How to Achieve Enterprise Software Success

A successful enterprise software implementation has the power to boost profits and maximize efficiency to set the foundation for your company’s future growth. However, many implementation projects go rogue when leaders fail to adhere to modern best practices. Investors are required to detail an end-to-end scope of their operations and create a strategy to make sure the solution aligns with business needs and industry standards. If a software implementation project is compromised or rushed, you’re liable to waste your ERP, CRM or eCommerce investment.

Make sure your software project results in exciting improvements, not a money pit. Here are the top five keys to successfully implementing enterprise software.

1. Find Common Ground

A successful implementation can only be achieved when everyone shares a common vision for the project, but convincing each department to transition to a new solution can be a struggle. Find common ground among users to see your growth model through. Explain how centralizing enterprise data will help each department perform more effectively and reduce the time it takes to complete tasks. Additionally, consider seeking out a change management expert who can provide insight on what worked for other companies with similar dilemmas.

2. Clean Data

“Moving forward on a clean slate” shouldn’t just be an aphorism; this idea should serve as the core motivation for your enterprise software implementation, especially when you’re migrating data. Many businesses neglect to administer routine data maintenance in legacy systems, damaging the efficiency of software overtime. Flawed data manipulates process outcomes and leads to poor business process modeling. Including a data cleanse in the deliverables can make an implementation much faster and more affordable. It also allows the company to address misuses of the system, so those mistakes do not recur in the new software investment.

3. Communicate Effectively

Routine communication and accountability is critical both during and after your implementation. Whoever is charged with leading the project should include a high-level communication plan as a fundamental part of the process. Essentially, this brings business leaders together to take full command of project outcomes. Routine communication forces high-level leaders to become accountable for data management, change orders and estimates. Adopting this transparency in your project will greatly improve your expectations of the new system and profoundly lessen contingency in each phase of the implementation.

4. Instruct Users

Starting in the back-end phases of a project, the implementation team should thoroughly train business users. After all, business users are at the core of software processes. If users don’t know how to perform jobs and tasks in the system, how can a business expect them to adopt the solution? Role-based training gives users the skills to perform relevant tasks. After your solution goes live, have power users on site to answer user questions. You should also establish KPIs to measure how effectively employees are utilizing the new system.

5. Seek an Expert Consultant

A software expert is critical to implementation success. One of the most important skills of any software consultant is business process modeling. Business processes are ultimately what determine the ROI of the software, as the software will only be as effective as the processes it supports. Consultants have both software and industry expertise, allowing them to uncover your pain points and fully model your operations. Business process modeling lays the foundation for your implementation, making a top-tier consultant a wise investment for executing your project.

Wrap Up

Eager to see a return, investors often decide to deploy software quickly without any outside help. However, this tactic exposes your project to risk and can ultimately cost you more in the long run. These five tips protect your implementation from failure and allow you to maximize ROI.

For leading expertise throughout your project, get in touch with Datix. We have over 20 years of experience as providers of ERP, CRM and eCommerce solutions. An Epicor Gold Partner, our consultants know ERP inside and out. We know how to align your solution to your unique business needs. Talk to our experts today about your next software implementation project, and make the most out of your next investment!