Successful Cloud Based ERP Implementations: It's the People!

The success of any good implementation does not rely on just good software. As ERP consultants who have implemented hundreds of cloud ERP solutions, the experience of thousands of customers of all products whether it’s NetSuite, SalesforceTM, Oracle, SAP or orther ERP software publishers is that the sucess also relies on choosing the right implementation team that knows your business. To borrow from Lance Armstrong's famous quote "It's Not About the Bike", when it comes to ERP software "It’s Not Just About the Software." If you are going to win the race, the man behind the bike is a major factor (doped or not). When you implement ERP software, the software you select is important and so are the people behind the implementation project.

The more we’ve thought about the importance of selecting the right ERP consultants behind the ERP software implementation, the truer it seems to become. In fact, we used this idea as a key theme in the redevelopment of our website and in our messaging for this year’s NetSuite SuiteWorld event.

After implementing hundreds of successful NetSuite and SalesforceTM projects of all levels of complexity and for companies of all sizes, we’ve realized that, while you need function rich, stable software, there are other factors that are important in determining the success of a solutions implementation. And these factors hold true whether you are implementing a project yourself or with a solution provider.

Here are some of the key factors that go into a successful business solution:

• Business Focus – it doesn’t matter how good the software is or how deep your product knowledge runs, if you don’t have a business-first focus, your solution will not meet its fundamental objectives of improving business efficiency and performance.
• Experience – practice really does make perfect and this is one of the key benefits of working with an experienced solution provider instead of trying to implement NetSuite on your own. We’ve seen hundreds of NetSuite projects and you directly benefit from this experience.
• Proven Approach – one of the ways that experience manifests itself is in the availability and maturity of an implementation methodology. A proven methodology is an important framework for building a successful business solution. And don’t be fooled, not all methodologies are created equal.
• Teamwork – all successful projects are the result of building a team that’s committed to sharing knowledge, open dialog and joint decision-making. This teamwork needs to be facilitated through leadership, evangelism, referential behavior and guidance.
• Straight-Talk – as anyone who has been around enough projects knows, there are often tough decisions that need to be made and you need a solution provider who will tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear.

Here at Demand Solutions Group (DSG), we strive to provide this to our customers. We are, of course, all about the software, but we work very hard to bring you a whole lot more because it’s not just about the software.

For more information on how DSG can help with your Salesforce or NetSuite implementation, please contact us at 866.486.4064 or fill out our Contact Form. 

Another version of this blog was posted at http://www.demandsolutionsgroup.com/comes-cloud-business-solutions-just-software/.