhere, anytime. Aside from the modern worker becoming mobile, businesses themselves are finding themselves becoming increasingly mobile.

In order to keep up with competitors, businesses need to achieve fluidity and agility in their business structure. In today’s globalized world, businesses should be able to decide where work takes place based on costs and the ability to maintain an elastic workforce. Modern businesses are running operations across a number of locations with offshore and remote workers. Legacy ERP systems wasn’t designed with any of these trends in mind, forcing organizations into an expensive centralized structure. This means handling fragmented information and maintaining desktops across multiple locations. If you’re looking to decentralize your business, you should first look at upgrading your old ERP system.


Looking for more? Download our ERP buyers guide for free and compare the top-24 products available on the market with full page vendor profiles. The guide includes four key capabilities to look for in an ERP solution, plus five questions to ask yourself and five questions to ask the software provider before purchasing. It’s the perfect resource for anyone looking to find right ERP for their business/organization.

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