Enterprise software implementation - surprisingly not technological

When introducing business software such as ERP or CRM there are a lot of obstacles, challenges and surprises to overcome. While the need and benefits of the new technology are often obvious to the company, the path to the hoped-for outcome is not so clear. This also has to do with many a misunderstanding.

Perhaps the most important thing about introducing business software: it's not about the software. Rather, it is about the strategy, the business processes and the people.

There are some typical points that should be taken into consideration.

Technology is a minor issue in the implementation of business software

The first thing to do is to avoid a common reflex: to start with technology. In other words, you should not make the mistake of getting too excited about technology without first considering the needs of your business.

It's easy to get caught up in artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud technology, big data and other technological breakthroughs. However, these innovations are meaningless if they do not support your business and are not aligned with your strategic goals. Successful implementations start with business strategy, improving Business processes and organisational structure - before determining how best to implement these future requirements with technology.

Define your business needs and requirements

But how exactly do you start with something other than the actual software? One of the first steps is to define your business needs and requirements. When introducing business software, you should ask yourself a few questions:

What is your overarching business strategy in terms of digital transformation? Is there such a Strategy?

? What should your business processes look like in the future?

? What will your company structure look like in the future? What hierarchies are there? Who has which role?

? When do you expect the return on investment for your potential technology investments?

? What is your planning horizon? How far ahead can you and do you want to look?

The answers to these questions will change over time, but it is important to have at least a first draft of these and other requirements before you evaluate and select potential business software solutions.

Consider all your options when introducing software

If you talk to software providers, you will hear promises of patent remedies and one-size-fits-all solutions. But don't take the bait unseen.

What may make sense for one company in a software implementation may be devastating for yours. What is touted by industry analysts as the next big thing or indispensable may not make sense for your company's strategy or culture. Be sure to filter out any nice sales messages and take them with a grain of salt. While you're at it, also distrust all immovable authorities. The top ranking in the Gartner Magic Quadrant does not and cannot always be top for everyone.

There is no one "right" answer for your and all other companies. The variance of solutions is much wider than some experts try to tell you. Between on-premises and cloudThere are umpteen variations, all of which do not follow the "pure doctrine", but can be the ideal solution for your company. And yes-there are ?best practices? but just for those who are not in the other ?club?: with the others.

Focus on architecture, data and integration

The biggest technological challenges in implementing enterprise software are usually not caused directly by the software. Rather, it is the way all your systems are connected via the integration communicate with each other, how the data is cleansed and migrated, and your overall solution architecture supports or hinders the processes.

It is important to have a clear plan for the solution architecture as part of your system integration. This also helps to ensure that you have a realistic idea of the technological risks, timelines and resource requirements to manage a successful overall implementation.

Do not forget the people

The key to the success of your software implementation rarely has to do with technology alone, but with people. The success of your software implementation depends on how well your staff, project members and all other stakeholders understand, embrace and implement the change you are seeking.

Change management is more than just communicating changes and training staff on the new software. It goes far beyond that. It starts with designing the future state of the organisation, identifying and how exactly the different departments and staff will be affected.

Not easy but possible

Implementing enterprise software is never easy. However, with the right focus and priorities, it is doable. In doing so, you should focus more on the organisational and less on the "software" components of your digital transformation.