The criticism commonly levelled against enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is that they are monolithic and generalist software slabs: suites of applications, dense with features and functions, designed to cover just about any need an enterprise might have, with a uniform user interface layered over for a common look and feel. Whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, the ERP has it covered.
Author: cvjepsen
Claus Jepsen is a technology expert who has been fascinated by the micro-computer revolution ever since he received a Tandy TRS model 1 at the age of 14. Since then, Claus has spent the last few decades developing and architecting software solutions, most recently at Unit4, where he is the CTO leading the ERP vendor’s focus on enabling the post-modern enterprise.
At Unit4, Claus is building cloud-based, super-scalable solutions and bringing innovative technologies such as AI, chatbots, and predictive analytics to ERP. Claus is a strong believer that having access to vast amounts of data allows us to construct better, non-invasive and pervasive solutions to improve our experiences, relieve us from tedious chores, and allow us to focus on what we as individuals really love doing.
Automation’s Critical Role in Driving Efficiency
Last year in this space, we predicted that “the humanity of the enterprise will be at center stage.” The pandemic certainly brought people front and center in ways nobody could have foreseen. COVID-19 also accelerated digital transformation, and that will have implications for core enterprise systems in 2021.
Both IDC and Gartner say that enterprise resource planning (ERP) is going to change dramatically in the coming years. IDC suggests that modular, intelligent task apps will be integral to how applications are delivered. They will be loosely coupled, opening up a whole new range of opportunities to use robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI) or automation.
Five Ways to Keep Innovation Alive in Your 2021 IT Strategy
This year, the pandemic taught us the truth of old proverb “necessity is the mother of invention.” When companies had to close offices on short notice to control the spread of the virus, IT teams innovated like never before. In a remarkably short time, they put the assets in place to make all-remote work possible. Almost overnight, they stood up infrastructures to enable businesses to operate virtually.
Welcome to the world of pervasive ERP
For decades now, users of enterprise resource planning software have been trained to believe that all the action must take place within the core of the system. ERP is coded to be the journal of record, the beating heart of the organisation, the inner circle of work and the user’s role is to browse and input.
But I’m here to tell you this approach will soon be ancient history. Why? Because the maturing of a potpourri of technologies including cloud, microservices, smarter user experiences, AI, machine learning and open APIs mean that we’re entering a new period where users will no longer be asked to slog through roundabout processes, complex user interfaces, or logging in and out of systems, none of which work the same ways as the others.
Has business technology focused on the wrong thing?
Why do businesses buy new technology? Historically, it’s been an operational investment to reduce costs, simplify administration, speed up processes and measure results. These are admirable objectives – but they’re not differentiators. Also, they’re certainly not focused on the user experience.
For technology to transform organisations and enable them to outshine the competition, it needs to empower employees. The strength of a business solution should be judged on how it does things differently, more efficiently, more enjoyably and with better results.
Why Microservices Are Key to Business Success
An old dictum states that complex issues can be more easily solved by breaking them down into smaller tasks, writes Claus Jepsen, CTO, Unit4. The same applies for software where we are observing a shift from the old monolithic world to granular microservices. And its not overstating matters to suggest that the speed with which organisations embrace microservices will be a leading indicator of their future success.
The notion of encapsulating business functionality is not new and goes all the way back to SOA, object-oriented programming systems and even COBOL but packaged business capabilities and open APIs mean that companies are enthusiastically pursuing microservices. The reasons are not just because they offer a technically superior alternative but also because they dovetail with the broader needs of business to move faster, digitise wherever
Keeping Pace with the New Normal
We woke up one morning and everything has changed. Although we do our best to understand and adapt to the changing environment, there seems to be no other way to survive this crisis without having the right technological infrastructure. By recognizing the value of digital transformation in advance, some companies are a bit more fortunate in this process, but some are in a difficult situation because they have not taken a step yet.
This Crisis Will Put A Human Face On Business Technology
COVID-19 has changed the way we work forever. We’re all suddenly working from home, reliant on technology and aware of its limitations. Enterprise software is helping us get through the crisis, but it has some way to go to deliver the human experience we expect.
How AI is Shifting Workplace Dynamics and Winning Top Talent
Digital transformation is breaking new grounds and redefining the future role technology will play in the enterprise. More often than not, a majority of business focus is placed on the tangible benefits transformative applications will have on external results and, ultimately, the bottom line. In particular, artificial intelligence (AI) has risen as a main focus point for its ability to accelerate processes and help organizations remain competitive in today’s unpredictable landscape. However, the benefits of AI go far beyond improved business operations and its potential to improve the internal workplace experience is often overlooked.
How Big Businesses Can Avoid Being Fired By Their Customers
Almost all sectors are talking about the importance of moving at the speed of the customer and customer-centricity, but hardly anyone achieves either. Often this is because they can only move as fast as their legacy systems and have a view on the customer rendered incoherent by fragmented data.
Historically, services and products have been provided to customers based upon the terms and operational capability of the provider. For everyone’s benefit, this rigidity is being replaced by a more flexible model with far greater emphasis on the customer.
Claus Jepsen 