Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions have evolved as the foundation of multinational corporations. In fact, the revenue generated by global ERP software solutions is anticipated to reach 78.4 billion USD by 2026, indicating a CAGR of 11% from the estimated 41.9 billion current USD market size. According to a study published by NetSuite, manufacturers are the biggest users of ERP software and represent the largest portion at 47% of companies.
ERP solutions streamline processes, provide data-driven insights, and promote collaboration to enhance operational performance, productivity, and strategic decision-making. However, to maintain their competitiveness and fulfill the demands of a quickly changing business environment, companies usually need to upgrade or migrate their ERP systems. Whether the migration is to a cloud platform, a more complex solution, or a different provider, it is a demanding and difficult procedure that can potentially impact every facet of an enterprise's operations.
While thorough testing of new systems and components is an essential step in the migration process, it is crucial to understand that testing alone cannot ensure a smooth transfer. Testing basically checks that the solution works as planned. Although they are intended to identify and fix errors, they frequently fail to consider the wider business ramifications of the changes being made. Therefore, enterprises need more than just testing solutions to truly ensure a seamless ERP transfer.
Understanding the Limitations of a Testing-Centric Approach
Although testing is a crucial step in any software implementation or update process, when evaluated separately, it has inherent limitations. Software testers and developers typically take a testing-first strategy. Software testers work to find any flaws that can potentially impede user experience while developers concentrate on verifying the operation of their individual contributions.
To assure business continuity and validation after software updates, migrations, patches, and other alterations, it is crucial to realize that testing alone only addresses a small portion of the overall mandate.
The software elements in an ERP migration must not only work properly but also seamlessly interface with one another and be in line with the overarching company goals. Simply put, a testing-centric methodology is insufficient to achieve this degree of thorough assurance.
Findings from ITIC's 12th annual 2021 Hourly Cost of Downtime Survey bring this issue in sharp relief. It reported that a staggering 44% of enterprises report hourly downtime costs ranging from $1 million to over $5 million. Moreover, 89% of organizations mandate a minimum of 99.99% availability, and 35% are aiming for an exceptional reliability level of 99.999%.
These figures highlight the significant financial risk that any downtime poses as well as the rising demand for higher standards of availability and dependability. A more robust strategy that ensures business continuity must be used by enterprises to get beyond the shortcomings of a testing-centric approach.
The Need for Business Process Assurance in ERP Migration
Although testing is an important part of the software implementation process, it is unable to give organizations the complete assurance they require for ERP migration on its own. Enter Business Process Assurance, a methodology that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional testing techniques and ensures smooth business operations even during challenging ERP conversions.
Business process assurance has a broad viewpoint and goes beyond the specifics of particular software components. This strategy takes on the bigger picture of business process assurance and continuity, concentrating not only on the software but also on how it fits in with and supports operational processes. In other words, business process assurance guarantees that these functions serve business objectives without interfering with operational continuity, while regular testing only assures that the software performs as intended. Business process assurance has a macro-level perspective and considers the complete software and business ecosystem, while testing is focused on specific software components.
The transition from a testing-centric to a business process assurance strategy in ERP migration is a move away from only discovering and repairing defects to making sure that the software not only performs correctly but also fits with and supports the organization's needs and objectives.
Leverage a Comprehensive Solution for ERP Migration
Enterprises require a solution that actively addresses the difficulties and complexity involved with ERP migration. Enter Attest — a top-tier business process assurance platform built for the cloud that aims to make ERP migrations easy and seamless. Attest is a complete solution created with business continuity in mind. It’s not just a tool. It offers a macro-level overview of the complete business process ecosystem, expanding the purview of component-level analysis beyond its constrained extent. Attest ensures the integrity of the business processes they interact with by giving a bird's-eye view of both the upstream and downstream aspects of the components under alteration.
Attest also helps enterprises obtain a complete grasp of their operations and the relationships between various processes by providing a detailed process map of all business operations. As a result, decision-makers can see the "big picture," which helps them make better decisions and develop stronger strategies. Attest also has an impact analysis module that enables enterprises to quickly determine which business flows are impacted when processes or subprocesses change. With this information, enterprises can more effectively assess the full impact of changes and adapt in a way that minimizes interruptions during ERP transitions.
Attest has the potential to be revolutionary for line-of-business (LOB) managers in industries including manufacturing, banking, and supply chain. Attest prevents expensive system outages caused by improperly verified software modifications by managing changes to the application footprint holistically. This not only raises operational effectiveness but also consumer satisfaction, setting up firms for long-term success.
With Attest, organizations have a thorough, dependable, and efficient solution for guaranteeing a smooth ERP migration—a solution that genuinely recognizes the value of business continuity and the part it plays in an organization's overall success. If you're looking to improve your ERP migration process and ensure the continuity of your business operations, it's time to explore what Attest has to offer. Learn more about how Attest can be your key to seamless ERP migration and sustained business success.