The Epicor 2022 Industry Insights Report illuminates the need for ongoing partnership.
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When the world’s most essential businesses are considering a new ERP solution provider, what are they looking for throughout their journey to the cloud? The Epicor 2022 Industry Insights Report (IIR) explores these customer preferences in depth, with what Enterprise Times Editor Steve Brooks calls, “a refreshingly new focus.”
According to Brooks, “The report has different and interesting insights for readers compared to other research around ERP,” including the importance companies place on flexibility, security, consistency, and transparency at each stage of choosing a technology solution.
Our research revealed that cloud ERP plays a vital role in empowering these organizations to make, move, and sell effectively. Scalable cloud ERP solutions enable organizations to adjust their business flows, add value, and diversify with minimal disruption—so they can remain agile and stay ahead of the competition.
Enterprises are now more likely to use a hybrid solution, with 96% using at least some cloud ERP solutions and 46% of them either primarily or entirely on the cloud.
When it comes to today’s deployment preferences, there’s little difference between small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and enterprises. Nearly 90% of enterprises use hybrid ERP solutions. However, SMBs aren’t far behind, with 81% choosing hybrid deployment.
That said, those that use an on-premises solution and those that rely on an even mix of on-premises and cloud-based ERP are more inclined to consider other ERP providers or solutions.
Enterprises seek a partner that can give them greater control over their ERP solution, where SMBs need more assurance that the cloud is secure and tend to be more interested in being educated about how the cloud works. Loyalty is high among the enterprise audience, but there is an appetite to look for alternatives.
According to our research, customer confidence in navigating the ERP purchase journey is extremely high. Here again, enterprises have a slight edge, with 99% of enterprise decision-makers expressing confidence as compared to 96% for SMBs.
Overall, business leaders feel positive about their purchase experience, regardless of their business’s industry or the type of deployment they choose.
On average, 97% of technology decision-makers across all the industries we surveyed view their ERP provider as a partner throughout the entire journey, from the very beginning through go-live.
In order to capture businesses looking to explore a new solution, ERP providers need to focus on loyalty, trust, and transparency at every stage of the consultation, purchase, and implementation process. At this stage of awareness, businesses can see through quick promises and buzzwords, and need details of how their new ERP system will improve processes, strengthen security, and increase profits.
In detailing the levels of satisfaction among industry leaders before, during, and after the implementation of a new ERP system, the IIR highlights the benefits of a solid partnership that extends from initial consultation to well after go-live.
When this level of engagement is successful, both the solution provider and the company reap the benefits of increased retention and greater utility of the system as a whole.
“This,” Brooks concludes, “is the reality for cloud-based ERP.”
Read the full Enterprise Times article here.
