When is it time to upgrade your ERP solution? Business technology is known to evolve at a rapid pace, but many companies put off upgrading their organization’s systems until somewhere in the course of doing business, something forces their hand. Of course, new technology brings with it a number of advantages – it can help you to streamline your operations, boost productivity or deliver a competitive edge.

At the same time, implementing new systems can be a daunting, time-consuming and frustrating effort, especially if your staff is comfortable using existing systems and processes. Upgrading software is a business disruption requiring time and money investment, so many business owners remain loyal to a legacy system well-beyond its peak effectiveness. Whether you’re waiting for the evolution of technology to plateau or you’re afraid of the upfront costs, the real question is, what is your company’s outdated legacy system costing you?

Legacy Systems

A legacy system refers to any established but obsolete hardware or software solution. This happens when a newer version has been released and/or the existing solution is no longer supported. For many organizations, their legacy system still provides the needed operational support, but it requires users to get creative with manual workarounds when the system falls short.

Should you keep your existing legacy system which still carries out mission-essential tasks or should you invest in newer systems which tackle all that and more? To answer these questions, your company should be performing an ERP assessment to evaluate the capabilities of your current ERP system and whether it can continue to meet the needs of the business.

The following concepts are a few examples of how keeping your legacy ERP system can cost you.

User Experience

Many ERP systems fall short of offering an intuitive user interface, making it difficult for staff to learn and master. Without an intuitive user experience (UX), staff members can easily get lost attempting to find basic functions which wastes valuable time and affects productivity and employee satisfaction. A system lacking in functionality or including unnecessary features can burden your users and/or require tedious workarounds. This can result in users abandoning the technology for manual processes altogether.

Your ERP solution should present information in a customized format which allows your staff to be most productive. Epicor offers configurable dashboards and user-friendly tools which give users a personalized and interactive experience with drag-and-drop functionality. Users also get instant access to precise information through simple search techniques.

Risk/Security

A legacy system’s security largely relies on continuous updates to protect against new threats. Once a system is no longer supported, developers halt programming for new security patches which makes you susceptible to vulnerabilities. System backups and disaster recovery become insurmountable challenges meaning you’ll never be able to properly safeguard your data while using at-risk software.

Epicor ERP maintains the security of your data and transactions through audit trails which enable users to track each change in the system. Automated alerts notify users when a security issue is discovered and sophisticated user authentication controls restrict access to sensitive data and reports.

Mobility

Modern companies need a level of mobility not offered by many legacy ERP systems. More and more business is done out from behind the confines of a desk. Unfortunately, legacy systems are not often equipped to handle expanding mobile access needs. If a competitor launches a mobile-ready system allowing its staff to be productive on the go while your staff is confined to the office, it’s easy to imagine how your competitor wins the advantage.

Epicor’s ERP platform supports mobility and cloud developments. The ability to use mobile devices anywhere, anytime to access data has helped companies meet their customer’s requirements. Their responsive access to mobile services delivers a competitive edge by fostering better customer service and a more responsive sales team.

Flexibility to Scale

One of the biggest drawbacks of your legacy ERP system includes the lack of flexibility needed for day-to-day tasks while supporting growth strategies. As your business evolves and continues to grow, it will require new solutions which require your software to grow, too.

The advantage of Epicor ERP is its flexibility to grow as you grow. For example, you can add or remove users to the system as you expand without needing additional and expensive hardware. Cloud-based ERP systems like Epicor also reduce deployment times since the necessary infrastructure already exists.

Through increased efficiency and responsiveness, Epicor allows you to integrate other modern applications, both on-premise and cloud-based, to make users more productive so you can realize your ERP return on investment. Epicor takes care of your technology evolution by using the latest technologies for more intuitive and secure user experience while maintaining flexibility unparalleled by other ERP systems.