Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 52 | Page 51

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FEATURE: ERP ERP: How businesses can maximise their efficiency With businesses facing an unprecedented rate of change, those looking to maximise their efficiency are turning to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Intelligent CIO talks to two experts about the benefits ERP can bring to a business. E nterprise Resource Planning (ERP) facilitates organisations to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many processes key to operations. It can automate backend processes relating to technology, services and HR, and can also integrate activities such as product planning, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. This can be done from a single database, application and user interface to ensure maximum convenience for the user, yet often requires dedicated teams to analyse the data. Although ERP is considered to be most suitable for enterprises, smaller businesses also benefit from its utilisation with customised applications ensuring the software suits their bespoke needs. Intelligent CIO talks to two experts about the latest developments in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and reveals what questions companies seeking to deploy ERP solutions need to ask. TERRI HISKEY, VP OF PRODUCT MARKETING FOR MANUFACTURING AT EPICOR SOFTWARE Can you tell us about the latest developments in ERP solutions? ERP solutions are starting to adopt and integrate various industry 4.0 technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT) to gather data in order to make better, faster decisions and to even identify potential opportunities for growth and/or improvement. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 51