ERPs a waste of space?

From: Martyn Richard Jones <martyn_at_iniciativa.org>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2000 14:03:41 +0100
Message-ID: <85fa15$qgv$1@lola.ctv.es>

Hello,
The nights are longer in Spain right now and it seemed like an ideal = moment to ponder a couple of issues related to the vagaries of = technologies, business and commercial astuteness. I am currently putting = together a white paper on ERPs, Knowledge Management and Information = Management and need as much varied input as possible (the paper will be = published – free of charge - on our new web site = http://www.iniciativas.com towards the end of February 2000).

Lets start with a question: How does the imposition of an external mode = of work affect our ability to be creative and decisive with information = and to be more innovative and productive through the management = (communicating, reviewing, sharing) of information and knowledge? = Imagine that the external mode of work comes as a need to conform to the = nuances of a software package, rather than vice versa.

Given that Microsoft has been hauled through the courts for alleged = restrictive and monopolistic practices does it not beg the question: and = who next will be next? Better still, “and who should really have been = in the dock rather than MS?”

From my experience of implementations and use of ERPs (Enterprise = Resource Planner) I can say that when business have to, or desire to go = the ERP route, they are somewhat more tied - should that be "hooked" - = into a solution than with virtually any other information technology = based "solution".

I am particularly concerned about the potential impact of rampant = application and business process conformance on the areas of Information = and Knowledge Management. It is curious to note that Business IT = alignment means that IT aligns with the business so long as the business = processes can align with the application. It seems as if some segments = of the IT industry are actually suggesting that business IT should = continue to focus more on the technology (software) than the business = needs. Common sense tells us that this is wrong and that business IT = should be focusing on what the business wants and not on specific = software solutions. But it will take a brave consultant to tell an = Information Systems management team that they have actually chosen an = inadequate ERP, with suspect underlying analytical models and erroneous = process models, at enormous purchase costs, environmental impact costs = and cost of ownership that they made the wrong choice. A wrong choice = that was emphasized by what Dr. Reilly Atkinson described to me as = “putting all of their startegical and tactical eggs in someone = else’s basket”.

The other aspect of ERP lies in the climate of mediocrity and = battle-weariness that it creates and reinforces. Where you have = technicians, knowledge workers, managers and executives spending on = their time and efforts in getting an ERP to function, and have no time = left to address the real underlying business problems. But again, and = has been mentioned to me on a number of occasions, an ERP system is = easier to manage than a real business and it’s much easier to set up a = nice bureaucratic chain of management command and control. This is = needed to ensure that the cost of failure can be manipulated and at = worst apportioned to external consultants. Who will have been paid = handsomely to take the fall.

Choosing diverse plug and play applications for a MS Windows / NT = environment is a question of preference, and one can easily switch from = one type of office solution to another without too much bother - apart = from issues with blue screen and the like.

The problem with many ERPs (the ones that I know) is that you cannot mix = and match. It's not just a question of slight variations between one = offering and another but rather one of almost complete and utter = incompatibility. There is no backward compatability with ERPs as there = is with most any Microsoft product, so when you’re tied in to an ERP = you are really hooked in long term.

When integration implies a massive effort even bigger than an ERP = implementation then the thought of constructing a desired system gets = thrown on the burner together with the needs of business

On the other hand one has to applaud the likes of Oracle for not = insisting on force feeding their version of Information Management = reality down the necks of corporate business - unfortunately this cannot = be said for any of the other ERPs I know.

If the only companies that went for an ERP solution were the ones that = had no alternative option then there wouldn’t be a problem right? But = what is the sense in business paying vast amounts of throw away cash on = creating a level playing field? As Mr. Denham Gray recently pointed out = to me “most companies bought ERP to enhance their competitiveness, = most find the level playing field now offers no advantages.”

So, last year Microsoft and this year ERP Corp? What of the highly = damaging and negative impact of the pervasive use of rigid applications = on the agility, flexibility and responsiveness of corporate business =

with particular regard to contemporary views on KM (Knowledge Sharing, =
Communities of Practice etc.) and IM (OLAP, Data Warehousing, Business =
Intelligence etc,)?  What of the vapid claims of some ERP vendors that =

their products actually include Data Warehousing and Knowledge = Management enabling technology, when at best it could be described as a = mix of pretty standard and suspect “data analytics”.

When a company has committed to an ERP and then sees the wolf at the = door it’s only collective thought is in how and when to put the baby = to bed as fast as possible (if at all), when this mindset sets in trying = to get rid of it is about as easy as throwing out the ERP. It’s a big = issue. Companies significantly reduce their future options and their = agility, apart from software and other technological choices, “there = is a contagious mindset, a battle wariness, a set of invisible blinkers = and a reluctance to disturb the status quo that sets in.” Riding an = ERP is like riding a trend or a maverick horse, better to ride it in the = direction it’s already going or not at all.

Regards and best wishes for the holiday season,

Martyn R Jones

Director, Iniciativa Received on Tue Jan 11 2000 - 07:03:41 CST