50% of Enterprise Applications functionality licensed by organisations is not used

Butler Group: Standardised functionality is a myth, with many organisations paying too much for Enterprise Applications. This conclusion is drawn from analysis of 60 organisations with an application benchmarking tool.² It revealed that none used more than 50% of the licensed Enterprise Application functionality, and a significant proportion of unused code was customised, unnecessarily prolonging upgrade cycles. Unfortunately, IT management tends not to spend enough time relating the organisation's main value drivers to Enterprise Applications. Too many follow a 'me-too' policy or purely a cost saving attitude when considering investment in Enterprise Applications. Without strong links to business aims it is impossible to formulate a strategy that will meet the organisation's needs or get value from Enterprise Applications.

Butler Group points out the ability to quickly transform business processes and for these changes to be easily reflected in the supporting Enterprise Applications is key to the adaptive enterprise. One of the most important factors for maximising value is not to treat Enterprise Applications as separate islands of technology, but to fully integrate them with objectives, business processes, management, and infrastructure. Good training is another. Making the most of Enterprise Applications relies to a large degree on the workforce actually using the functionality provided in the most effective way. Employees need to understand how the system relates to the tasks and processes in the broader context of the business as a whole.

Effective management of Enterprise Applications and the quality of service provided can be important differentiators, leading to improved performance

The IT department must have an in-depth understanding of Enterprise Application usage and performance. It is often how the Enterprise Applications fit into the wider IT management perspective that can influence their real value to the organisation. Whilst Enterprise Application functionality in itself may no longer supply competitive advantage, it is the performance of the Enterprise Applications and the provision of a good service to users that can be significant differentiators.

An opportunity exists for organisations to extend the reach of Enterprise Applications by providing support for the Internet, portals, communications convergence (particularly voice), and wireless devices. These access mechanisms will have a big influence on the way Enterprise Applications are utilised in the future. Enterprises should not be put off by the complexity of this multi-channel environment, although care is needed by the IT manager to ensure that key issues, such as security, productivity, and cost, are adequately addressed. Several factors are combining to drive the need for a unified architecture for accessing applications from remote locations and by diverse client types.

Enterprises must start to deploy an architectural approach that includes linking business processes with Enterprise Applications

An architecture-based methodology can help to enable a more flexible approach to the way Enterprise Applications are utilised. The visibility and understanding of Enterprise Application capability can be provided by Enterprise Architecture, enabling the linking of objectives with processes and then the underlying functionality provided by Enterprise Applications.

One of the most significant trends in recent times has been the take up of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), with all the main IT vendors starting to take the approach on board. The implications of this include that IT departments must start to address SOA in plans for the future and look at how this impacts Enterprise Application delivery. SOA and a common services platform can assist with the integration of other elements into the IT environment, which is vital for getting the full benefit from Enterprise Applications. Data integration and Master Data Management are also becoming essential as organisations realise that controlling information is an important way to make the most of data found within existing Enterprise Applications.

Education is another important consideration for getting the most from Enterprise Applications, with training, or rather the lack of it, another reason for Enterprise Applications to be less than successful. Good training is not just about the software, but includes understanding as to how the system relates to the tasks and processes in the wider context of the whole organisation; also, an appreciation as to why accurate data is important can prove invaluable.

Key to the adaptive enterprise is the ability to quickly transform business processes and for these changes to be easily reflected in the supporting Enterprise Applications. From an Enterprise Application perspective the importance of gaining a good understanding of the current processes cannot be underestimated, as on many occasions the software is unfairly blamed for problems that are in fact due to inefficient or poor processes. Exploiting Enterprise Applications

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