Evolving Enterprise Applications 2009 - Increasing the Business Value of Investments in ERP and CRM - 2009/07/15 - Butler Group

Report title: Evolving Enterprise Applications 2009 - Increasing the Business Value of Investments in ERP and CRM

from Butler Group
172 page report published Jul 15, 2009

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KEY FINDINGS
- Enterprise applications are an easy target for cost-cutting initiatives but inappropriate cost cutting of the core applications that run the business undermines value and increases risk.
- Breaking down organisational silos, particularly between IT and business units, is fundamental to exploiting the innate value of enterprise systems but requires a collaborative culture and enterprise architecture approach.
- Applications are in a state of change â?? restructuring around a series of platforms and tasked with delivering process standardisation.
- Application extension is not just about adding new functionality but providing tools for insight, analysis, and collaboration.
- The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model brings its disruptive influence to bear on the integration, ERP, and application development areas.
- Under-utilisation of existing systems is a significant issue â?? 50% of standard functionality regularly goes unused.
- Standardisation is a major contributor to unlocking value and reducing costs.
- Strategic maintenance management can improve operational costs and release resources for value-generating initiatives.
- The next round of upgrades will be more challenging than normal technical or functional upgrades but is necessary in order to support the quest for business agility.
- Stability and flexibility appear to be mutually exclusive, but architectural change is starting to provide a solution, thereby providing a business case for additional investment.
- Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Business Process Management (BPM) are edging systems towards the much sought after alignment between applications and business objectives and application agility.CATALYSTEnterprise applications are functionally mature at the core but remain immature in the value generation area. Technology changes are opening up more opportunities for value maximisation at the business level but are also increasing complexity so that, more than ever, enterprise applications need to be viewed and managed from the multiple perspectives of architecture, process ability, and delivery, under the banner of cost and value to the business.ANALYSISIntroductionEnterprise applications â?? integrated suites of applications used to run a large part of an organisationâ??s core business â?? are highly mature in terms of functionality, with some aspects qualifying as commodity operations because there is little differentiation between the various offerings. They are far from being commodity items in their entirety however because of their role in automating, standardising, and executing the critical operations needed to run a business. Investment in enterprise applications is a consistently high priority for organisations but the unfortunate aspects of their cost and complexity make them a prime target for cost cutting during recessionary times. While constant evolution could be interpreted as a sign of weakness, it is more an indication of their strategic value and a reflection of the cost and intellectual capital tied up in them. Indiscriminate cutting will undermine value and increase risk to the business; strategic investments to improve efficiency or better manage interactions can release the value from existing investments, and generate new opportunities. Business IssuesBusiness has a dynamic and momentum that sometimes defies logic but cannot be ignored and IT plays a critical role in enabling organisations to function effectively. While applications contribute through their transaction, data management, and automated process execution abilities, the key to unlocking their value lies in aligning them with business goals and being able to rapidly and cost-effectively change them in line with business change. While technology plays a vital part in enabling this, an integrated mindset is also an important consideration, whereby applications, processes, infrastructure, management, people, and business objectives

Source:

Butler Group

Document ID:

BGTC0058

Industry:

Computer

Industry:

