Agresso Asks Companies: Are You BLINC or 'Blind'?

Newly-Issued ERP Software Checklist Challenges Buyer Complacency

VICTORIA, British Columbia -- Agresso, (www.agresso.com/USA), the ERP market's definition of agility, has issued a software buyer's checklist to guide Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC) [TM] in their software purchases. The Agresso Total Cost of Change Checklist is a counterpoint to typical purchase criteria that results in cost inefficiencies that will become obvious in an economic slowdown or recessionary environment.

With the tougher economic climate that organizations are currently facing, Agresso sees ERP customers potentially multiplying their problems. Buyer complacency around change, in tandem with wrong prioritizations around ERP selection, creates the scenario for a Business Living in Denial (Blind) This is the reason that companies often choose a rigid solution that works best for them in their current situation, but is unable to adapt to crises, emergencies and future change scenarios.

The Agresso Total Cost of Change Checklist is predicated on crucial cost-of-change scenarios that most purchasers nowadays forget to consider, but really embody the missing link of software purchasing. The following scenarios need to be measured against the capacity and ease of change within an ERP system this is being considered for purchase:

Reorganization & Restructuring

* The ability of the organization to change in structure to accommodate future market demands/drivers and reorganizations, and the ability of the software to follow these changes.

* The effort required to review organizational changes within the finance system.

* The ability to track a project with changing ownership of the different phases of the project.

Organizational Evolution

* Software that can provide people with the correct level of access to information.

* The ability to support the business when rolling out new products or services.

* The capacity to add a new metric to measure business performance.

Mergers & Acquisitions

* The ability to migrate merged or acquired organizations on the corporate business system, thereby ensuring one version of the truth.

* The capacity to introduce a common reporting structure across multiple legal entities and regions while continuing to meet local reporting requirements.

* The effort required to operate one credit control department for the entire organization.

Government Reform & Compliancy 

* The level of effort required to comply with a new corporate or government regulation.

* The level of effort required to ensure new and old reporting standards compare.

* The ability to report financial data alongside non-financial data.

Analysts are predicting that the economy will impact IT projects and IT spend.

"The economic situation here in the US is causing many companies to delay or cancel capital projects, which includes purchase of new software applications or upgrades," said Bill McSpadden, Principal at PWR.

According to survey results published by PWR, 28% of respondents said they will not be able to increase IT spending as much as planned.

With these types of IT constraints, businesses need to think twice before making an ERP purchasing decision and check if it provides satisfactory answers to the criteria specified in this checklist. Every requirement that is not met means a direct and tangible risk to an organization's ability to achieve its mid- and long-term objectives.

With this checklist, Agresso is helping organizations rid themselves of software that is too inflexible. Only then will enterprises be able to ride the wave of change when it hits them, instead of being drowned by it.

About Agresso

Agresso (www.agresso.com/usa) is a $480 million enterprise resource planning (ERP) company and one of the top five providers of ERP solutions for professional services and public sector organizations. Agresso offers a uniquely integrated architecture designed specifically for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC) [TM]. Agresso allows an unlimited amount of ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and intervention that nets billions of dollars in revenue to the market leaders. Over 2,750 companies and organizations in 100 countries deploy Agresso Business World for both operational support and strategic management. The company's role-based, Web Services and Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled solutions include: Financial Management, Human Resources and Payroll, Procurement Management, Project Costing and Billing, Reporting and Analytics, Business Process Automation, Field Services and Asset Maintenance, and CRM.