A data first approach: Where ERP meets analytics
Successfully implementing an ERP system requires accurate, consistent and accessible data.
A data first approach: Where ERP meets analytics
Baker Tilly’s data first approach integrates data strategy, quality, governance and analytics into every ERP implementation – delivering systems that work today and data that fuels tomorrow.
Good data is essential for generating valuable business insights and supporting data-driven decision making. Without proper data strategy and governance policies for your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform implementation, you risk encountering significant challenges, such as flawed data, operational inefficiencies and compliance issues. Inaccurate or unreliable data can undermine your ERP system, leading to flawed analysis and reporting that will ultimately harm your business. While implementing cloud-based analytics in any organization can be a complex endeavor, Baker Tilly’s “data-first” approach empowers businesses to successfully leverage advanced technologies,, with the support of data-driven strategies.
Benefits of a data first approach
Data analytics capabilities framework
There are five key capabilities that every organization needs to have to effectively capitalize on the mountains of data available to them:
1. Data strategy and program execution
Establishing a data strategy ensures that an organization aligns its strategic objectives to the demand for increased visibility into key data domains,
2. Data governance and management
A data governance program ensures the effective management and use of data within an organization.
3. Enterprise data modernization
Enterprise data modernization ensures the organization has a foundation to consume various sources of data, enabling powerful insights for more informed decision making.
4. Data visualization and insights
Good data visuals are pivotal in presenting complex information in an understandable and compelling manner. Good data visuals act as a bridge between raw data and human comprehension, fostering better understanding, engagement and action.
5. Machine learning and AI
Machine learning and AI are transforming the business landscape, enabling organizations to operate more efficiently, innovate rapidly and navigate complex challenges with data-driven insights – fostering competitive advantage and growth.
A successful data analytics journey starts with a clear and comprehensive data strategy. Developing a data strategy provides the organization with defined and prioritized focus areas, while ensuring adequate resource alignment.
A strong data strategy is essential for a successful ERP implementation or migration because it lays the foundation for long-term operational efficiency, analytics readiness and business agility – ensuring organizations can make confident, data-driven decisions throughout the ERP lifecycle.
There are five critical steps to building a robust data strategy:
- Discovery: Catalog all existing reports, documents and legacy materials to understand the current state of data within the organization.
- Prioritization: Focus on identifying key analytical themes such as sales, revenue and profitability along with data sources and reports to align with the organization’s business strategy.
- Modeling: Develop a business dimensional model to translate data themes into measurable KPIs.
- Team alignment: Ensure that the right roles are in place to support the ongoing program, recognizing that data strategy efforts often expand as they prove valuable.
- Implementation and road map: Establish a clear road map to execute the data strategy and maintain focus over time.
Every organization, regardless of size, needs data governance as it serves as the source of truth for all data-related matters. Data governance helps identify data owners, define data stewardship and establish protocols for data quality, privacy and compliance.
The success of an ERP implementation is intrinsically tied to the quality, accuracy and accessibility of its data. Effective data governance ensures that the right data is available to the right people at the right time, enabling informed decision-making and maximizing the benefits of an ERP adoption.
There are six critical focus areas of a data governance framework:
- Strategy, policies and standards: Move from siloed data usage to a unified enterprise data management approach with cross-functional data stewards to establish and administer policy – allowing leaders to make confident data related decisions that impact operations and/or compliance efforts.
- Data quality: Establish metrics for measuring and maintaining data quality by addressing issues with data integrity, usability or quality to improve decision-making, consistency and trust.
- Privacy, compliance and security: Protect sensitive data, establish access management and security policies to manage risk and comply with evolving regulatory requirements.
- Architecture and integration: Map out data sources, flow and storage to create reliable enterprise data infrastructure to seamlessly onboard newly acquired systems and navigate large Information Technology (IT) projects that require advanced levels of cross-functional decision-making.
- Enterprise data infrastructure: Institute processes and policies to ingest, organize and model data from multiple sources to improve reporting consistency while reducing report preparation time.
- Management and support: Make confident data-related decisions that impact operations and/or compliance efforts.
Our data-first approach
Adopting a data-first approach to implementing or migrating your ERP system can turn your organization’s data into a competitive advantage. Organizations should first establish a clear vision for their data strategy and ensure robust governance structures are in place to support it. During a migration, not all data needs to be transferred — this is an opportunity to be selective and strategic.
By cleaning and organizing the data and laying the groundwork for a data lake or warehouse, companies can enhance future analytics capabilities and streamline the migration process. The data that is ultimately migrated should be clean, de-duplicated and clearly owned, ensuring a reliable and efficient foundation for the new system.
Strategy and governance
Establish overall data analytics priorities and ownership early.
Key benefits:
- Identifying analytical priorities helps shape implementation decisions
- Governance creates clear lines of accountability to key stakeholder groups
- Data quality issues are addressed early in the migration process
Extract and transform
Create a foundation to support migration and future analytical needs.
Key benefits:
- Identifying analytical priorities helps shape implementation decisions
- Governance creates clear lines of accountability to key stakeholder groups
- Data quality issues are addressed early in the migration process
Migration
Move high quality data to reduce risk and improve adoption.
Key benefits:
- Migrations can be performed multiple times to ensure quality
- Overall risk is reduced as data has been deduplicated and ownership of the data is well understood
Featured insights
How we're helping businesses like yours take a data first approach
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Whitepaper
Harnessing data: Transforming ERP systems for smarter decisions
Discover how integrating data analytics with ERP systems can drive smarter decisions and boost efficiency. Our whitepaper explores strategies for leveraging AI, IoT and IFS Cloud to turn data into a powerful asset for growth. Get insights on transforming your business with data-driven decision-making.
Why select IFS Cloud?
Discover moreIFS Cloud is an integrated ERP solution designed to help businesses thrive in today’s global market. By leveraging technology and real-time data, IFS Cloud connects operations across departments. It offers flexibility, scalability and customization for complex workflows. IFS Cloud brings you a 360-view of your business, offering extensive scope and deep industry-specific functionality, tailored to meet your evolving business needs and requirements.
Our proven methodology combines extensive systems experience and industry insights with flexible techniques for successful ERP implementations. Our dedicated professionals prioritize business processes and needs, ensuring that our implementation methodology enhances operations and delivers lasting value.
As a Platinum RSI partner, Baker Tilly customizes each IFS Cloud implementation based on client, industry and their team’s business transformation goals.
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