When business stakeholders come to you looking for answers, having visibility and context around ERP data access and usage gives you the actionable insight necessary to provide value.

As a leader of Enterprise Applications, customizing legacy ERP applications like PeopleSoft, SAP ECC, Oracle EBS, etc., to meet your business’ exact process specifications can leave you between a rock and a hard place. The more customized your ERP applications get, the more your business stakeholders love it, but the complexity around application support and maintenance also increases. That being said, accepting more complexity is just part of the job, because after all, your most important role (in the eyes of others) is providing timely and accurate resolution to inquiries or incidents from your business stakeholders

You know the drill: members from various business units come to you requesting help for a particular incident or an anomaly they spotted. It’s up to your team to provide a resolution in a timely manner. And that’s where the trouble begins. Many incidents require hours, weeks, and even months to research and resolve. It’s hard to provide excellent customer service to the lines of business when your team is facing major obstacles to resolving incidents in a timely manner.  

What if I told you there’s a way to enable your team to spend less time researching an issue (or no time at all) and produce faster results while providing better value for the various business leaders and their teams? 

Three Major Obstacles to Timely ERP Incident Resolution 

You’re the last person who wants to hear or say, “well, that’s just [insert ERP app name here].” But that’s one way you can sum up the limitations and obstacles your team will immediately encounter.  

Here’s a simplified view of that process from the perspective of PeopleSoft. Somebody from a line of business will contact a member of your Sys Admin team and say, “Hey, this user’s account was updated (i.e., maybe they didn’t get their paycheck), or there was some sort of anomaly in the execution of a typical business transaction (i.e., vendor didn’t get paid, etc.). We don’t know what it is, and the functional user(s) say it wasn’t them. We’re not sure what happened. Can you guys look into this? That would be great.”  

This incident kicks off your process flow to find a resolution. Then come the obstacles: 

Obstacle 1Legacy ERP Logs Can’t Tell You About Data Access 

Experience says that most people who use an ERP application like PeopleSoft don’t know who’s doing what (specifically), who’s accessing what information, or most importantly – why. You probably first need to work out if this is something that the user did themselves or a hacker was able to gain access to the system – and also work out if this is an inside job or an external attack.

And while the logs can point you in the right direction, the legacy ERP logs are not designed to provide detailed information on who accessed what or even, in most cases, viewed something sensitive. This leads to major obstacle number two…

Obstacle 2ERP Logs are Disparate and Not Correlated 

ERP logs were designed for troubleshooting, not granular activity logging, which contributes to organizations and business units not knowing what their employees are doing inside the applications. When it’s time to go under the application hood and examine the native logs, another metaphor comes to mind: looking for a needle in the haystack. Here’s an example of all the native logs you might find in your instance of PeopleSoft: 

  1. App Server 
  2. PIA (Web Server) 
  3. Database 
  4. Process Scheduler 
  5. Load Balancer 
  6. Identity Provider (SAML, LDAP, ADFS) 
  7. Host O/S Logs 
  8. Firewall 

Your organization likely has more than one of these servers where these logs reside. You might have four application servers, eight web servers, and so on. Now you’re looking at finding a needle in multiple haystacks. And that data is not correlated, so there is little relative context that can enable your investigation. 

Here’s a nerdy example using the App Server and Web Server logs. On the Web Server, you cannot identify the person who logged in because you don’t know the OPRID. All you have are an IP address and a timestamp. You need to go to the App Server and review the OPRID, timestamp, and IP address on login or log out and attempt to correlate that information with similar information on the Web Server.  

Obstacle 3: Log Data is Not Enriched with Any Context That Makes It Actionable 

Once your team has collected data from the logs and assembled material from other sources, the final step is to interpret everything and make a best guess so an action item can be established. How actionable is having a collection of raw data such as IP addresses, user IDs, location of devices, completed transaction, etc., if you’re not able to place that data into a human context?  

