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Enterprise Software: When Microsoft Excel Beats SAP
You’d think that a multi-million dollar ERP system would be able to run rings around what you can do with a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Well it can, but often it doesn’t. In an interesting survey by IFS North America, it turns out that ERP system complexity can turn off users so much that they prefer to just manage their data in an Excel spreadsheet.
The IFS survey, reported by TMCNet, found that among manufacturing executives aged 35 and younger, 75 percent admitted that when their enterprise software got too difficult to use that they’ve resorted to using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel instead for managing their data. These users found Excel to be easier to use than Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), or Supply Chain Management (SCM) software. Among those users aged 36 to 45, 58 percent say that they prefer spreadsheets over enterprise software.
Users are frustrated. When given a choice to use free or low-cost web-based applications like Google Docs, a majority of users actually said that they’d prefer to use something like Google Docs rather than their enterprise software. The survey found that even 65 percent of employees age 35 or younger would consider changing their job if their experience with employee software was poor.
Another study by IFS investigated how well enterprise software can be used from mobile applications. As tablets and smart Phones invade the enterprise, users are frustrated because they are not always able to use the devices to access enterprise data. The report found that only 27 percent of users could access enterprise software from their mobile device, and another 47 percent said that very little information could be accessed. Even for users of CRM systems, 32 percent said that their CRM system allowed little or no mobile access.
