Introduction

So you have just completed implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software package and you think you’re set for the next five years—and I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I want to sell you. Once a year (or more frequently if you have really angered the software gods), the vendor issues a new release. With the new release come promises of new functionality, better performance, or incorporation of technological advances. Should you install the new release? Is it worth it? What will happen if you don’t? Can you defer the decision for a year or two? What are your options?

First, this article looks at three options regarding implementing new releases of enterprise-wide software. Then, assuming you elect to maintain pace with new releases, a new class of software tools, enterprise process improvement (EPI), is described to facilitate and help in the decision-making process through a collaborative partnership with your software vendor.

In this article, a distinction is made between a service pack and a new release. Typically, a service pack is issued to fix software bugs and is not intended to add or modify functionality and data elements. Consequently, unless you have also modified or enhanced the code that is being altered, a service pack should be able to be installed with little effort or testing.

Alternatively, in addition to code changes, a new release can encompass new functionality, new data elements, and revised workflows and processes. While we will discuss the costs and tasks involved with implementing a new release, it should be obvious that many of the activities you completed in the original software implementation will have to be repeated, hence, the quandary as to whether to install the new release or not—that is the question.