Softline ACCPAC says growth lies in ERP solutions

Jeremy Waterman, MD of Softline ACCPAC, says the future of accounting software lies in end-to-end business solutions, or as we are rapidly coming to know them, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.

"The majority of mid-market companies have their basic accounting software sorted. The challenge lies in evolving these business applications into solutions that manage the day-to-day business processes from the customer interface right through the internal processes including the supply chain," says Waterman.

He says this applies to all size companies and not just large, enterprise giants. Supporting his theory is Gartner, which reports that technology investment among small and mid-size companies is on the rise. Gartner believes one of the main reasons for this growth is the realisations that even small and mid-sized companies have to support many of the same business processes as large enterprises. Waterman says ERP solutions are a good example of where these companies need to go next in order to compete effectively.

"ERP solutions were initially confined to the transactional and supply chain management levels of business, but nowadays it can extend throughout the entire organisation, becoming a major competitive advantage if implemented and managed correctly," says Waterman.

Within its evolution, Waterman says ERP solutions have overcome the challenges of providing bug-free transactional systems and have solved the complications of communication inherent in supply chain management, thus turning their talents to further enhance core systems - the sweet spot for mid-market technology.

He says this was done by embracing both CRM and BI as natural extensions to an ERP system. Similar developments have taken place in the field of BI. What these developments mean to the mid-market is significant. Companies now have access to "out of the box" CRM and knowledge management systems that are fully integrated to the underlying ERP system. The mid-market can not only afford to purchase these systems, but more importantly can easily maintain them going forward.

Previously only the realms of large enterprises, mid-market companies now also have the luxury of a powerful CRM and BI solution that meets their specific needs.

Looking forward, the convergence of BI and enterprise reporting is another vital step towards the long-awaited widespread business software integration. Taking it a step further, BI will support the growth and success of business process management (BPM). Fairly new to South Africa, BPM is defined by Gartner as "a management practice that provides for governance of a business` process environment toward the goal of improving agility and operational performance".

BPM provides adequate visibility into a business, enabling it to rapidly respond to market opportunities. Underpinned by an organisation`s ERP, CRM, KM and BI systems, BPM is vital to the future success of an organisation and represents the next step in the evolution of business software.

Waterman believes there is great opportunity for resellers in the ERP market. "It is one of the few sectors that have managed to retain its margin. Just look at the desktop environment, the margins are dropping and in cases like Linux, are for free. The ERP sector is not an environment that lends itself to box-dropping. Users require expert financial knowledge and support. This means that there is a scarcity value and significant barriers to entry."

It is also a sector where vendors are aggressively looking for new partners, offering training and putting impressive channel programmes in place designed to protect the margin of partners. Waterman says there is also an opportunity for smaller channel partners to build significant businesses as the larger resellers focus their attention on the larger customers.

He says that supporting the growth of this sector is the fact that the software has become much easier to use. "Resellers should not be put off by the complexity of this sector. Coupled to the ease of use, partners such as Softline ACCPAC are geared to help grow the channel and supporting flourishing reseller partners is a vital component."