From supply chain management to accountancy, there’s a long list of operations businesses must oversee. As organizations get larger, handling these processes manually is no longer realistic. That’s why organizations use ERP software to manage and oversee key areas.
But as time moves on, once state-of-the-art software is looking increasingly outdated. To succeed, businesses must bring their legacy ERP systems up to date. With that in mind, let’s look at some ERP alternatives to help your business succeed. Here, we’ll guide you through the process of choosing the best solution for your needs.
What is ERP software?
ERP stands for enterprise resource planning and is a tool that helps you manage core business activities.
As we’ve explored, this can cover some extremely varied areas. You might use ERP software to help spot compliance issues. At the same time, you could also use ERP to automate certain accounting activities. It’s thanks to this versatility that the software has been seen as a must-have for many businesses.
ERP software also integrates information from different business departments, providing organizations with a single source of truth. This prevents issues such as duplication, which occurs when businesses have many different forms of data collection.
The right ERP solution becomes the backbone of an organization. It handles manual processes, provides detailed data reporting, and guarantees efficiency.
What are legacy ERP software alternatives?
Despite these benefits, many businesses are often not seeing the full fruits of ERP. They’re using legacy systems that only provide basic features and reporting. These systems are often reliant on physical hardware, limiting access, and making scalability more challenging.
What’s more, to stay up-to-date, legacy systems are often integrated with home-grown customizations. This means they become harder to manage and maintain.
Each custom ERP integration will need to be updated manually. As integrations grow, systems quickly become unwieldy. As a result, many organizations now seek ERP alternatives to legacy systems.
One example is the “best of breed” alternative to ERP software. Here, instead of a single ERP system, organizations look for the best software to handle specific business operations.
Another ERP software alternative is to migrate to a cloud-based model. These ERP system alternatives do away with physical hardware for a solution that runs on the cloud. We’ll look at both of these options in more detail later.
Key features to consider when looking at ERP alternatives
With so many ERP alternatives on offer, where should you begin your search? Make sure your chosen solution includes the following essential features/capabilities:
Ease of access
Legacy ERP alternatives will be used by employees from across your organization. Many of these staff members won’t have extensive technical knowledge. That’s why it's critical that your chosen tool is easy to access and provides a strong user experience.
A tool’s accessibility should be clear from its user interface (UI). The best solutions have simple but visually appealing UIs. These often have a similar look and feel to other business tools, ensuring a sense of familiarity from the jump.
The best ERP alternatives also utilize a single database format for data storage. This means that all data is stored in a centralized location, using a single data model. From here, employees can quickly access any information that they need.
Scale alongside business growth
As mentioned, Legacy ERP systems make scalability much more challenging. They often rely on physical hardware and custom integrations to operate effectively.
Scaling up may require the purchase of expensive hardware or the creation of new custom integrations. This is expensive both in terms of cost and resources for your organization.
Scalability should be one of the first things in mind when choosing alternatives to ERP. Ideally, a solution should allow you to pick and choose the features you need. This way, you won’t pay for aspects of software that you aren’t using. When you need to scale up (or down) you should be able to switch to a different payment package.
Reporting capabilities
Modern businesses rely on data. It provides direction for marketing campaigns, improves internal processes, and powers AI technologies. An ERP alternative should not only connect all data streams from across a business but also provide unique insights.
For instance, certain tools have forecasting capabilities such as predicting an uptick in sales for a certain product. They can help you to better prepare, and be less caught out by sudden changes. The best tools also provide access to data in real time so that it is instantly available. This enables quick on-the-spot decision-making.
Tools should also provide easy access to key performance indicators so that employees can track progress. All data should be presented in a digestible and accessible format. As well as tables and lists, the software should have a variety of visualization options.
A variety of integrations
Modern businesses rely on many different tools for various purposes. As mentioned, the goal of ERP is to centralize these different processes into a single stream. That’s why an effective ERP alternative should come with many different integrations.
Essentially, if a tool is key for the day-to-day operations of your business, it should integrate with your ERP alternative. This includes your point of sale, marketing tools, finance, and many other examples. When assessing ERP alternatives, put integration high on the list of priorities.
How to choose the right ERP alternative for your business
We’ve explored some of the key features to look for in ERP alternatives. But what other steps should be taken when choosing software for your business? Make sure you don’t overlook any of the factors listed below:
- Identify your business needs and objectives
- Consider which features you require
- Think about how much you’re willing to spend
- Assess implementation and training requirements
- Request a trial or demo
What are the best ERP alternatives if you don’t want to stick with a legacy system?
As we reflected earlier, there are two common ERP alternatives to traditional, legacy setups: migrating your current system to the cloud or switching to a CRM or best of breed solution.
Let’s explore both options in more detail:
Migrating your current ERP to the corresponding cloud version
One option is to move your existing ERP solution onto the cloud. As mentioned, this enables you to do away with physical hardware. You can save money on maintenance and upkeep, as these will be handled by the cloud provider.
