ERP Total Cost of Ownership

This article was published in the CAmagazine in August 2011. The full article is available at CAmagazine by hyperlink from the heading.

What does an ERP system cost?

Buying an ERP system is a lot like buying a house. The process brings all kinds of unexpected costs. When I moved into my first home, we couldn’t get the bed up the stairs, so we had to remove part of the ceiling, which ruined the fresh paint. Then the plumbing failed and most of the pipes had to be replaced. If only we had known.

When it comes to ERP, companies spend plenty of time haggling over the purchase price but don’t nail down the other costs — maintenance and support, implementing the system, up-grades and the people involved internally in implementing the new system...