Benefits of the Single Stack – Part 2
Posted on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 @ 11:44 AM
By Peter Parks, Vice President of Product Management
In the world of VMS there are no viable off-the-shelf ERP options. Companies must either do a costly customized implementation or go to a SaaS provider, causing deviation from the best practice of a single stack. As the world moves toward the cloud, the ideal arrangement would be a SaaS provider whose infrastructure mirrors your own. It is widely accepted that there is parity among the major VMS players on the end-to-end functionality (req-to-check). This means that differentiation – true advantage – will be found elsewhere. For a SaaS provider, that elsewhere is in their ability to seamlessly integrate into your own stack.
Beginning with single sign-on, through sharing of control data (departments, locations, project/activity breakdown, workflow and hierarchy) and collaborative business processes, it is your VMS provider’s ability to be one with your systems that will drive true value. Utilization of web services will enable you to maintain ownership of master data while realizing the full benefit of its use in the services procurement process. But the effectiveness and efficiency of those web services will be heavily impacted by the system with which you are interacting. The less your VMS has to transform and interpret your data and its structure/format, the more beneficial those integrations will be.
And it is your VMS provider’s fundamental knowledge of your systems that will enable them to craft the most efficient and interactive integration scenario. If they are maintaining the same applications, they will be much more capable of implementing a solution that truly compliments your infrastructure and makes the most of every module, from end-to-end.
A logical next step for our industry will be the development of stack-specific VMS offerings. Whether you are running Oracle or SAP, look for the VMS that can seamlessly interact with your own systems, thus driving efficiency and greatly reducing maintenance costs on a recurring basis. Look for the provider whose own resources have implemented the very same Purchasing, HR, Projects, Financials and Business Intelligence you are running internally, not just once but multiple times. Build on your investment rather than try to bolt onto it.
It is understandable that companies get into the situation of hosting disparate components internally. You can’t always take the time to merge business units onto a single platform when consummating a merger. But when selecting a VMS you always have the time to make the right selection.
When there is a compatible option, go with it.