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Chapter 5 • Implementation Strategies 141

PREVIEW
ERP implementation start-up planning is all about managing risk and creating a strategy that will
position a business to succeed with the implementation of an ERP. This was not the case with
Aquatech. After the selection of SAP, the company immediately started the implementation
without developing a strategy. A start-up process involves assessing the business environment,
culture, and skills of the staff and “readiness” of the company. At this time, early in the project,
open and honest assessments are critical to project planning. Self-assessment, which was not
done at Aquatech, is often difficult and inaccurate, so it is not unusual for businesses to hire con-
sulting companies to make these complex assessments. The amount of time, effort, and money
spent on an ERP implementation makes one ask, “why not have an accurate assessment of a
business’s ability to implement an ERP successfully?”
In this chapter, you will learn about the infrastructure components that make up an ERP
system. It is often said that the ERP software is the inexpensive component of an implementation.
The reality is that all the other surrounding systems components and resources cost more. With
any ERP implementation strategy, all the implementation components need to be identified and
planned. This chapter focuses on the components and then works to address the implementation
strategy. Software selection and the process of “Go-live” and operational needs are separately
addressed in Chapters 6 and 7, respectively.
In addition, you will learn about the risks and impacts of an implementation on a business
and what it means to implement a vanilla system. In contrast, you will also learn what it means
to modify or customize a system, along with the corresponding risks and business impacts in
doing so.
You will also begin to learn the importance of project governance, project management,
communication, teamwork, work groups, and charters and how they are used to better ensure the
project’s success. A key factor in every ERP implementation is creating clear expectations and
communicating those expectations to the business during the planning process.

ERP COMPONENTS
Hardware
Hardware includes all computer devices and peripherals used by an ERP system. An ERP system
will specifically require a powerful set of servers for development, testing, and production
environments.
The following are the key hardware resources necessary for an ERP system (Figure 5-1):
• Servers. ERP systems are very hardware intensive; hence, they require high-end multi-
processor systems with, for now, 64-bit processing. In addition, they need several gigabytes
of main memory or RAM, and several terabytes of secondary storage, which includes hard
drives for data storage and system backup and recovery.
• Clients. People accessing ERP systems (e.g., end users, IT support staff, and developers)
use personal computers (PCs) to access the ERP system. These PCs could be desktop
computers, laptop computers, or personal digital assistants (PDAs). The current generation
of ERP systems uses Web clients and therefore does not require more than a Web browser
for clients to access the ERP system. IT support staff and developers will require secure
connections (i.e., virtual private network or VPN) to access the ERP administration and
development environment.