How much of a burden is ERP on your IT department?

Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/03/17/erp_burden_on_it_poll/

Reviewing the practicalities and pressures

Posted in On-Prem, 17th March 2010 11:17 GMT

Mini Poll Following our discussions earlier in the week on the current state of ERP, we thought it would be useful to gather some structured feedback on the burden such systems place on IT departments. So, if you have a couple of minutes, let us know how things are with your ERP system in the following mini-poll:

READER POLL: ERP BURDEN ON IT

1. How long has your core/main ERP system been in place?

Under 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
5 to 10 years
Over 10 years

2. How much strain have the following put on your IT department over the past year in relation to your core ERP system? (1-5 scale, 5 = Major burden, 1 = Little or no burden)

	Major burden			Little or no burden		Not applicable (Outsource this)
	5	4	3	2	1	Not applicable (Outsource this)
Patch management and routine maintenance of application software
Patch management and maintenance of underlying hardware and platform software
Storage & information management (including backup, recovery, archiving, etc)
Performance monitoring & management
Troubleshooting server, storage and network issues
Managing security and access
Change requests for functional modifications & enhancements to the system
Maintenance/rework of interfaces as the surrounding systems landscape changes
Major package upgrades
Implementation of new components/modules
Extension and/or customisation projects
Other (please specify)

3. For your core ERP system, which of the following modules/components are the most dynamic i.e. subject to the greatest amount of change on an ongoing basis? (1-5 scale, 5 = Major ongoing change, 1 = No real change at all)

	Major ongoing change			No real change at all		Not applicable / Not part of core system
	5	4	3	2	1	Not applicable / Not part of core system
HR management
Finance and accounting
Supplier/procurement management
Manufacturing planning and execution
Warehousing/inventory management
Supply chain planning/management
EDI/XML based data exchange
Distribution/logistics (eg transport)
Sales order processing
Sales force automation
Web trading/e-commerce
Customer service management
Field force automation
Reporting, analytics, BI
Fixed asset management/maintenance
Other (please specify)

4. How much would the following be likely to contribute to an ERP replacement decision, or if you have replaced a system in the last three years, how much did they contribute? (1-5 scale, 5 = Major driver for replacement, 1 = Minor consideration)

	Major driver for replacement			Minor consideration
	5	4	3	2	1
Lack of flexibility from a business perspective
Lack of openness/flexibility from an IT/systems perspective
Need to cater for more internal users with different requirements and access needs
Need to cater for more external users with different requirements and access needs
Important functionality missing from current system
Supplier related issues (eg contracts, maintenance, support, upgrade policy, etc)
Package reaching end of life or vendor putting it into ‘maintenance only’ mode
Concern over ongoing development/investment as a result of vendor acquisition
Other (please specify)

5. Which of the following would act as a blocker to replacing your current ERP system? (Please tick all that apply)

N/A – system doesn’t need replacing (skip to question 6)
Lack of funds / other funding priorities
Lack of buy in from senior management
Disruption of making the change
Practical migration challenges
Too busy doing day-to-day stuff
Other (please specify)

6. Any other general comments on the current state of ERP in your organisation?

BEFORE YOU GO

7. Approximately how large is your organisation (worldwide) in terms of employees?

Less than 10 employees
10 to 50 employees
50 to 250 employees
250 to 1,000 employees
1,000 to 5,000 employees
5,000 to 10,000 employees
Over 10,000 employees

8. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

Energy & Utilities
Financial Services
Healthcare
Hi-Tech
Manufacturing
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceuticals
Central/Local Government
Retail & wholesale
Professional services
Telecommunications
Travel & Transportation
Other (please specify)