ERP Software: The End of Enterprise Technology As We Know It

Very good analysis Eric. However I wouldn't call this a "death". I'd probably call it an "evolution" of ERP systems. From my experience of 20 plus years I also believe that people and managers in organizations also need to "evolve" so that they can use their ERP systems to their near full potential before resorting to solutions outside of their existing ERPs. My experience has shown me over and over again that most companies don't even come close to using 50% of their ERP systems' potential.

I don't believe ERP in general is dying or going away. I think companies like SAP and Microsoft are going to be the ones to evolve and survive. There will always be a market for all types of platforms and systems.

ERP is a concept and the software solutions currently available are inadequate. It doesn't mean erp software is dying. As long as there is an enterprise, it will have resources and these resources will have to be planned. This concept cannot die. But the type of software do change. I feel the term erp itself should now be changed to erpmc, ie enterprise resource planning,management and control. It should not end at planning.

Analysis that I fully agree with. Personally, I have 30 years of experience in international ERP implementations. I have produced solutions to make these softwares flexible and we have had great commercial success with "all-in-one" solutions. But the truth is that we have always been opposed first of all directly by the ERP producer because in contrast with their real goal: to sell licenses and protect a so-called "Eco system" which is being reduced only to a sales network but which has no realization skills and regularly fails projects. With the speed of change in today's business models, the ecosystem approach created by large software vendors produces much more failures than successes. Thanks again, best regards.

just learning about ERP through your videos

The blooper reels that Eric and everyone else in this field have might be legendary. I can deeply empathize, having once took a week to shoot an entire video of 15 minutes.

I have found after 26 years working in the ERP space that a fragmented system deploying 'Best of Breed' applications is far more expensive to both deploy and maintain. The first consideration is technology level of each of the fragmented applications, they are not all the same and not all play well together. Secondly is installing patches and upgrades to each BOB application, the changes can ripple through the other BOB applications, it's like herding cats. ERP systems are here to stay, they will just morph. Just my 2 cents.

Very good analysis. Keep adding more content. Thanks for your time 🙏🏽.

Hi Eric, great topic, thanks! Where do you think Odoo is situated in your discussion here? I’ve been using it for the past 5 years for my business and it is evolving very quickly with a lot of added strenght!

Hello Eric, I agree with all the point you mentioned here, I think evolving to a cloud environments is one hell step managers are really scared to take and moreover the monolithic architecture method of developing an ERP should be changed into a micro service architecture. We do use odoo (open source) to develop ERP solution for our clients because it gives us that flexibility to add new module that fits in to our clients request but one thing I also noticed is that managers wants a better UI for there ERP system, something a full ERP system is unlikely to give you compare to systems like workforce or a team management (trello /Monday). In all ERP is not going to die out, all it needs is for managers to start looking out more for innovative ways and flexibility.

I wish to send this to a few of my bigger clients who think that having a sole vendor will provide added flexibility. Sometimes I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall explaining that Best of Breed is the way forward. Interoperability issues are a thing of the past. Great presentations

It is incorrect to say erp is dying. It is getting improved and evolved to work perfectly in cloud. So those erp companies which were slow in adopting to cloud are dying or trying to survive with acquisition. Companies like oracle which rewrote all the code in cloud are still able to survive and survive well in the erp market.

Business Central’s jump to the cloud with a revamped web based language is a good stride. Sure legacy pro’s at NAV may be pissed, but I find it’s truly a much needed growing pain. New grads unite

I can see your point, large Erp software companies are developing huge, complex and expensive solutions that tend to underdeliver at the implementation stage and take years to give a noticeable ROI. This can be because the customer has pressures in the business, lacks required skills and/or consultants are unable to keep pace with the non-stop service packs. Maybe the future is for more affordable, simpler App based modules from different providers that integrate seamlessly.

A little too outdated video for an expert: "SAP has gone out and bought Ariba and Success Factors...", that was 10+ yrs ago. "Microsoft has gone and bought Navision and Axapta...", that was 20+yrs ago. This is really weird and also you're talking about lack of integration of products that never meant to be integrated (like NAV and AX). What is happening in reality is that companies like Microsoft are moving towards a broad and complete set of products that can work integrated (Microsoft ERP+CRM+M365 for example), and also recently added another layer of integrated middle products like Power Apps and/or Power Automate or CDS, that along with their ERP's offerings, will give something to everyone (low code, flexibility to create and adapt your "rigid" ERP, etc). And no, ERP's are not dying (yet) but evolving.

Not sure what is "ending". ERP will simply continue to evolve. ERP was a replacement for custom systems. And those I don't see coming back. It leveraged best accounting practices as they were standardized at the time. If we go towards "best practices" and "cloud" then those will improve over time if they are half-baked now. The big players find it easier to buy out successful little niche companies and integrate them over time then try to create their own. Siebel was an Oracle executive who broke away with his own idea just as Oracle tried to match his product. In the end it was easier to just buy him and bring him and his products back 'in house'.

The best thing a company can do is maintain their ERP system and complement it with Digital transformation platforms. You then get the best of both worlds.

Eric, thanks for your deep analysis! Very useful. Could you please also analyse a role of PLM systems in an entire enterprise automation stack? Thanks!

As we are mentioning low code solutions. How does Claris Filemaker fit in? Lately there are options to integrate it in corporate environments.

Hi, in this case which course suggestabl for finance students