Better usability transforms ERP accessibility and user productivity

That's key among findings of an extensive international survey carried out by analyst IDC on behalf of IFS. Other interesting stats include that more than a third (36%) were of the view that the applications were never a good solution for their company in the first place. And even more damning, 60% spoke of 'time wasting' when using their ERP software, while 44% of the companies surveyed believed their enterprise applications actually had a negative impact on business agility. Why? Simply put, twenty- and thirty-somethings are used to working with user-friendly mobile applications and online tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Google, in their personal lives. They have grown used to having powerful yet easy-to-use technologies at their fingertips. Corporate ERP systems just don't come close. Antony Bourne, global manufacturing industry director at manufacturing ERP developer IFS, isn't surprised. "Usability should be a key requirement for enterprise applications – both for those designing them, and those evaluating them," he says. "Usability is as important as raw functionality. But somehow, the enterprise applications industry – and the market that it serves – has grown accustomed to thinking that having big enough training budgets is a substitute for user-friendly, intuitive usability. And that's just not so." James Greaves, Portsmouth Aviation's systems manager and a long-term IFS customer, agrees. As the first in the UK to roll out IFS's new Enterprise Explorer user interface – designed, according to IFS, specifically to improve usability and productivity – he confirms its ability to change perceptions. "The increased usability provided by the search function on IFS Enterprise Explorer means that users now have quick and easy access to information, resulting in improved collaboration and increased productivity," he explains. "The document management module alone has significantly reduced costs through time savings, and also means that our information is better managed and controlled," he adds. What's more, Greaves says that IFS ERP has become "part of the woodwork" in a way that the previous system could never have hoped to achieve. "IFS is the package that everyone logs into first thing in the morning, and it is an inherent part of every business function," is how Greaves sums up its impact at Portsmouth Aviation.