8 Steps to help ease your ERP software selection process:
Step 1: What Do I have?
It’s a really good idea to know what you currently have prior to deciding if you need a new or upgraded ERP system. The following isn’t intended to be comprehensive, but it’s a good starting point:
- What ERP system are we using now?
- What’s the version of the ERP system we’re using now?
- How many users for the ERP system are we licensed for?
- What year was the ERP system last upgraded?
- What database does the ERP system store its data in?
- What version is the database?
- How many database users are we licensed for?
- How much storage space is the database consuming?
- What operating system is running on the server housing the database?
- How much memory (RAM) does the server have that is storing the database?
- How much free hard disk storage space does the server have?
- How many remote users do we have?
- How many remote offices do we have?
- Are any of the servers or workstations virtualized?
- How much RAM does each workstation have?
- What video resolution is supported by each workstation?
- Are we using barcoding or RFID technology?
- What firewall are we using? Brand, model, and version information is useful.
- What’s the speed of our Internet connection?
- What third-party add-ons do we have for our existing ERP system? Version information is useful.
- What document imaging software are we currently using, if any?
- What interfaces to other systems (internal or external) are currently being utilized?
- Has the existing system been customized?
- Has a report writer been used to create custom reports? How many?
- What upgrade rights do you have? Are you currently paying a fee that entitles you to free upgrades?
- What printers do we have?
- How do we backup our current system’s data?
- Are we using Active Directory?
- Who hosts the company’s website?