New research has shown the potential cost of ERP downtime, with the average UK midmarket eCommerce firm expecting to lose £26,578.95 in a single day of ERP outage.
The study from European ERP provider Forterro also revealed that half of respondents foresee staff downtime if their ERP system goes down for the day, while 47 per cent anticipate reputational damage, highlighting the critical role of ERP availability.
The penetration of cloud ERP in the sector was high, with 87 per cent using cloud-based or hybrid systems. The main benefits cited were ease of backup and accessibility (43 per cent), high availability (41 per cent), and greater processing speed and performance (40 per cent). Despite the ubiquity of cloud ERP, almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents say that cloud is an untapped opportunity for their company. 41 per cent believe their organisation’s lack of effective cloud usage means they aren’t seeing the benefits of technologies such as AI and IoT.
ERP has become a much-valued technology for eCommerce firms. The key benefits of ERP mentioned were real-time data (59 per cent), increased efficiencies (57 per cent) and fast reporting and analysis (56 per cent). When it came to future technology priorities, 43 per cent of respondents identified security and safety as their top priority, reflecting industry concerns about the volume and severity of cyberattacks. More than one-third (36 per cent) said cost reduction was a major future priority, and 32 per cent said improving the supply chain.
The main challenges in UK midmarket eCommerce overall were the ongoing global economic and political uncertainty (40 per cent), maintaining a strong sales pipeline (39 per cent) and talent retention and acquisition (36 per cent).
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