Cost, inflexibility and underperformance are top ERP headaches

The study, conducted by YouGov, criticises Sage, SAP and Microsoft Dynamics, at least one of which is used by 61% of its respondents. It finds that 75% of these experience problems and many want to replace their systems, citing maintenance costs (33%), inflexibility (19%) and underperformance (23%) as key issues. Translating the main issues into overall figures, the survey suggests that the top three problems are: costly upgrades (30%); costly maintenance (22%); and inflexibility in the face of changing business needs (20%). Paul Marry, CEO of Intact Software, observes that just six per cent of the 18 SAP users and eight per cent of the 26 Microsoft Dynamics users surveyed like their systems and don't want to replace them. Upgrade costs may be driving this, he ponders, with 56% of SAP users and 38% of Microsoft Dynamics users citing problems in this area. But he also points to more than half (58%) of respondents across the board, who say that a main reason for their ERP failures is misalignment with the business processes – and another 37% who believe that their software "is not fit for purpose". "ERP systems should fit a business – not the other way around," he opines. "It is very worrying to see that, for many medium-sized companies, the solutions currently available are by and large failing to deliver." And he adds: "We respect that customers want to run their business the way they want it to be run, and believe Intact iQ offers them a real alternative – a framework that flexes to cost-effectively and quickly create an entirely customised solution, growing and adapting to satisfy present and future needs." Meanwhile, his company's Intact iQ is claimed to be capable of delivery and implementation up to 80% faster than competing products. Robert Hargreaves, CEO at Scattergood & Johnson, which is the first to replace its ERP with Intact Software's ne system, says: "Intact iQ provided us with a single system that replicated and integrated our processes across sales, finance, stock and purchasing. We are benefitting from the latest technology, including workflow and alerts, and have every confidence that IntactiQ will improve our service levels today and support our growth tomorrow."