PRO+ Premium Content/Business Information
Access your Pro+ Content below.
SMBs see vertical ERP technology vendors meeting specialty needs
This article is part of the Business Information issue of August 2018, Vol. 6, No. 4
SMB ERP system users are constantly faced with difficult choices as technologies advance and pressures mount to be effective while being cost-effective. Stay on premises or migrate to the cloud? Keep the old system with occasional upgrades or go entirely in vogue? Rely on a large ERP vendor or a small specialty software maker? Specialty ERP technology vendors don't have the big marketing budgets, massive user bases and mindshare, but they meet a critical need for their users and continue to thrive. Outside their specific verticals, specialty ERP vendors may not be very well-known; their customers typically are SMBs. But these vendors employ multiple strategies, such as satisfying specific feature requests and supporting new technologies, to keep their customers happy. Swedish-based ERP technology vendor IFS, for example, develops systems for manufacturing, distribution and asset management. For comparison's sake, IFS has about 3,500 employees, compared to Oracle's 138,000 and SAP's 91,000-plus. IFS customer Chief Industries is a...
Features in this issue
-
Fueled by SaaS, ERP for SMBs soars into the cloud
SaaS is making ERP accessible to more small organizations, but is there a downside? Industry insiders weigh in on the ROI of SaaS vs. on-premises and hybrid ERP.
-
Pressures mount on SMBs to modernize aging ERP processes
To upgrade or replace their old and cranky ERP systems, SMBs must consider several options, and the cloud figures prominently. But the final decision is seen shifting away from IT.
News in this issue
-
Rethinking ERP cloud migrations in the age of AI and IoT
The flight path from your legacy ERP vendor's on-premises software to a cloud version needn't be linear. In fact, you may want to rethink the entire route.
Columns in this issue
-
SMB reaps rewards of migrating QAD ERP system to the cloud
Moog's medical devices group moved its on-premises ERP system to the cloud, resulting in more reliable operation and a redirected IT focus on adding business value to the entire group.
-
There's time and place for SMBs to adopt SaaS-based ERP
SMBs face many issues when implementing SaaS ERP operations versus on-premises, plus the fact that one size cloud-based ERP platform doesn't necessarily fit all companies.