Let’s take the example of “Jim” and the incident involving him not receiving a paycheck. The raw ERP data shows that Jim’s credentials accessed pages containing personal information and bank account information several times over a period of time. Jim, the human, denies that he made any changes to the data on those pages, so the paycheck should have been routed to his usual bank account. Maybe you change Jim’s username and password and cut him another check. Was Jim trying to defraud the company and get an extra check, or was Jim’s account compromised in some way? Could a hacker have accessed Jim’s payroll data, changed the account number, received the funds, then changed the number back – getting away without a trace? Absolutely! It happens every day. If you cut Jim a new check, you fix Jim’s immediate problem, but do you understand what’s happening in your system?  

Why Appsian360 Immediately Makes You a Hero to Your Organization 

You’ve been waiting in suspense to know when IT becomes the hero – well, here it is. When the business comes to you looking for answers related to a specific incident, Appsian360 provides the quick, actionable insight necessary to provide the company with the understanding of what happened with their ERP data.  

How? Appsian360 logs granular user access to data, correlates existing ERP logs, enriches the data with contextual attributes (who, when, where, what device, etc.), and visualizes the ERP data’s access and usage on dashboards. Now your team can easily look at data access by IP addresses, user IDs, location of devices, pages accessed, etc., and very quickly understand the facts behind an incident. 

Let’s go back to Jim’s situation. With just a handful of clicks in Appsian360, you confirm that “Jim’s credentials” did indeed access and edit his personal information. Additionally, you discover that “Jim” was logging in after-hours using a foreign IP address based in another country. With a few more clicks, it’s clear that the IP address is responsible for other compromised user accounts. You didn’t just discover Jim’s breach, you now have a clear picture and a direction to fix the actual security issue – one that was growing in urgency by the day!

Without context, you lack insight. Context around data access and usage creates actionable insights. Actionable insights support the company and provide value to key stakeholders.  

Understanding user activity and data usage are precisely what the business needs – and without Appsian360, ERP logs lack insight. You can buck that trend with Appsian360.

Contact us to learn how Appsian360 can provide you with the most powerful, real-time view into ERP data access & usage

The Advantages Of Extended ERP

In managing a broad variety of core business processes, ERP software is used, including but not limited to, finance, manufacturing, HR, etc. For quite some time now, companies worldwide have been using ERP tools to their benefit.

Extended ERP focuses on external activities to facilitate the management of connections with customer, distributor, transporter, and other parties. For supply chain management, market intelligence, e-commerce, and customer relations, popular extended ERP modules are used by organizations.

Third-party software, often via vendor-supplied interfaces, can be used to extend ERP systems. Some of these are outlined here.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provides sales teams and call centers with customer process resources to be more autonomous. As part of an expanded ERP kit, ERP and CRM can be provided as they require minimal integration.

Product Lifecycle Management

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software may include activities relating to design, regulation, manufacturing, delivery, and field service related to how a product changes over its lifetime. Depending on the industry, PLM software may cover more business processes or be restricted to design and engineering.

Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) software can provide tools to plan and manage any phase in the manufacturing and distribution process, including monitoring of outside companies’ handling of products.

In manufacturing and delivering goods and services, several channels and supply networks are involved. Until goods reach the consumer, they undergo a number of procedures, covering anything from operations management to delivery, manufacturing, storage, and warehousing.

Product Data Management

Product Data Management (PDM) systems capture and retain product information to ensure that during the life cycle of the product, information is delivered to customers. All file ownership, version control (check-in and check-out of files), revision management, and information status are managed by the PDM system. Intellectual property rights are protected by security and administrative skills through task management, project-based defense, and related access rights.

E-Procurement/E-Commerce

In order to enter new markets, more and more businesses seek an online presence. The seamless integration of ERP systems into e-commerce websites via an API is becoming a significant requirement.

Data Mining

A term that comes from informatics is data mining. It is about looking for new information from a vast amount of data. In several cases, data is stored so it can be retrieved later. It is also possible to use the same data later to gather other information that was not needed for first use. This offers new expertise, and it can be helpful.

Need For Integration

Depending on the industry and functionality specifications, the extended ERP modules will need varying degrees of integration. The acquisition of advanced technologies leads to lower business costs.

Rising Cybersecurity Threats

Wherever they may be installed, IT devices and systems are at risk from unauthorized intervention, theft, and sabotage. Highly inter-connected business units are at risk of greater exposure and greater threats to ERP security.