Professional & Management Services

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Title	Starting Page	Number of Pages
Sections
Contents â?? July 2009 Section 1: Management Summary 7 1.1 Management Summary 9 Section 2: Business Perspectives 13 2.1 Report Objectives and Structure 15 2.2 Business Drivers 16 2.3 Technology Change Points 21 2.4 Reducing Costs, Maximising ROI 25 2.5 Ex	0	1
Contents â€“ July 2009	0	1
Section 1: Management Summary	7	6
1.1 Management Summary	9	4
Section 2: Business Perspectives	13	36
Section 1: Management Summary 7	0	1
1.1 Management Summary 9	0	1
2.1 Report Objectives and Structure	15	1
2.2 Business Drivers	16	5
Section 2: Business Perspectives 13	0	1
2.1 Report Objectives and Structure 15	0	1
2.3 Technology Change Points	21	4
2.4 Reducing Costs, Maximising ROI	25	8
2.2 Business Drivers 16	0	1
2.3 Technology Change Points 21	0	1
2.5 Extending Application Boundaries	33	8
2.6 Enterprise Application Evolution	41	4
2.4 Reducing Costs, Maximising ROI 25	0	1
2.5 Extending Application Boundaries 33	0	1
2.7 Application Portfolio Management	45	4
Section 3: Architectural Considerations	49	26
2.6 Enterprise Application Evolution 41	0	1
2.7 Application Portfolio Management 45	0	1
3.1 The Impact of Service Oriented Architecture	51	9
3.2 Application Consolidation	60	5
Section 3: Architectural Considerations 49	0	1
3.1 The Impact of Service Oriented Architecture 51	0	1
3.3 BPM in the Application Environment	65	4
3.4 Common Data Models and MDM	69	6
3.2 Application Consolidation 60	0	1
3.3 BPM in the Application Environment 65	0	1
Section 4: Application Delivery	75	20
4.1 The Software-as-a-Service Model	77	3
3.4 Common Data Models and MDM 69	0	1
Section 4: Application Delivery 75	0	1
4.2 SaaS Architecture	80	6
4.3 SaaS Integration	86	3
4.1 The Software-as-a-Service Model 77	0	1
4.2 SaaS Architecture 80	0	1
4.4 Distributed Services Risk and Management Considerations	89	6
Section 5: Application Upgrades	95	16
4.3 SaaS Integration 86	0	1
4.4 Distributed Services â€“ Risk and Management Considerations 89	0	1
5.1 Application Upgrade Considerations	97	5
5.2 Critical Points in the Application Upgrade Programme	102	5
Section 5: Application Upgrades 95	0	1
5.1 Application Upgrade Considerations 97	0	1
5.3 The Case for Application Modernisation	107	4
Section 6: Application Maintenance	111	18
5.2 Critical Points in the Application Upgrade Programme 102	0	1
5.3 The Case for Application Modernisation 107	0	1
6.1 Identifying Maintenance Value	113	7
6.2 New Maintenance Models	120	4
Section 6: Application Maintenance 111	0	1
6.1 Identifying Maintenance Value 113	0	1
6.3 Strategies for Reducing Maintenance Costs	124	5
Section 7: Vendor Strategies	129	34
6.2 New Maintenance Models 120	0	1
6.3 Strategies for Reducing Maintenance Costs 124	0	1
7.1 Vendor Strategies	131	1
BT CRM Services	131	1
Section 7: Vendor Strategies 129	0	1
7.1 Vendor Strategies 131	0	1
CODA	132	1
Consona	133	1
BT CRM Services 131	0	1
CODA 132	0	1
Epicor	134	1
Exact Software	135	1
Consona 133	0	1
Epicor 134	0	1
IFS	136	2
Infor	138	1
Exact Software 135	0	1
IFS 136	0	1
Lawson Software	139	2
Microsoft Corporation	141	2
Infor 138	0	1
Lawson Software 139	0	1
NetSuite	143	1
Oracle Corporation	144	2
Microsoft Corporation 141	0	1
NetSuite 143	0	1
QAD	146	2
RightNow Technologies	148	1
Oracle Corporation 144	0	1
QAD 146	0	1
Sage	149	1
Salesforce.com	150	2
RightNow Technologies 148	0	1
Sage 149	0	1
SAP	152	2
SugarCRM	154	1
Salesforce.com 150	0	1
SAP 152	0	1
Unit 4 Agresso	155	1
Workday	155	2
SugarCRM 154	0	1
Unit 4 Agresso 155	0	1
7.2 Case Studies	157	6
Section 8: Glossary	163	10
Workday 155	0	1
7.2 Case Studies 157	0	1
Section 8: Glossary 163	0	1

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