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Myriads of businesses are migrating their on-premises enterprise applications to cloud solutions to achieve growth, innovation, operational agility, and efficiency. These companies are also migrating to the cloud to modify the cost structure of their application portfolios and minimize their threat of technological obsolescence.
This post will explain the key phases in implementing an Oracle ERP cloud migration and highlight the critical steps to remember. Please continue reading to learn more about these phases.
5 Fundamental Steps for Implementing Oracle ERP Cloud
The Oracle ERP cloud implementation plan comprises many phases, each with specific objectives. Due to the unique nature of enterprises, the stages listed below may not always be strictly sequential and may even overlap. The ERP implementation phase involves planning, design, development, testing, and deployment.
1. Planning
What is the first step of implementing an ERP? This entails finding the best system for your needs, assembling the right team, and outlining precise specifications. Here, the project team will be responsible for various tasks associated with the project, such as developing the implementation design and timeline, allocating sufficient resources, deciding on products and designs, and managing the project on an ongoing basis.
Typically, the ERP project team consists of an executive sponsor, a project manager, and departmental representatives. Senior management must be involved to guarantee the project receives the necessary resources and to offer the support required to execute change throughout the firm. The team may also seek the services of an ERP implementation partner or external consultant to aid in system design and configuration. It should also include any internal professionals involved in the system’s implementation, like IT representatives and report writers who will generate customized reports for users across the firm.
One of the team’s early objectives will be to comprehensively identify present challenges, such as inefficiencies and system requirements. Organizations that have produced an ERP business case may have already specified high-level business concerns and desired outcomes for the implementation, such as accelerating the financial closure, gaining deeper insights into operations, or being ready for an initial public offering. These can guide in-depth analysis and help the project team to concentrate on specific system improvement areas throughout the development.
2. Design
The design phase generates a detailed design for the new ERP system based on precise requirements and an understanding of existing workflows. This involves the development of new, more efficient workflows and other business processes that use the system. Users must be involved in the design phase because they have the most detailed knowledge of current business processes. Involving them in the design also increases the likelihood that they will accept and fully utilize the new system.
3. Development
The development phase can begin after the company obtains precise design requirements. This comprises configuring and, where necessary, modifying the software to support the revised processes. It can also involve integrating the system with the company’s existing business applications that the ERP will not replace. On the other hand, an on-premises ERP system requires the firm to install the necessary hardware and software.
During software development, the team should provide training materials to assist users with transitioning to the new system. It must also begin planning data migration, which can be challenging since it often requires extracting, processing, and loading data from numerous systems. Unfortunately, these systems may employ different formats and contain duplicate or inconsistent data. In this phase, the project team should carefully decide which data to move instead of moving all the historical data, most of which is possibly irrelevant.
4. Testing
Testing and development can occur concurrently. For instance, the project team can test certain modules and features, design changes or modifications depending on the results, then retest. Or, the developer can test a single ERP module while the other is undergoing development. The first testing of the software’s fundamental operations should be followed by thorough testing of the system’s complete capabilities. This includes allowing employees to test the system for their daily tasks. This phase should also involve testing the transferred data and training new end-users.
5. Deployment
This is the day you’ve been preparing for – your system going live. Despite your best attempts to prepare your staff for the massive change, there may be many moving components and some confused employees. The project team should reliably and helpfully avail itself to answer inquiries, assist users with system comprehension, and resolve problems. Users may require time to adjust to the system and realize the projected productivity benefits of the Oracle ERP cloud solution.
You can migrate specific data ahead of deployment, but other data, such as active company transactions, must be moved right before going live.
While some businesses plan to roll out the whole ERP system at once, others will start with the essential modules or processes and add the rest later. While it can add to the overall project cost and decrease user productivity, some companies keep their previous systems running in parallel with the new ERP solution for a while to avoid risk.
Also Read This: 5 Common Challenges of Cloud Integration in Business
The Bottom Line
Migrating to Oracle’s ERP cloud project offers immense benefits, which explains why numerous organizations are migrating from legacy systems to the cloud. You can move to the cloud in several ways. You may transfer just one process, like budgeting, to the cloud or migrate all your financial apps and processes.
In most circumstances, the most advantageous course of action is a complete migration from on-premises to SaaS applications, which are developed and built for the cloud and offer innovations to support a modern digital organization.
