ERP Modernization

In a previous era of computing, companies had a single strategy for selecting, deploying and managing applications, classifying them by value or technological viability. What companies, starting with their CIO, need to recognize is that applications are fundamentally different depending on how they are used by an organization.

As Gartner describes in this document, we believe there are three categories which define different application types and help organizations develop appropriate strategies for each one.

• Systems of record: fundamentals that everyone shares like accounting, inventory, invoicing, supplier management, order management, customer records, etc. Support fundamental, core transactional processes and manage critical master data. There is little differentiation a business can rely on for these matters. Systems of record can be as standardized as possible and generally in place for several years and funded as a capital asset, typically Sage ERP X3 core functions.


• Systems of differentiation: these are the business applications supporting processes and related data that are unique to each business, where the know-how makes a big difference in a businesses’ ability to capture new customers and retain existing ones. These are typically ERP custom developments as in Sage ERP X3 and its SAFE X3 development platform or third party applications. They have shorter life spans and are subject to more frequent redesign. These may be selected, managed and funded as a line-of-business budget item.


• Systems of innovation: our new world - web based, video-on-demand, mobile, social, presence aware - offers fantastic opportunities for businesses to grow. Technology has become much more pervasive and accessible, so CIOs need to accommodate this environment with systems of innovation, while connecting it to their existing systems of records and differentiation. Systems of innovation are predominantly web-based services, highly collaborative, handling unstructured data, funded by business users and third parties with a very short life cycle. Very often, these systems of innovation are leveraging cloud capabilities and accommodating new devices, encompassing communities’ management, portals or dashboards, Twitter, online video and Facebook.

With Sage ERP X3, we are offering different ways to enable businesses to build around this model and manage three layers in their system. Sage Enterprise Webtop ™ is a very good example of the ability to leverage systems of innovation directly connected to Sage ERP X3, cloud based and accessible via a large variety of devices from PCs to smartphones, not forgetting tablets.

The benefit for businesses is an ability to manage their application portfolio strategy and funding, to prioritize business growth and leverage new technologies to support it.