In a connected world, ERP security threats can arise from anywhere. Via the Internet, we integrate and connect more and more systems and devices. IT protection must also be implemented into all processes.

Conclusion

Robust and integrated defense systems will allow a company’s IT systems to withstand cyber-attacks and protect companies from system crashes, data loss, and unauthorized access. In this context, it is important to find a solution that benefits the business and does not stifle productivity.

Cybersecurity has now become a subject that is not only discussed by the IT departments but at the level of senior management. It takes resources and a sharp focus to incorporate sufficient data security strategies.

Tips To Deal With Advanced Persistent Threats And Secure ERP Data

In general, an advanced persistent threat (APT) refers to a prolonged and targeted cyber assault in which attackers gain access to a corporate network for an extended period and remain undetected. Because of their high-value data, APT attacks are typically aimed at organizations in sectors such as national security, manufacturing, and the financial industry. As they secretly take control of the data of your organization, these cybercriminals work hard to remain undetected. Let’s look at how you can detect APT if you have one and the steps to tackle it.

While your organization may not be of the type that attracts the attention of well-funded and well-organized hacker groups or rogue nation-states, you need to remember that instead of causing network harm, the intruder’s primary objective is to steal data. That means an APT can be launched by a malicious outsider or an insider. The last thing these hackers want is for you to discover their presence and kick them out.

Signs of an Advanced Persistent Threat

While it is difficult to identify one, in the case of an advanced persistent threat, you will begin to find subtle changes that indicate something happening out of the ordinary. In the ERP system, let’s take a look at some spooky behavior that may indicate the presence of an APT.

Payroll fraud is the most common consequence of an APT

The payroll department might notice anomalies: multiple direct deposits are wired to the same account; employees who have opted for paper paychecks instead of direct deposit reports are no longer getting their mail. Or, during a routine security audit, you can find the sudden development of high-privileged user accounts, but the logs display no entries that indicate who requested or approved them.

Context of access could be a sign of an APT

In your ERP system, there are other signs of irregular behavior, such as frequent after-hours account activity, excessive login mistakes and suspicious access, and obscure IP addresses from overseas locations. Regardless of the signs, the next step is to launch an investigation. The advanced persistent threat counts on your inactivity to stay concealed.

Stave-off APTs with a multi-layered security strategy

When abnormal behavior reveals itself, companies using legacy ERP systems are frequently left in the dark. The granular visibility required to identify and remove malicious actors in data access and use is lacking in such systems.

There are data protection and analytics applications that allow businesses to adopt a layered security strategy that includes complex controls for authentication and authorization, along with real-time monitoring that provides insight into when and by whom data is accessed. These solutions add these extra layers of security into your ERP system to help ensure the data is still safe even if it is haunted by an APT (e.g., valid login credentials stolen by a phishing attack).

Apart from all the other cybersecurity threats that go bump in the night, every organization, irrespective of the industry, is susceptible to advanced persistent threats. The best defense against these cyber criminals accessing and stealing the data of your organization is prevention and early detection.

ERP Security: Easy Steps To Prevent Risks

The US Department of Homeland Security has, in the past, alerted companies about the increasing threat of attacks against enterprise resource planning systems. The alert came in the aftermath of a study exposing the widespread violations in Oracle and SAP systems. While government agencies and some other sectors are particularly vulnerable to security outbreaks, it is more common for smaller companies and producers to become victims of breaches.

As disturbing as this news is, it should not stop enterprises from looking for ERP solutions. Without introducing ERP to simplify workflows and act as a central hub of business data, organizations will fall behind in our fast-paced marketplace. The reality is that our data has never been 100% safe, and cyber-attack vulnerabilities sometimes stem more from weak protocols than from the systems themselves. The risk of getting hacked decreases significantly with each security precaution a company takes. In this section, we discuss the steps companies can take to ensure robust ERP data security.

Regular Upgrades And Updates

The news of rising ERP attacks proves the need to update and upgrade your apps periodically. There have been obsolete, unpatched cases of a significant number of hacked systems. Upgrades and patches are frequently postponed by organizations as long as possible because they do not want to delegate their money to the process. Most new updates, however, contain fixes and safety characteristics designed to overcome security challenges. There are constant new threats, and the program needs to keep on top of the changes. The longer you stick to your legacy structure, the more it will be vulnerable to attack.

