Every year, Epicor surveys thousands of global leaders in the manufacturing, distribution, automotive, building supply, and retail industry, about the key factors that contribute to their business growth, the potential barriers they face, and what they expect from their ERP providers.
In the 2022 research, Epicor focused on the journey to cloud ERP and what businesses experience at every stage of technology adoption: from contacting an ERP provider to evaluating a solution, then to onboarding, go-live and ongoing support.
Here we have gathered some key findings from the study:
- 96% of the surveyed companies have confidence in their ability to navigate the initial stages of the ERP purchase process, from initial evaluation to requirements planning. However, 48% pinpoint ‘a strong need for more support and partnership from their ERP providers during the latter stages of the purchase journey, from implementation, go-live, and ongoing customer care, to ease migration and faster time-to-value‘.
- 90% of cloud users believe that the benefits of moving to the cloud like flexibility, agility, and security, outweigh the migration effort.
- 82% were operating in a hybrid cloud environment, with 46% either primarily or entirely in the cloud.
- 90% admitted that the move to the cloud was worthwhile, praising several benefits including ‘improved flexibility and adaptability, better security, simple regulatory compliance, and enhanced business resilience’. These benefits were also seen in the 2021 Report, where businesses associated cloud ERP with growth.
Companies are setting a higher bar for their ERP providers to deliver on more than just the technology itself. Our annual study shows that customers want a provider that can not only tailor their solution to the industry-specific needs that fit the customer’s business, but also collaborate closely throughout the entire purchase journey to provide transparency, strengthen onboarding and training, ensure dedicated support teams, and ultimately help realize meaningful business value. To do that, the ERP provider can’t just be a software expert, they must also act as a committed partner.
Steve Murphy, CEO of Epicor
Last but not least, the research highlighted that customers seek a partnership with an ERP provider that delivers success across the entire journey.
Top 5 Customer Wish List for the Journey to Cloud
- Consistent Partnership: Consistency from the purchase stage through go-live
- Guidance, especially in the onboarding and go-live stages, as well as industry knowledge during the whole journey
- Data support from a dedicated migration team
- ERP training from the provider to the customer’s staff, for a seamless cloud transition
- Greater transparency particularly in the evaluation and planning stages, on issues like pricing, security, and overall training when migrating
Epicor, the leader in industry productivity solutions for medium-sized businesses, delivers a comprehensive set of global functionality – enabling businesses to move their industry productivity solution to the cloud, with an expert partner like Athens Technology Center to support them every step of the way. Contact us to learn more about how Epicor Kinetic, a visionary blend of agile technology and global functionality, can help you optimize your performance, whether you operate on a local, regional, or global scale.
