There's Never Been A Better Time To Reimagine Your ERP System

You’ve been working hard to keep your field service organization running at top speed, but is your ERP system holding you back? Is it enhancing your organization’s performance? Will it be able to keep up with the opportunities the future will bring?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a business activity that field service organizations (FSOs) have routinely performed since the late 1980s by putting computer systems in place to manage business processes. Some 30 years later, ERP has become a problematic collection of unrelated software based on older technology such as the IBM AS/400 platform, Progress Software, or even DOS.

Many FSOs chose to replace their ERP systems in advance of the anticipated-but-never-realized year 2000 computer crisis but even then, these FSOs are using 20-year-old technology. With most current applications having relatively loose connections, coupled with the rapid pace and widespread adoption of the cloud, FSOs started to fill in the gaps where ERPs fell short. This led to a Frankenstein’s monster-like disjointed system made up of a series of patchwork fixes.

Now that we’re living in the App Economy, the time is right to rethink how FSOs interact with ERP systems. FSOs should expect and demand a modern offering that can support the speed and flexibility needed to be proactive in a world where unexpected changes in business processes are routine. While it can be a daunting proposition, combining cloud-based and on-premise solutions that are most suited to an FSO’s ERP needs will change the landscape of how ERP works.