Training For Employees And SoD

The greatest danger to the credibility of the data is sometimes not the program itself; it’s the people who use it. Your business becomes a prime target for hackers when users do not hand over information properly. That’s why, during ERP deployments, you should not only train users but maintain an ongoing training schedule. This encourages users to reacquaint themselves with security procedures so that they can report anomalies by opening compromised email attachments to avoid introducing problems.

Another way to ensure the data is handled properly by your users is to segregate duties. Segregation of Duties (SoD) requires the dispersion of tasks among many individuals. In this way, one person is not entirely responsible for the maintenance of sensitive data and the implementation of essential procedures. Logins can be tracked by managers, and misuse, if any, detected.

Database Maintenance

A goldmine for hackers is the ERP database. To ensure robust ERP data security, companies need to put in place different steps. One measure is encryption, which, by converting data into a code that is meaningless to hackers, serves as one of the most efficient ways of protecting information. Businesses should run checks to detect possible vulnerabilities in addition to encryption.

But hackers don’t only target a database directly; they also use backdoor methods to access confidential company data. In order to provide optimum security, IT workers must stay vigilant on all fronts, secure firewalls, upgrade passwords, and enforce two-step verification methods. Since it is such a heavy burden to maintain security standards, organizations should employ the assistance of specialist experts to direct them through this phase to ensure that there is no opening for attack.

Conclusion

The key lesson from the increase in ERP violations is not that enterprise software is unsafe; it is that sensitive information is at risk regardless of where it is held because there are no acceptable security protocols. Fortunately, to streamline your ERP data security measures, you can receive security and compliance functionality out of the box with the right vendor. The ideal data protection solution preserves the security of your data, documentation, transactions, and permits.

Real-Time ERP Data: Why Is It Important For Organizations?

Running a successful enterprise is about many different processes working in unison. You have to monitor inventory, take part in bookkeeping, ensure customers’ and workers’ satisfaction, and focus on manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning software, also known as ERP, incorporates all of these into a single centralized location, which provides access to those systems and the information they produce in real-time. If you are not using ERP software, you are missing out on several big benefits of this real-time information. Here are five benefits that you can begin to leverage by combining your business practices with ERP software.

1: Real-Time Data Streamlines Workflow

Are there areas of your business that you are not closely connected to? ERP software allows you access to data about all aspects of your business in real-time. This enables you to streamline the workflow at every stage of the process. From monitoring inventory to dealing with accounting or human resources issues, everything falls under the same umbrella. If you find a hang-up in growth or discover that your sales team is losing it, you can find inefficiencies, rectify them, and improve your overall performance.

2: Improved Order Tracking

Do you have the required information when you are called by a customer who wants to know where his order is? ERP software enables you to easily find an order so that you can give your customer information about its location. This, in turn, enables you to provide accurate predictions of delivery, meaning customers are never left wondering where their products are in the manufacturing and shipping phase.

3: Automated Profit Tracking

Estimating sales margins and profit ratios is difficult for a rising business. These reports are made readily available by the correct ERP system when synchronizing them to make it easier for you to determine metrics. With automated profit monitoring and reports, you can see places that need to be changed before they have the capacity to hurt your profit margins.

4: Prompt Customer Support

What happens when you tell a customer that you have an item in stock or that you can provide service within a set time span, only to find that you can’t? Inaccuracy affects customer support and overall brand opinion. Real-time ERP data prevents certain forms of errors from being committed, and you can see what’s available at the time of sale. This helps improve customer service and overall customer experience, which preserves your image in the eyes of your target audience.

5: Removal Of Redundancies

You can find that employees enter the same data several times as the company expands, which leads to loss of productivity and time management issues. When you have an ERP program, this dilemma is avoided. Both databases are connected, and employees can see if data that has already been registered is being entered. If a redundancy exists, the system will mark it so that you can erase it. This improves accuracy by fixing outdated data entries and eliminates time wasted.

The points mentioned above are only a few of the benefits of ERP software and the real-time data it provides. It’s time for businesses to exploit these benefits to make competitive gains.

