Technology changes every single day, do you know if Sage ERP X3 is the right choice for your business? You know you need something new to match the increased scale of your company and you know that new software will help you meet your revenue goals for this year, but you’ve been researching online and you’ve run across worrisome reports which flatly state that ERPs have no future.
Those reports are wrong.
ERPs continue to be a dynamic, growth-driving force, harnessed by powerful businesses, and ERPs change and grow just like the businesses they serve. Want to know more about ERPs in general and how they adapt to your business’ needs? Read on.
When did ERP start?
ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning, is a concept that began pretty much as soon as personal computers became popular. Computers have always been closely tied with the business world, and smart business owners in the 80s knew that the path to increased efficiency was through the increased use of targeted computing software.
The first ERPs were actually called MRPs (materials requirements planning), and they were simply a bundle of software put together for the manufacturing industry. The software sought to provide an overall view of complex supply-chain processes so that forward-thinking business owners in that industry could plan more effectively.
The concept worked.
In fact, ERPs worked so well for business owners and managers that they became increasingly popular and more standardized. The term “ERP” was coined in 1990 by Gartner, and since then, ERPs have been tailoring their offerings to help more and more industries and businesses with each passing year.
Where is ERP now?
Since their official founding 24 years ago, ERPs have changed a lot. In the past, ERPs usually required a company to frequently restructure their operations to “fit” the capabilities of the ERP. These days, developers create customized scripts and applications that allow companies to structure their business software around their exact needs and interests—now and in the future.
Sage ERP X3, as the market-leading ERP software for mid-sized companies, comes with powerful out-of-the-box customizations that directly meet the needs of their manufacturing and distribution clients head-on.
In addition, X3 has also scaled up to adapt to the changing technology that businesses use on a day-to-day basis. Sage ERP X3 has the ability to run on the Cloud, and is mobile-friendly and flexible so that it can meet the specific needs of your company.
What is the future of Sage ERP X3?
Because an ERP system is meant to last for at least a decade, Sage ERP X3 plans for the future. According to studies, 94.5% of businesses used smartphones in 2013, and 86.2% of companies used tablet computers. The new release of Sage ERP X3, version 7, which is scheduled for release in summer of 2014, offers a clean, mobile-friendly user interface, and enhanced Cloud functionality to keep your business on the cutting edge.
Sage is currently focusing on five specific trends to build in the business and ERP industry:
- Social collaboration: Sage is adding better integration with Microsoft Office to allow members of your company to actively brainstorm together, as they create/edit new documents.
- Mobile technology: New versions of Sage ERP X3 will run on any device and in any browser, so that users will be assured anytime/anywhere, worry-free remote access to their data.
- Cloud functionality: Sage understands that the Cloud isn’t just about anytime/anywhere access; it’s also about the apps that increase user productivity. New versions of X3 have a rewritten Web Client that allows businesses simple integration with Web apps.
- Information management: Information is only as good as its display functionalities, and because of this, new versions of Sage ERP X3 will continue to focus on making the process of accessing and analyzing your data a simple, intuitive process that provides powerful and targeted data visualization capabilities.
- Environmental responsibility: Using less paper saves your company money and time, but scanned documents can be hard to search. Sage ERP X3’s updated electronic document management (EDM) function offers an accurate document capture (OCR) system that makes all your scanned documents fully searchable.
“The term “ERP” was coined in 1990 by Gartner, and since then, ERPs have been tailoring their offerings to help more and more industries and businesses with each passing year.”
Photo courtesy of SOMMAI / FreeDigitalPhotos.net