Kevin Pentecost (Microsoft) and Stuart Scanlon (Epic ERP) at a recent Microsoft product event held at Pablo Clark Racing in Kyalami, Johannesburg
The Pareto principle, more commonly referred to as the 80/20 principle, states that 80 percent of consequences come from 20 percent of causation. This principle has been related to various aspects of business including issues in software and software systems.
A previous CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, once stated that 80% of the errors and crashes in Windows and Office were found to be caused by 20% of the entire pool of bugs detected, and that more than 50% of the headaches were derived from a mere 1% of all flawed code.
When it comes to medium to large enterprises, it is often the same experience when it comes to finding a suitable enterprise system, with small issues or lack of proper implementation, scoping and planning or lack of a full initial investigation into client needs and requirements, often causing large downstream headaches that can be difficult to resolve.
Stuart Scanlon, MD of Epic ERP, at a recent industry event, stated that “one of the biggest challenges in convincing a company to go the ERP route, is the scale and cost that is often a barrier to entry”. “ERP systems can be costly from the outset as the mere scoping and design of the system takes much resources and time to do properly”.
According to Stuart, Microsoft is leading the field with a unique approach of mitigating risk for new Business ERP clients. He says that “not only do they provide a leading ERP solution in Business Central, that allows for established Microsoft software and business apps that most businesses already use, to integrate seamlessly into their ERP system, they also assist with funding toward the pre-sales investigation and later to assist with the post sales implementation cost of the system, and this is a massive game changer”.
Microsoft’s Business Central provides a singular solution for enterprises as it integrates directly with the Microsoft ecosystem and allows firms to manage operations directly within Outlook, simplifying change management and system adoption. It also supports comprehensive financial management, advanced reporting and compliance with regulatory standards, crucial for accounting and auditing firms.
Stuart says that “Epic ERP has been involved in many ERP system implementations across various Southern African countries, and while business demands and requirements may differ from area to area, it still requires the same amount of diligence to ensure a system that creates value for the organisation at enterprise and user level alike”.
Kevin Pentecost, Channel Sales Manager for Microsoft Biz Apps, provides more detail; “We support our Partner businesses by recognizing that there is the need for potential users to minimize their entry risk and also to ensure that the ERP system, when implemented, provides solutions that work to improve productivity, provide useful data and business intelligence and ultimately improve profit”. “Microsoft assists with funds towards the initial system requirement study and implementation (subject to approvals) via our Microsoft Catalyst funding process to ensure that we deliver on that promise”.
Awareness of Business Central in Africa needs to grow
“Microsoft Dynamics and epic ERP can help businesses navigate the challenges faced by mid-market firms across industries,” he said. “We’ve been surprised to hear from several sources that there is a lack of awareness around the availability of these incredible operational tools in Africa.”
Pentecost also highlighted the benefits of using off-the-shelf solutions like Business Central, stating, “Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a powerful ERP solution that offers advanced forecasting tools, seamless integration with other Microsoft products like Teams and Outlook, and robust data management and reporting features. This makes it far more efficient and cost-effective compared to developing custom solutions.”
Both Scanlon and Pentecost underscored the inclusion of Microsoft Copilot in Business Central, a cutting-edge AI solution that enhances productivity across the Microsoft product line-up.
Pentecost said, “Copilot, powered by Azure OpenAI Service, provides AI-powered assistance that helps business professionals generate ideas, automate tasks and gain insights using natural language. This integration empowers firms to work smarter and make data-driven decisions effortlessly.”
