Companies implement different systems to support various functions within their business. One of the most common is an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system, which typically supports general financial functions along with a range of other business processes. But what happens when a company reaches the point where they need to review, upgrade, or even replace their system? Whether the software is outdated or the business has outgrown its capabilities, this scenario is extremely common across industries.

When a system is so integrated into the core of the business, the big question becomes: what is the best way to replace it with minimal disruption? There are several ways to plan and execute such a significant change, and in this paper we discuss a method that has been successfully implemented many times. This reference architecture ensures that:

• All data is retained at the lowest level, allowing for detailed reporting and transaction-level analytics.

• Data take-on into the new system is limited to opening balances and open transactions, while the business maintains access to historical information.

• The ERP can be replaced by more than one system; organisations often choose different systems to support financial and operational functions. This architecture enables seamless integration of ‘best-of-breed’ systems.

• Master data is shared across systems, ensuring synchronisation and consistent records.

• Data can be securely consumed by up- or downstream systems.

• Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics are enabled across the entire solution.

To illustrate this approach, we begin with a real-life scenario. An organisation decided to replace its legacy ERP because it was outdated, nearing end of support, and very costly in terms of both licensing and maintenance. Additional business requirements would have required further customisation, to the point where continuing with the legacy system no longer made sense. After a full assessment, the following findings and requirements were established:

• No single system could address all of the organisation’s needs, therefore:
  • Core financial functions would be handled by a Financial ERP.
  • All customer-related activities would be managed within a CRM system.
  • Business functions not addressed by the ERP or CRM would be supported by best-of-breed software designed specifically for those processes, reducing customisation and risk.

• Existing operational systems would be integrated, with automated data sharing and minimal manual intervention.

• The organisation consisted of multiple businesses and therefore the rollout would need to be phased. Each business would be converted and stabilised before moving to the next, allowing the old and new systems to co-exist temporarily.

• The reporting and analytics solution included with the new ERP did not meet the organisation’s needs, and therefore a separate solution was required. This new solution had to integrate all data within the organisation—not only ERP data—and provide the ability to expand to additional data sources.

• The analytics environment also needed to accommodate various types of data, including structured, unstructured, streaming, batch, internal, and external sources.