Interest is high in mobile interfaces for enterprise software like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise asset management (EAM). Intuitively, we all know that with over a billion smartphone shipments and 222 million tablet shipments projected for 2016, these are the devices people will want to use to access enterprise systems. Will our ERP and other software be ready?
Is this enhanced level of usage of existing ERP resources the real payback from mobility? User engagement? An IDC study commissioned by IFS (see infographic) reveals that almost 60 percent of respondents are planning investments in enterprise mobility. But only 20 percent are measuring ROI for mobile solutions.
Let’s think about that for a minute.
In some cases, if you make ERP data consumable on a mobile device, there may be ROI that is easy to measure. Approvals affecting key processes might speed up, streamlining things like credit approvals, plan revisions and other important documents.
But if that executive, who can access data on their beloved tablet, makes more frequent use of analytics in an ERP solution, does that not also drive a return, albeit one that is hard to measure? If that repair technician can enter parts consume and capture the steps they went through right at the machine as they work on it, does that not produce a more detailed equipment history and allow the plant manager to better plan maintenance and staffing levels? You bet it does.
So again, check out the infographic and the full-length study it points to. And start thinking about what easy- and hard-to-measure efficiencies a mobile ERP initiative could bring to your organization. And remember — the more you use your ERP, the more of a return you will realize!