Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 14 | Page 70

INDUSTRY WATCH
IN PARALLEL, JESUDASON WAS ALSO KEEN FOR A SOLUTION THAT REQUIRED MINIMAL IT OVERSIGHT AND MANAGEMENT. WITH JUST A TWO- MAN IT TEAM FOR THE ENTIRE ORGANISATION, THEY COULD NOT AFFORD TO HAVE THESE VALUABLE RESOURCES SPEND A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THEIR TIME MAINTAINING THE NEW SYSTEM OR RESPONDING TO USER QUERIES, LIKE THEY WERE DOING WITH THE INCUMBENT SYSTEM factors in our business, particularly in this economic climate with depressed oil prices. With the growth we have experienced over the recent past, not only was our incumbent system not keeping up with the business requirements, but it also began to be a barrier to our growth.”
Finding the right support structure For Jesudason and the team at Zaker Trading, one of the primary requirements was partnering with a vendor that understood the challenges, pain points and opportunities within the industries that it operated, and offered a solution that was proven in the region and tailor-made for their requirements with minimal configuration.
Finding a platform capable of supporting Zaker Trading’ s growth plans was another important criterion. Jesudason says,“ We needed the new ERP system to be the backbone of the business and meet not only our current business requirements, but also serve as a platform for the next ten to fifteen years as we expand our operations and grow. It was therefore essential that the solution was built with next generation technology, as well as flexible and scalable.”
In parallel, Jesudason was also keen for a solution that required minimal IT oversight and management. With just a two-man IT team for the entire organisation, they could not afford to have these valuable resources spend a significant portion of their time maintaining the new system or responding to user queries, like they were doing with the incumbent system. They needed the new ERP solution to be easy to deploy, easy to use, and most importantly require very little maintenance.
After several months of due diligence and a rigorous request for proposal( RFP) process that included all tier 1
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