If you currently use a legacy SAP system, for example, you could transition to “RISE with SAP”. This enables you to embrace an AI-powered ERP system, capable of scaling with the demands of the modern world.
Using RISE, you can make use of a virtual assistant, powered by generative AI. This can provide data insights and answer user questions.
Cloud systems also often come with enhanced security, complete with the latest firewall and encryption protections. Cloud providers ensure that your data is being handled in accordance with legislation.
In all, this approach brings a number of benefits. There is the downside, however, that businesses no longer have full control over their systems.
Using CRMs or other best of breed solutions
If you’d prefer a more “hands-on” option, the best-of-breed approach is another example of ERP alternatives for your business. As we explained earlier, here, instead of a single integrated system, you choose technology to handle different aspects of your business.
For example, your marketing team will choose content marketing software, whilst HR might look at onboarding software. This approach gives departments more of a direct role in choosing software that works for them. These more tailored solutions can often provide a higher level of service for teams.
The best-of-breed approach does, however, bring a number of challenges. Instead of a single system, employees need to become well-versed in many different tools. This potentially requires more training and onboarding. Utilizing different systems also means there will be multiple streams of data, creating a higher risk of inaccuracy or errors.
There is another option when it comes to top ERP alternatives to consider, however.
Or, enhance your existing ERP with OpenLegacy Hub
What if you want to combine the convenience of the cloud with the control of on-premises ERP? OpenLegacy provides the flexibility that your business needs. Through SAP integration, or integration with other legacy ERPs, we’ll connect your legacy systems with the cloud.
This process is becoming difficult through traditional means. SAP is sunsetting its SAP PI/PO integration, meaning this is no longer a useful long-term solution. Whilst SAP has replaced this option with the SAP integration suite, the solution has received unfavorable reviews due to a lack of integrations with non-SAP apps.
The OpenLegacy Hub allows you to take a hybrid approach. We offer integration with many different SAP and non-SAP applications. This way, you continue to enjoy the same functionality of your legacy system, with the many benefits of the cloud.
On top of OpenLegacy Hub, OpenLegacy has a new solution called OpenLegacy AI Powered Chat for SAP.
It allows enterprises to revolutionize how they interact with legacy, on-premises SAP systems using the power of AI and natural language.
- Thanks to advanced language models like GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), it allows business users to get answers, generate insights, and execute transactions using simple chat and voice interfaces [think, a ChatGPT style interface], without the need for costly system upgrades or migrations.
So, for instance, an enterprise could input questions like: - "What orders are out of stock?"
- "List orders received before April 30 of this year"
- "What are my open service calls for today?"
- "Show me products shipped during Q1 of this year by sea"
The solution can then intelligently understand context and nuance to provide accurate, relevant answers and actions based on the data/information present in existing legacy, on-premises SAP systems.
Key benefits of OpenLegacy AI Powered Chat for SAP:
- It’s intuitive: Empowers business users to easily retrieve data and perform SAP transactions using natural language chat and voice, with no training required
- It’s intelligent: Get answers to complex questions that require reasoning across SAP modules
- It’s rapid: Optimize existing and new SAP services quickly and with minimal development effort
- It’s extensible: Works with SAP as well as other enterprise systems and data sources
- It’s scalable: Deploy on any cloud for reliability and performance
- It allows enterprises to leverage existing investments: Utilize years of SOA services in the new AI era without changing or touching them, maximizing the value of your existing IT assets.
Find the best fit for your business
There are many different ERP alternatives to your legacy systems. It’s worth evaluating those options to find the best fit for your business.
Remember, if you want to retain the benefits of your legacy system whilst embracing the benefits of the cloud, OpenLegacy Hub offers a clear solution.
We’ll unlock your full potential with AI-friendly APIs, accelerate your time to market, reduce cost and risk, and help you craft an innovative, forward-thinking strategy.
But don’t just take our word for it, schedule a demo today.
FAQs on ERP alternatives
When is the best time to move to an ERP alternative?
There is no “right” time to move to an ERP alternative. It will depend on the unique circumstances of your business. If you’re relying on outdated legacy systems, however, it's important to upgrade sooner rather than later. As businesses become more dependent on innovative, agile solutions, it's important not to be held back by outdated technology.
How easy is it to integrate an ERP alternative?
The ease of integration will depend on your chosen ERP alternative. For those looking for a simple and flexible solution, consider OpenLegacy Hub. We’ll give you complete control, as we help you link your legacy system to the cloud.
What are the benefits of using an ERP alternative?
Different ERP alternatives bring different benefits. A best-of-breed option gives individual aspects of your business greater control over software. It also, however, means operating multiple systems at the same time.
Moving your existing infrastructure to the cloud brings many advantages. You can make the most of modern technology such as AI to enhance reporting and gain many additional features. This option, however, means a loss of control over your systems.
With OpenLegacy, however, you can maintain control of your on-premises infrastructure while linking with the cloud. This is the perfect ERP alternative for businesses that want control over their systems, but don’t want the hassle of the best-of-breed solution.
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