SA is quite a mature enterprise resource planning (ERP) market; and the rest of Africa is still following.
That's according to Johani Marais, channel manager for Africa at Epicor Software Corporation, who points out that the majority of local enterprises are starting to embrace the concepts of modern ERP solutions, but are slow to move to a cloud offering option with many still preferring to host on premise.
Marais also notes that the bring your own device concept is still fairly new but gaining popularity, with many organisations now wanting to know whether their ERP can run on mobile devices.
She also says businesses are starting to see the value of having integrated systems and obtaining business intelligence from it. However, she is of the view that they are not yet prepared for the perceived costs that accompany the acquisition of the system and the ongoing cost of ownership thereafter.
ERP software is often seen as a grudge purchase; however, enterprises are starting to realise that their business cannot grow if they do not know which products and customers are their main profit drivers, which production lines are costly, and what the total cost of production is, Marais notes.
"With Epicor, we offer a low total cost of ownership. For example, customers can acquire our Embedded Education module which allows them to train and test with their own data on a continuous basis. Embedded Education allows customers to take ownership of their system," says Marais.
She explains that the educational courses are embedded within the software and test user readiness and capabilities. The materials are always up to date, no matter what service pack version they are running, she adds.
According to Marais, because Epicor is built on a modern SOA-based platform, organisations can easily make changes to a business rule or process themselves, without having to employ the support of a consultant every time they need to respond to changing business requirements.
"Some of our partners offer a finance option where customers can finance the software and project costs so that it becomes an operating expense to the customer's business instead of a large upfront capital outlay. Normal credit terms and conditions would apply to this option."
She also reveals that today company managers and CIOs are looking for ERP solutions that combine quality and reliability, with visionary technology that can help them meet ever-changing business requirements.
"A solid ERP platform can help an organisation not only reduce costs and streamline processes, but also increase the flexibility and agility that's needed to succeed in a competitive marketplace.
"With Epicor ERP version 10, we've taken our visionary blend of rich global functionality built on agile technology, and eliminated complexity to make ERP easier to use, more collaborative and more responsive," says Marais.
"Epicor ERP 10 sees the introduction of a number of exciting new applications and technologies that can reinvent the way companies operate. Based on the five principles of collaboration - future foundation, choice, responsiveness, simplicity and mobility - it is designed to help organisations work better, both internally and externally, leveraging the knowledge and experience of the people and systems connected together throughout the supply chain."
Epicor solutions are used across manufacturing, distribution, service and retail organisations worldwide, Marais states.
"Our target market would be anything from 30 users to thousands of users - using the system concurrently. We do not really look at a company's turnover when we decide on target market as it has proven to not necessarily be a true reflection of where the company is at in terms of ERP readiness," she concludes.
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