IT versus the business: Why leadership of your cloud ERP project matters (Part 2)

In a recent article I discussed a long term industry trend that I have seen add stress to already complex ERP implementation projects.

That trend, the move of ownership of ERP selection and implementation projects away from business stakeholders and toward IT groups, in many cases with outright project control, creates a range of problems for projects. And ERP projects were not easy before. They are historically difficult to bring in on time, on budget, and delivering on promised functionality in the best of conditions.

In my experience with rescue projects and new implementations, these projects have a better chance of success when there is a strong IT presence that partners with the business and makes an effort to understand business requirements and workflows at a detailed level. When IT does not develop this partnership, the potential for project issues increases dramatically.

Fortunately, I have had the good luck and privilege of working with and learning from some incredible IT managers that have taken up the challenge of digging deeply into business requirements when working on ERP implementation projects.

One of my favorites of this breed is Kenny Mullican, the CIO at Paragon Films, Inc. Kenny reacted to my previous post with the following notes that I thought added to the conversation, and he agreed generously to share.