ERP Modernization
5/25/2011 at 3:03 pm byIn the previous era of computing, companies had a single strategy for selecting, deploying and managing applications, classifying it by value or technological viability. What companies, starting with their CIO, need to recognize is that applications are fundamentally different based on how they are used by the organization.
As Gartner describes in this document, we believe there are three categories to distinguish application types and help organizations develop more appropriate strategies for each one.
- Systems of record: These are fundamentals that everyone shares like accounting, inventory, invoicing, supplier management, order management, customer records, etc. 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, typical 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 for businesses to succeed in capturing new customers and retaining existing ones. These are typically ERP custom developments, similar to those 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. They may be selected, managed and funded as a line-of-business budget item.
- Systems of innovation: But our new world, web based, video intensive, mobile, social, presence aware, offers fantastic opportunities for businesses to grow. Technology has become much more pervasive and accessible; 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, able to handle 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, video on line 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 WebtopTM is a very good example of an ability to leverage systems of innovations directly connected to Sage ERP X3, cloud based and accessible via a large variety of devices from PCs to Smartphones, along with tablets.
The benefit for businesses is an ability to manage their application portfolio strategy and funding, to prioritize business growth and leverage new technologies capabilities to support it.
For more information on Sage ERP X3, please visit ERP Modernization





