The Future Of ERP Is Bright: Trends And Predictions Suggest Rapid Business Growth And Increased Visibility

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is relatively well-known by business leaders for its potential to improve operational productivity, revenue, and other factors. However, due to slow modernization, senior leadership may be under the impression that ERP software is a time-consuming and dated practice. Diogo Duarte, CTO and Founder of ERPGAP, an IT services company offering project management and ERP software architecture solutions, offers his opinion on the industry’s future. 

Since its release in the 90s, ERP software has had a rich history of connecting previously siloed business departments. Early systems enabled better business visibility and efficiency. However, integration capabilities have only recently become more common as open-source software has been advanced by developer communities and later used for commercial applications. 

As society witnesses gains in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cloud infrastructure, there are countless possibilities for ERP transformation. Diogo notes that once this software becomes more widespread, the price will inevitably decrease. This will encourage competition and pit ERP providers against each other based on their ability to deliver highly usable and valuable software.

Current platforms have many benefits to offer businesses for the future, particularly rapid business growth and profitability. Legacy systems can bring these results, but many changes need to be made. ERP software has commonly been called the ‘central nervous system’ of an organization due to its variety of applications in finance, human resources, manufacturing, and more. Despite chances for automation, improved insights, better reporting, and overall productivity boosts, some ERP systems have adverse consequences when implemented business-wide. These issues surface due to the overly complex and overpriced nature of some ERP software. 

If a business is hoping to catch the wave of ERP-induced business growth, stakeholders must identify what system suits its operational needs and budget. 

From his experience overseeing operations at ERPGAP and providing ERP assistance, Diogo foresees Odoo Suite becoming a leader. When he founded ERPGAP in 2015, Diogo wasn’t a regular user of ERP systems. Like many others, he found them expensive and too complicated for his liking. However, once he learned of Odoo Suite, a Belgian suite of business management software tools that supports CRM, e-commerce, billing, accounting, manufacturing, and more, he was convinced every business should leverage this. 

Diogo was particularly interested in Odoo Suite because it is open-source and available for commercial use. As an experienced developer, Diogo became actively involved in the community development of Odoo Suite on public platforms where software professionals share and discuss coding intricacies. Odoo Suite was very excited to integrate the changes suggested by users, convincing Diogo that this platform had high potential to surpass legacy systems that global leaders may use.

“As the CTO and Founder of ERPGAP, I’m heavily engaged in monitoring and contributing to Odoo Suite, a very promising business suite technology,” says Diogo, “Throughout the lifetime of my business, I’ve also worked with other ERP systems. ERPGAP has worked on several projects in Europe and the USA in countless industries. Every day my team enables clients to integrate these technologies into their existing workflow in a streamlined and efficient way. So, I know what works and what doesn’t when you’re handling a software transformation. It’s from those insights that I can strongly say Odoo Suite is the ERP of the future. Even if it doesn’t become number one, something with similar pricing, digital architecture, and seamless integrations will. 

While ERP software seems like an irrelevant topic for some businesses, Diogo assures that all organizations need some kind of platform. As the world becomes more technologically inclined, businesses differentiate themselves through tech-enabled strategies. ERP is one of the best ways to do that because it’s a coordinated, company-wide approach to increasing productivity, enhancing insights, and improving organizational agility. 

In a hyper-competitive business environment, companies must examine how ERP systems can empower their employees to reach organizational goals. The ERP software market is projected to grow at 4.78% CAGR from 2023 to 2028. By 2028, the industry’s value is expected to reach $62.36bn, promising much value for providers and companies who use these systems. The key takeaway is for companies to stay open-minded about ERP systems and their power to accelerate business growth.

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