Evolution of ERP – How Far Have We Come!

From the widespread adoption of social media to the evolution of mobile and cloud computing, the enterprise technology (IT) landscape particularly the enterprise software (ERP) ecosystem has witnessed a streak of technological advancements in the last couple of decades.

Read also: How Artificial Intelligence is shaking up the ERP Landscape?

Enterprise software landscape has undergone a sea change in the past decade or so. By the mid of 1990, ERP solutions leaped out from the manufacturing units to other sectors/departments covering key functions such as maintenance, aftersales, inventory, human resources, ecommerce, etc. As of today, ERP systems are available with advanced functionalities, features and usability than ever. All thanks to technology and evolving user demands.

Here’s a graphical representation on how the enterprise resource planning landscape has evolved over the years:

1. The Beginning

ERP systems have been there since the 1980s aimed at big businesses to help with accounting and finances. The systems then were expensive yet complex to use.

2. Modular and lightweight infra

These types of micro ERP offerings took over the complex and large enterprise systems by breaking them up into smaller modular components.

3. ERP in the 1990s

1990s was all about inter-functional ERP integrations. Yes, these systems seamlessly integrated accounting, distribution, inventory, logistics and so on.

4. ERP in the 21^st century

Coming to the 2000s, ERP ecosystem witnessed the introductions of several add-ons like supply chain, business intelligence, smarter reporting, CRM and so on.

5. ERP today

ERP systems have come a long way! Today, ERP systems come armed with built-in intelligent analytics capabilities, integrated security functionalities, faster updates, cloud focused/mobile friendly, data-driven and modular offering unmatched flexibility.

Read also: How Digital Transformation Is Changing the Way We Treat Enterprise Technology?

Takeaway

The evolution of ERP has been traversing at rocket speed. And as the evolution doesn’t seem to cease either, ERP systems are robust and well-equipped today than they were a decade ago. In fact, there are exciting times ahead for ERP software landscape with Big Data and IoT coming together to create more powerful and intelligent ERP systems.

ERP systems today no longer feel and look dizzy and are appealing than ever. They are way more advanced, cloud based delivered via SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) model. They are much flexible and modular in nature thus, making them a perfect pick-me-up for small businesses. For instance, ERP system like Sage 300cloud is not only helping businesses streamline their key functions, but also helping them be more agile and efficient.

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Disclaimer: All the information, views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and their respective web sources and in no way reflect the principles, views or objectives of Sage Software Solutions (P) Ltd.

Sources: Forbes, The Answer Co, CMS Wire, Ajbubb, Balloon One, e2btek, SlideShare.