The infamous reputation of enterprise systems (ERP, CRM) is lots of money for little value. Yet more than three-quarters of companies implementing enterprise systems say they’ve achieved at least half of the value they initially expected from the technology, according to a study by Accenture. The companies that extracted value had two things going for them: time and follow-through. Within a year of implementation, most companies failed to realize many hoped-for benefits, such as reduced headcount and more accurate business planning. But after two years, the majority saw payback of every type of benefit except increased revenue. At companies where implementation was the end of their enterprise systems effort, fewer than half the expected benefits were realized. But among companies that continued to integrate and fine-tune processes, 42 percent achieved the majority of the benefits they had targeted.Who’s Got the Value?Percentage of respondents achieving different degrees of enterprise systems benefits Better Things Come to Those Who WaitPercentage of respondents achieving enterprise systems benefits over timeSource: A report by Tom Davenport, Jeanne Harris and Susan Cantrell on a March 2003 study by Accenture Institute for Strategic Change of 163 businesses in North America, Europe and Australia Best PracticesRemember: Results take time. It takes a while for companies that put in their enterprise systems (ES) one module or business unit at a time to reap any benefits. Getting to critical mass, meaning a significant portion of system modules are up and running sooner, is obviously ideal, but “big bang” implementations are more likely to lead to performance problems and project failures.Prioritize benefits and create a plan. Benefits of ES don’t just happen; they have to be planned and managed. Formalize ways to measure and track benefits from ES, and assign this responsibility to an individual. Accenture consultant Tom Davenport says, “The 31 percent of organizations that actively track metrics achieved them significantly earlier than those that did not. Likewise, the 65 percent of organizations that hold a dedicated individual responsible for realizing enterprise systems benefits also achieved benefits earlier than those that did not hold someone responsible for benefit realization.”Manage enterprise systems as an ongoing program. “We now have evidence that getting value from enterprise systems is not a project, but a way of life,” says Davenport. If the ES project ends when the software goes live, “it’s unlikely that substantial value will be achieved.” Companies will gain payback by integrating ES with legacy and best-of-breed apps, adapting business processes to fit with ES, and converting ES data into knowledge to support analysis and decision making. Related content feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership opinion Managing IT right starts with rightsizing IT for value While there are few universals when it comes to saying unambiguously what ‘managing IT right’ looks like, knowing how to navigate the limitless possibilities of IT is surely one. By Thornton May May 30, 2023 6 mins Digital Transformation IT Strategy IT Leadership feature Red Hat embraces hybrid cloud for internal IT The maker of OpenShift has leveraged its own open container offering to migrate business-critical apps to AWS as part of a strategy to move beyond facilitating hybrid cloud for others and capitalize on the model for itself. By Paula Rooney May 29, 2023 5 mins CIO 100 Technology Industry Hybrid Cloud feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe