VARs accused of ERP fibbery
Majority of midmarket customers believe VARs could be more transparent about how much their ERP project will end up costing, poll finds
Not all VARs are giving customers the whole truth when it comes to the cost of ERP roll outs, a recent poll has suggeted.
Overspend and complexity are issues that have dogged the ERP sector down the years and a survey by Sage partner K3 FDS found that 71 per cent of midmarket firms believe technology partners could be more transparent about how much projects will end up costing.
Some 79 per cent of the 190 IT and finance directors quizzed said they were not totally satisfied with the roll out of their ERP project, with just eight per cent deeming their new system easy to use.
Overspend often lies at the root of the problem, with respondents claiming they had exceeded their original budget by, on average, 18 per cent, costing the typical midmarket UK business an additional £76,000.
"Given ERP is one of the biggest IT investments businesses make, particularly for mid-size organisations, any delay or overspends can have a massive impact," said Andrew Fox, managing director of K3 FDS.
"It seems the industry still has a long, long way to go in delivering the transparency customers are demanding."
ERP projects often involve a trade-off between customisation and complexity, but K3 FDS's poll found that over half (56 per cent) would plump for a more standardised solution if it guaranteed signficant savings in project time and budget.
A third of respondents conceded they are unsure about the level of honesty offered by their partners.
"When starting out with an ERP project, the reseller needs to invest a significant amount of time to scope out and agree what success looks like with their customer," Fox counselled. "It is also critical that you have an on-going dialogue throughout the process with your customer, and are comfortable that they fully understand what is happening at every stage of implementation. This is why transparency is so important."