Gain control over the ERP cost

One of the most important considerations for businesses, which may lead to budget overrun, is the deployment cost of an ERP solution. If not carefully monitored, it is quite possible that there will be delays, leading to unmet deadlines, increased complexity and ultimately, increased expenses.

For a business to reduce the chances of overrunning its budget, the persons in charge of the deployment, will need to identify and plan multiple deployment stages, including the following:

• Choosing the right vendor that will help them prepare and follow the right deployment process
• Accurately estimating the purpose and the usefulness of the project, so that there are no unpleasant surprises once the deployment process begins
• Limiting customizations and modifications to the most crucial ones, as these can lead to a budget overrun
• Carefully planning maintenance and storing activities, which should always be taken into consideration when preparing the budget.

Additionally, apart from the unexpected ERP deployment expenses, businesses should also pay proper attention to long-term expenses, when it comes to ERP. For example, quite often people do not take into consideration expenses related to application integration, maintenance and upgrades that will be required after the deployment has been completed.

According to Gartner, by 2018, 90% of businesses will lack a viable strategy for the so-called post-modern application integration. This refers to the increasingly complicated integration of third-party applications into existing ERP solutions. To cope with long-term ERP integration expenses, businesses will need to:

• Prepare a suitable application integration plan that will include the maintenance cost for the ERP system and the integrated applications that could affect the solution when they are upgraded.
• Select the right vendor to upgrade and maintain the ERP solution, as well as the integrated apps that could affect the performance of the ERP system.

As the market is becoming more and more competitive, businesses recognize the need to cut expenses in relation to their ERP systems. After all, ERP systems should work as a “well-tuned” tool, enabling businesses to allocate their budget to more important areas in terms of competition, such as innovation. In order to achieve this goal, you need to start by preparing a plan that will lead to a suitable deployment environment, enabling you not only to reduce expenses at the time of deployment, but also to take steps that will help you limit costs on a long-term basis.