Greater connection with the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable devices, Google Glass and other smart and collaborative technologies can be expected from the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) industry as it continues to evolve with the demands of Industry 4.0.
That’s the view from business solutions provider, K3 Syspro, which has echoed previous comments from SYSPRO CEO Phil Duff, who said the roadmap for SYSPRO over the next three years will be driven primarily by smart phone technology. Other key considerations for the future of the SYSPRO solution include making the user interface even more intuitive for users, and empowering them to better utilise the technology. In fact, the next version of SYSPRO will be modelled upon innovative Windows 10 technology, with a user interface that can adjust itself according to the needs of each individual user.
All these improvements are being made to ensure that SYSPRO remains a key business application for manufacturing organisations in the age of Industry 4.0 – a collective term used to describe the future factory, where cyber physical systems and the Internet of Things help revolutionise smart factories.
K3 Syspro Managing Director, Cathie Hall, explained: “The UK manufacturing industry is evolving at such a rapid pace with the introduction of new technologies that it’s crucial that ERP systems continue to keep up and provide end-to-end efficiencies for modern supply chains.
“SYSPRO has remained at the cutting edge of the ERP industry over the last few decades with the introduction of the SYSPRO mobile app, and our own business case analysis that we have introduced to calculate expected benefits from a SYSPRO investment. It’s great to see that, as the manufacturing industry in the UK continues to become more mature, so too is SYSPRO.”
According to Phil Duff, user experience is key to the future of SYSPRO ERP as developers continue to make the system intuitive and easy to understand in order to encourage high rates of user adoption. Making sure SYSPRO continues to connect to the world is also key – connecting data that is stuck out in the Internet, and helping CIOs to make better sense of it. And finally, the roadmap of SYSPRO is to offer the same benefits as a tier one enterprise solution, but without all the capital expense and disruption that many of these systems can create.
Phil Duff commented: “All the things you would expect a tier one product to do, we’re going to do at tier two level, and at a price that a tier two mid-market customer can afford. In essence, SYSPRO will continue to march upwards to meet the functionality of a tier one product, but at a more sensible and reasonable price.”
According to Cathie Hall, it’s the way that K3 Syspro connects and engages with its customers that has made the company so successful over the last few decades. The company offers a range of aftersales services and support to its customers, and prides itself on delivering comprehensive training from the purchasing stage, through implementation and go-live for its customers. This is a culture that K3 Syspro shares with its software partner.
Cathie Hall continued: “For an ERP project to be successful, you need good technology, but equally as important is how you service the customer. SYSPRO is unique in that it is an application developed primarily for the needs of manufacturing and distribution businesses, making it both nimble and agile. With such a tight focus, everyone at K3 Syspro can really understand the pain points of our customers and deliver complete solutions that address these issues. This unparalleled service, together with the innovative roadmap of SYSPRO and its core functionality has been key to our success to date and will continue to be as we evolve around the needs of our customers.”