Security Breaches: Causes And Suggestions For Prevention

Security breaches are common today, adversely affecting organizations and users around the world regularly. Knowing the underlying incidents that cause these violations not only makes it possible for us to understand how they occur but also offers useful insight to resolve this increasing threat.

According to a Verizon study on the causes of security breaches, 62% of data breaches resulted from hacking, and 81% of those breaches used either stolen, bad, or default passwords. Social threats accounted for 43% of threats, and in 51% of data breaches, some credential-stealing malware was involved, with 28% of the data breaches investigated involving human error.

Security Breaches: The Causes

A detailed review of these figures reveals that the weakest link in the chain is human error, even though dangers such as password attacks and social engineering are involved. Outlined here are some of the common causes of data breaches that could have serious repercussions for companies:

1: Poor Password Practices

Compromised passwords acquired by credential harvesting are one of the most common causes of data breaches. The simplest way to gain access to a device is to obtain user credentials. Therefore, attackers try to manipulate the path of least resistance.

A long-identified market trait, of which even vendors are guilty, has been the propensity to prioritize convenience over protection. Recently, studies have revealed that more than 50 percent of IoT device manufacturers are unable to resolve security concerns (for example, ERP data security) emerging from weak authentication strategies they have used in the past.

The reuse of passwords, a common symptom in businesses that enforce policies for password complexity, is another common risk. For some apps, they are more likely to reuse a single complex password because users are required to recall more complicated passwords. This puts the enterprise at risk of a credential stuffing attack.

Spraying passwords is another example of a vulnerability to ERP data security. In essence, brute-forcing authentication is used in this attack with a limited collection of widely used passwords.

2: Human Errors

Human error is responsible for more than one-fifth of all security breaches. Examples are workers who leave laptops or other electronic devices in insecure locations where they can be easily stolen and workers who accidentally send confidential information to unauthorized third parties.

One more example of a simple human error that contributes to a major security breach is when someone is misconfigured by an application or database that could accidentally reveal sensitive information online.

3: Technology And Procedural Errors

Security breaches can be caused by deficiencies, such as inadequate patch management, in the security procedures adopted. As the effort required to successfully breach the system is very limited, unpatched computers are the main targets for attackers. Technology is never fool-proof, and from time to time, it will malfunction, resulting in exposed data or a device that is compromised.

Defending The Organization From A Security Breach: Some Measures

If adequately applied and handled, the necessary hygiene protocols for protection (such as vital patch management) will avoid many breaches. Implementing security regression testing can help avoid technology failures that could eventually lead to a security breach as an integral part of every implementation process, and encrypting data on mobile devices can also help prevent a violation involving a computer that has been lost or stolen.

And while many organizations agree that legitimate and accurate authentication involves passwords, they remain the Achilles heel of secure authentication practices. Companies should consider upgrading their authentication with an adaptive multi-factor authentication system that offers more protection with contextual knowledge to mitigate the real risk of a security breach caused by bad passwords. In an ever-growing security risk environment, this not only protects against bad passwords but also provides an additional layer of visibility and security for IT teams. In addition, applications for data protection and analytics that arm you with real-time insights into user activity and a host of other features will go a long way in helping you ensure data security.

ERP System Implementation: Critical Factors To Consider

Without a doubt, enterprise resource planning (ERP) programs are a must for today’s enterprises because of their various advantages. But it is important to know the downsides of the software to ensure that to go for ERP is the best step for your company. The key ERP disadvantages that clients can face are as follows:

1: Mandatory Compliance Obligations And Data Security

According to available evidence, there has been a major upsurge in instances of data breaches globally in the recent past. Hackers were successful in intruding into corporate networks, causing losses in millions. There are also several laws that explicitly seek to protect the privacy of data. SOX, GDPR, CCPA, PCI-DSS are just a few of them. ERP data security, therefore, is very important.

In today’s digital world, data protection and data privacy are a must. There are several vulnerabilities in ERP systems that reveal company data, posing threats to initiatives for data protection. Luckily enough, with their comprehensive systems that provide granular visibility and control over the data access and use actions of users, there are data protection solutions on the market that can give you complete peace of mind.

