Maximizing Return on Investment Using ERP Applications

THE ERA OF GOVERNANCE: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

In examining today’s environment, it is easy to get carried away with the technology advances. There is still a business to be led and business leaders continue to need advice from the IT function on how to effectively use technology to create business value and to measure Return on Investment. Much of what is coming today is focused on delivery, flexibility, and speed, which can offer significant advantages, but the business cases for near-term Return on Investment have often not been determined. Examples include:

1. Cloud. Perhaps not today but in the near future, the ability to deliver all of these applications over the Web will become a serious option for consideration. This is both from a cost and an architecture standpoint as applications become more mobile.

2. Mobility. With the advent of “smart” everything, opportunities to use the new technologies (iPhones, iPads, and so on) may allow for a more effective and efficient flow of work through the enterprise. The ability to provide everything from procurement release strategies to HR job-posting approvals over smartphones, so that approving managers are no longer tied to laptops or tedious surrogate assignments, may be effective in automating processes.

3. In Memory Computing. The continued dramatic reduction in the cost of memory now makes it reasonable to keep much more information accessible from primary transaction platforms and could ultimately require rethinking the ...