There’s no doubt that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is more personalized, more connected and more disruptive. Why such a change from Microsoft? The awareness of the impact of digital transformation on businesses, without a doubt. And especially the vision of Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. She wants to reinvent the company, to give it the means of its ambitions in the digital age. In this sense, executives are caught up in the questioning of their company’s DNA and the race for innovation on the one hand.
With ERPs, which are more mobile, personalized and connected, the decision-making intelligence of leaders is increased tenfold. Is this really enough in the age of collaboration and big data? Shouldn’t ERP be coupled with Business Intelligence tools to elevate the overall intelligence of the company? Like a more collective and cross-cutting intelligence?
The ERP does not (yet) come out of the last Marvel
The reporting function or BI is a key function of ERP. Indeed, it allows to analyze the activity of a company, to draw numerical lessons from decision-making. Previously this function required an external service of ERP publishers according to the business specificities of the company. Today it is easy to visualize the performance of its various trades through dashboards and graphs. But a major constraint arises. SMEs, large companies, start-ups, want as precise a level of personalisation as possible. As well as get the origin of the data or on the contrary to go back to a more aggregated level and above all, change parameters autonomously.
Decision-making tools complementary to the ERP are the solution. Indeed, they allow managers to trace indicators, metrics, and aggregations (consolidations). While combining several dimensions (parameters) and simulations more efficiently. Using BI tools complementary to the ERP is also a way to objectively assess its positive impact on the company.
The Hybrid Information System leads the way
The BI is the Rosetta Stone that allows managers to make the best possible decision in the face of the complexity of their environment, the vagaries of the market and the structural issues of their company. Hybrid IS is a natural take-off on the market. Before taking the plunge, companies must also think in terms of governance strategy and in particular the aspects related to security.
As Benoît Herr points out, “At the same time, the decision-making function has to process more data in less time and tends towards real time. The Internet of Things, the arrival of robots (bots), telecommuting and in general technological, functional, organisational, behavioral, etc. developments can lead to the multiplication of data to be supported by the information system and through the ERP.”
The company of tomorrow, at the crossroads of the Worlds
The ability to model an ever-changing environment in real time is essential for deciding in an uncertain context. The couple formed by the ERP and the BI allows the leaders to acquire it. The advent of connected objects, artificial intelligence, VR remains the same ground on which ERP publishers will have to fight. Will Dynamics 365 win? Case to follow.
