What is the true cost to your business of using out of date business systems?

It goes without saying but there are numerous businesses that continue to make use of out-of-date business systems to run their businesses on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, by continuing to use them causes more inefficiencies in a fast-paced business world with the needs of customers changing on a regular basis. If the above sounds familiar to you, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you. There are no doubts that your business knows that there are better solutions available in the market. However, for one reason or another, you are not willing or not ready to take the next step. Given that you are not ready, have you worked out what the true cost of having outdated business systems is for your business? 

Business System Behaviour 

In the modern world, most businesses will look to update their ERP and CRM systems every 2 to 3 years. Whether that be a complete upgrade or changing system completely. You may find that certain sectors require these changes to be made more regularly and some businesses may delay projects for one reason or another even if they know it needs to be done.  

So what are some of the reasons that businesses give for delaying the modernising of their business systems? 

• Who is responsible for the failure of the current system? 
• Too much hassle and time required to implement a new software solution. 
• The concerns around upgrading being a disaster and how it could impact on their job security. 
• Financing a system that they already have implemented currently. 

How do out of date systems impact on my business? 

The first thing you need to be considering is ‘what is the overall business impact of delaying this project?’. Given the fact that a list of consequences could take forever for us to list, we’ve narrowed this down to a few of the more serious ones that could have a significant impact on your business: 

• Monitoring & maintaining the current high cost of ownership that is largely down to having an on-premise system in place with its own dedicated server. 
• The costs associated with inefficient business processes will continue and increase if you don’t take any action now. This can lead to your business losing customers and employees being unsatisfied. 
• If your business continues to use manual processes, any delays in updating your software will mean that you are completely at the mercy of older employees who may be on their way towards retirement. 
• One of the biggest concerns is the fact that your business could be missing out on the latest innovations in cloud-based technologies. You will find that all well-known ERP/CRM vendors such as Microsoft have reallocated their resources to focus on developing their cloud products. Therefore, this means that if you continue to use an on-premise solution you will find that new features or functionality will dramatically reduce and eventually stop. 

It goes without saying but upgrading your business systems requires significant investment but the cost of not doing so could be even greater. 

Starting your Digital Transformation by making the move to a modern ERP system 

Are you looking to bring your business into the 21st century? Digital transformation is a word that you have no doubts heard on the grapevine however the importance of starting one is a very serious thought. It goes without saying but computers have made significant strides in the last 25 years or so. In the early 2000s, a digital transformation consisted of making sure that all your employees had access to a PC, however things have dramatically progressed since then. It is therefore crucial that you work on having a strategy in place that will help guide you on how you will be using digital technology to transform your business.  

Next Steps? 

If you are a business that is already using an on-premise version of Dynamics NAV and would like to discuss upgrading to Business Central then please get in touch with our team of Business Central experts now to discuss your project. 

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