Effective ERP Upgrade Strategies for Smooth Migration: How to Guide

Is your ERP system sluggish and unsupported? Does your ERP system not have the functionalities you need? Or does your ERP not support your business growth? These are basic signs indicating you need to upgrade your ERP system. The reason for an ERP system upgrade or migration is when the system built on technology is decaying (or not in use anymore) or your business needs have changed.

So, if you are willing to upgrade your ERP system, you need to create a strategy to implement the ERP upgrade process. The strategy is the roadmap that gives clear direction to achieve the goal. It includes steps and a timeline. In this article, we are going to discuss the following points;

Moving your ERP system or software from one platform to another or moving your system from an older version to a newer version of the application of the same tech platform. In other words, an ERP system upgrade involves migrating your existing Enterprise Resource Planning solution to the new or modern version. It requires various processes to follow to achieve the goal, unlike an update that needs a minimal or current version of the software. You can explore more details about the upgrade and update for better understanding.

In common, you can find plenty of signs indicating your legacy system needs modernization. The primary reason for a legacy ERP system upgrade is that it does keep pace with your company’s needs. But, there are various things that indicate your ERP system needs to be upgraded. Here are the points that indicate you need to upgrade your system. Let’s explore;

When Your ERP System Does Not Support

With time, tech stacks get outdated, and the system built on it needs to be upgraded or changed by the vendor to keep the system intact. If you are facing this issue, you need to upgrade or migrate your legacy ERP system to a newer platform.

When Your ERP System Does not Keep Up with Your Business Needs

Does your ERP not support as your business grows? You need to check with your system and ensure it has a robust and flexible ERP system that scales as your business grows.

When Your ERP System Fails to Integrate With Other System

Does your ERP system not support third-party applications? If your ERP does not integrate with other systems, it can have any issue, and it does not directly call for an overhaul of your system. You need to connect with your consultant for better clarification.

Steps to Upgrade ERP System

When it comes to software migration, you need to have an effective roadmap to migrate your legacy system. Similarly, to upgrade your legacy ERP system, you need to create a detailed roadmap to clearly visualize where you are heading and what you will achieve with it. You have to follow the steps given below;

Set Goals and Plan Upgrade

Everything begins with a plan and goals. Based on the performance of the legacy ERP system, you need to decide if you want to go with upgrade, update, rewriting, refactoring or others. Explore the terms, like rewriting and refactoring, before making a final decision. Your decision will be based on the performance of the current system.

Set Budget & Project Scope

If you have a research team, they must have explored the market and another system from your competitors. Based on the research and your internal needs, you need to decide on the list of features and functionalities you need. The more features and functionalities you add, the more you need to increase your budget accordingly. To decide on a budget, it is crucial to define your project scope.

Identify the Pain Points and Gaps

What problem do you face with your current legacy ERP system? What features and functionalities do you need to support your business growth? Besides, you need to be specific with the problems that you want to solve with a modern ERP system. Make a list of all, as they will help you better understand your requirements and find suitable solutions. It will help you easily define the next step that we are going to discuss next.

Choose Suitable Upgrade Approach

The next step is deciding on upgrade approaches. You can make decisions based on your current system issue and the features that you want to implement. There are various approaches which you can choose. But, take this decision after consulting your software migration partner.

These are the migration approaches, but exploring these factors in detail before making a decision. There can be various other approaches, such as lift & shift, refactoring, rewriting and others. The choice of approach depends on the type of issue you are facing.

Select the Right Modernization Partner

You have planned and decided on project scope and even approaches, but you are still left with one crucial decision to make from your end —selecting the right software migration partner. You need to explore and choose the perfect application modernization service provider who has good experience in upgrading similar projects. If you are choosing us as your tech partner, you do not need to wander any platform as you can hire our team or software migration services to upgrade your ERP system. We have more than 11 years of experience in this field and have migrated over 80 projects. You can also explore portfolios and case studies to check our proficiency and efficiency in software migration.

However, if you opt for others, you must check for their reviews, portfolios and experience relevant to ERP migration.

Handle Data Mapping

Data mapping is crucial in software migration. It refers to the process of matching fields from one database to another. The vendor will provide you with a data mapping tool, though implementation of the tool is upon you. For more clarification, you can connect with your tech partner for more details on this.

Test and Validate Results

Once your ERP system is upgraded, you need to ensure that the software is tested properly. All its features and functionalities are working properly. Even though software migration agencies ensure the software is tested and bug-fixed before it gets delivered to you. You can keep an eye on the testing process. Validate all features to check they are perfect as per your project scope.

Final Thoughts

This article on how to create an ERP software migration or upgrade strategy explores some of the hidden factors to help you get perfect output when you choose to upgrade from a selection of tech stack quality assurance to hiring the software migration agency. You can also connect with us if you want consultation for your ERP system migration. With custom ERP development to update and upgrade, we make everything possible with our core expertise. Let’s connect.