As the changes in the ERP gets bigger adapting to changes like the demands of big data, the growth of the cloud, and the Internet of Things (IOT) are what we are seeing today. Here is a quick look at some of the major trends that will affect ERP in the next few years.
Wider Integration: In theory an ERP system is a complete, self-contained package. In practice more and more companies are discovering that it isn’t. ERP needs to communicate with other software, and systems such as factory floor automation, and vendors and owners are working hard to make that happen.
Already some third-party software is coming equipped with stubs to connect directly with major packages such as SAP and Oracle. Other vendors are providing middleware products that will allow ERP systems to tie to other applications – at the expense of a variable amount of integration effort.
This trend will continue and the integration job will get easier as time goes on a vendors get more sophisticated and users get more aware and demanding.
IOT: With the Internet of Things, the world is becoming a lot more connected and this is going to have a major impact on ERP. More and more devices will be able to communicate over the internet, including sensors and other shop floor devices. This trend will spread down to individual devices on the shop floor, the warehouse and other parts of the business and the information will become increasingly important in maintaining fine control over all aspects of the business.
Ease of Use: Ease of use and ease of installation is an on-going trend. ERP vendors of all classes are hard at work trying to make their products easier. This has been going on for at least the last decade and the trend is accelerating. This is mostly a matter of vendors figuring out how to respond to customers’ demands to simplify the ERP experience.
The Cloud: The cloud, of course, is the most outstanding example of a future trend. While growth of ERP installations in general is in the low single digits, cloud installations are growing at double digits as more users, especially SMEs, find using Software as a Service (SaaS) in the cloud preferable to trying to install a complete system themselves. Since SMEs are the fastest growing segment of the ERP business, this reflects in the overall growth figures for SaaS.
The time frame for all this is variable. The impact of the Internet of Things is probably the furthest off, while the cloud and ease of use are already having an impact today. But over the rest of the decade all of these trends will grow.
Source: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/the-internet-of-things-and-the-future-of-erp-71508