Legacy ERP software is any enterprise resource planning system that is no longer updated or supported by its developers. They can cost companies considerable time, money, and lost productivity.
Is It Time to Update Legacy ERP Software?
Ask yourself the following questions to see if it’s time to update your legacy ERP software:
Answer yes or no to each question. Give yourself 1 point for every “Yes” answer.
- We were told that the ERP system we have is no longer supported.
- We cannot log into our ERP system unless we are in the office, at a computer that has the program loaded into it.
- Our ERP system cannot communicate with the warehouse inventory system, so we often have to type in the inventory update to the ERP.
- We often resort to spreadsheets to create reports because our ERP system does not produce the data visualizations we need.
- Our system was down for more than one hour in the last several days.
- We cannot integrate the current ERP with other programs such as CRM systems or office productivity suites because they are unsupported.
- We’re having trouble finding someone who can write custom reports for our ERP system because very few people know it well enough.
- Our reports are usually so outdated by the time the system runs them that we end up manually writing up data in spreadsheets to produce reports.
- We’re all frustrated by how often the ERP system crashes.
How many “yes” answers did you give? If you answered even one “yes” to the questions above, it’s time to update your ERP system.
Do You Recognize Any of These Situations?
Legacy systems may be only a few years old or decades old. No matter how old they are, however, a legacy system may be holding your company back from the growth it could achieve. Here are several ways in which legacy ERP software may be costing your firm time or money.
Limited Accessibility
Because legacy ERP software is often older software, many legacy systems lack full cloud capabilities. Those that do have cloud versions may be limited in how many people can access them or in the options available via the cloud version.
Although some companies prefer on-premises software, most need some remote accessibility. The pandemic taught many companies the critical need to allow personnel to log in from remote work sites. When accessibility to the ERP is limited, it not only restricts working arrangements, but it also limits many other features normally available through cloud systems. Shifting from legacy to modern ERP systems improves accessibility and ensures that productivity continues whether people are working onsite or from another location.
Productivity Drain
If you have ever worked with legacy ERP software, you know that coaxing it along can be a productivity drain. Frequent system crashes, slow response time, and just plain clunky processing keeps your team from optimal productivity. If you find you are spending more time waiting for tech support to fix specific issues, it’s time to consider upgrading your ERP.
Restricted Functionality
Another issue with older ERP software is its restricted functionality. It may not be able to integrate with other platforms easily. This means hiring custom programmers to create the necessary integrations. This can make it cost-prohibitive to add new programs that could potentially save your company time, money, and effort.
Hard to Find Developers Who “Speak the Language”
As systems age, the developers who once “spoke its language” may no longer be available to write custom programs. Developers keep up to date with the latest software programs and focus on what’s productive for their businesses—and managing legacy coding may no longer be a productive or profitable business choice for them. As such, it may be harder to find programmers to create custom reports and code fixes for older systems.
Missed Opportunities
Data is now the key competitive edge for many companies. Having the right data, and the ability to access timely data, is crucial for companies to maintain a competitive edge.
Legacy ERP software may not provide timely data to support such competitive needs. Older systems often do batch updates, which means waiting hours or days until data is refreshed, a time delay that can seriously hamper your company’s ability to react quickly to changing circumstances. Replacing legacy systems with modern ERP solves this problem since most newer ERP systems, especially cloud-based platforms, provide almost instantaneous data feeds and keep systems constantly updated.
Ready to Upgrade Your ERP?
Updating and upgrading your ERP platform is a big undertaking. It takes time to develop your needs list, evaluate platforms, and choose one that fits your company’s needs. Plus, you need the right ERP consultant to ensure it is set up properly.
Emerald TC provides software and consulting for manufacturing companies. We can help you choose the right ERP system for your needs. Contact us or call 678-456-6919 for more information.