2: The Cost

If you want to invest in a traditional ERP scheme, you might theoretically end up spending five figures on a single license. For many, that’s by far the biggest drawback of ERP applications. The software’s upfront costs alone, particularly for small to medium-sized companies, can be prohibitively high. SMBs can minimize the upfront costs by opting for a cloud service, which is typically charged monthly.

3: Costs Involving Implementation and Maintenance

The personnel costs and the time required for successful implementation must be taken into account by companies. You can need to hire additional staff from IT, ERP consultants, software training experts, etc. In addition to the license fee, vendors selling traditional systems typically levy a maintenance charge. Besides, to better support your ERP applications, you will need to invest in new hardware such as servers and compatible mobile devices. And again, in order to retain them, you would need to nominate individuals.

With a generally painless implementation, no hardware, and a limited need for upgrades or enhancements, the Cloud ERP platform again represents a successful alternative. Technology built on the cloud is designed to be undemanding. Otherwise classified as SaaS, it is (Software-as-a-Service). Implementing these systems requires logging into any compatible and internet-enabled device; maintenance and upgrades are typically carried out by the vendor.

4: The Customization Process

There are particular needs of different organizations. Customization is one of the best adaptive features of ERP apps, but it can get out of hand quickly and rapidly. Customization of your applications takes a lot of time, effort, expertise, and money. But too many businesses completely underestimate how many resources are needed and either do not complete their customizations or end up going way over budget.

5: Complexity

There are different features of ERP security systems, but that also means that the platform can be complicated and complex. Companies are not unaware of being swept up in all the excitement of an ERP solution, but they do not prepare adequately for its implementation. Many organizations can find themselves too large and complex with processes for their activities, resulting in low ROI. This is especially true if, because of the complexity of executing the program, you do not convince your team.

Conclusion

When determining which platform is right for your company, weighing the pros and cons of ERP software is necessary. But if you didn’t let these disadvantages scare you away from the positives that could give your company a major competitive edge, it would help. The benefits of implementing ERP systems greatly outweigh the shortcomings due to the long-term potential for completely integrated business processes and productivity boosts along with comprehensive ERP data security.

Key Dimensions Of Ensuring ERP Data Security

When attacks on business data grow more complex, the security features of legacy ERP applications are not able to keep up. Initially designed for easy access to data and business processes, Legacy ERP applications have created wide enforcement and security gaps that can lead to disastrous data breaches and millions lost to business policy violations. Outlined here are some approaches to meet the data security challenges successfully.

ERP Access Expansion

Users need mobile access, but sensitive exposure to data can lead organizations to feel apprehensive. Allowing mobile ERP access can pose unique challenges due to compromised user credentials, data exfiltration into unauthorized devices, privileged access management, management of internal governance policies, and many more.

In order to minimize risks, traditional network and system security is not enough when ERP access is ubiquitous. Fortunately, fine-grained solutions can be implemented, enabling enterprises to focus their security strategies on unique data elements. With data security solutions, you can improve user productivity without compromising ERP data security.

Preventing Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are a major cause of breaches and compromised passwords, leading to the theft of sensitive information such as social security and direct deposit numbers. Phishing attacks are a far higher threat if the hacker obtains a high-privilege credential.

Traditional ERP applications such as PeopleSoft depend primarily on a protection model involving username and password. Unfortunately, sophisticated phishing attacks are successful against that form of security model. Data security solutions using Multi-Factor Authentication and Single Sign-On solutions allow organizations to improve the identity and authentication process of PeopleSoft and provide better protection from phishing attacks.

Streamlining Reporting AndSoD Management

A cornerstone of compliance is rigorous Segregation of Duties (SoD) controls in ERP applications. Strong preventive governance policies are important for preventing disputes in high-value transactions. Data security solutions simplify SoD by providing complete visibility into user behavior, transaction use, and master data modifications.

Organizations can easily generate audit reports with information on actionable Segregation of Duties, speed up the audit process, improve the efficiency of their compliance operations, and eradicate false positives. It is necessary to filter out potential incidents and focus only on actual breaches of SAP Segregation of Duties as the amount and complexity of ERP data increases. Compliance officers, auditors, and data protection departments are equipped with the perfect security solution with the right amount of data to review during the audit process.

Implementing A Strong Access Policy

As access policy management grows in complexity, the conventional role-based access control (RBAC) is nearing its limits. One-off role derivations, introducing uncertainty and overhead to role provisioning and management, have created a role-explosion. Implementing access policy management checks beyond a user’s role, down to a field-value stage, in today’s ERP setting, which requires unscalable customization.

Organizations can simplify the implementation of governance policies compliant with global trade law, segregation of duties, or segregation of access between various business units by using an attribute-based access control layer (ABAC). The right kind of data protection solution will extend and modernize the current security model by implementing a fine-grain approach to user access control management by using contextual attributes.

Managing Compliance

Conventional ERP applications have not been created, keeping in mind the need to provide information on data access and use needed to comply with GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory requirements. The ideal solution for data protection should provide layered data security, help companies conform to compliance guidelines, and provide the full scope of data access, along with the contextual details required to facilitate regulatory compliance.

Real-Time ERP Data: Why Is It Important For Organizations?

Running a successful enterprise is about many different processes working in unison. You have to monitor inventory, take part in bookkeeping, ensure customers’ and workers’ satisfaction, and focus on manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning software, also known as ERP, incorporates all of these into a single centralized location, which provides access to those systems and the information they produce in real-time. If you are not using ERP software, you are missing out on several big benefits of this real-time information. Here are five benefits that you can begin to leverage by combining your business practices with ERP software.

1: Real-Time Data Streamlines Workflow

Are there areas of your business that you are not closely connected to? ERP software allows you access to data about all aspects of your business in real-time. This enables you to streamline the workflow at every stage of the process. From monitoring inventory to dealing with accounting or human resources issues, everything falls under the same umbrella. If you find a hang-up in growth or discover that your sales team is losing it, you can find inefficiencies, rectify them, and improve your overall performance.

2: Improved Order Tracking

Do you have the required information when you are called by a customer who wants to know where his order is? ERP software enables you to easily find an order so that you can give your customer information about its location. This, in turn, enables you to provide accurate predictions of delivery, meaning customers are never left wondering where their products are in the manufacturing and shipping phase.

3: Automated Profit Tracking

Estimating sales margins and profit ratios is difficult for a rising business. These reports are made readily available by the correct ERP system when synchronizing them to make it easier for you to determine metrics. With automated profit monitoring and reports, you can see places that need to be changed before they have the capacity to hurt your profit margins.

4: Prompt Customer Support

What happens when you tell a customer that you have an item in stock or that you can provide service within a set time span, only to find that you can’t? Inaccuracy affects customer support and overall brand opinion. Real-time ERP data prevents certain forms of errors from being committed, and you can see what’s available at the time of sale. This helps improve customer service and overall customer experience, which preserves your image in the eyes of your target audience.

5: Removal Of Redundancies

You can find that employees enter the same data several times as the company expands, which leads to loss of productivity and time management issues. When you have an ERP program, this dilemma is avoided. Both databases are connected, and employees can see if data that has already been registered is being entered. If a redundancy exists, the system will mark it so that you can erase it. This improves accuracy by fixing outdated data entries and eliminates time wasted.

The points mentioned above are only a few of the benefits of ERP software and the real-time data it provides. It’s time for businesses to exploit these benefits to make competitive gains.

Real-Time ERP Data: Why Is It Important For Organizations?

Running a successful enterprise is about many different processes working in unison. You have to monitor inventory, take part in bookkeeping, ensure customers’ and workers’ satisfaction, and focus on manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning software, also known as ERP, incorporates all of these into a single centralized location, which provides access to those systems and the information they produce in real-time. If you are not using ERP software, you are missing out on several big benefits of this real-time information. Here are five benefits that you can begin to leverage by combining your business practices with ERP software.

1: Real-Time Data Streamlines Workflow

Are there areas of your business that you are not closely connected to? ERP software allows you access to data about all aspects of your business in real-time. This enables you to streamline the workflow at every stage of the process. From monitoring inventory to dealing with accounting or human resources issues, everything falls under the same umbrella. If you find a hang-up in growth or discover that your sales team is losing it, you can find inefficiencies, rectify them, and improve your overall performance.

2: Improved Order Tracking

Do you have the required information when you are called by a customer who wants to know where his order is? ERP software enables you to easily find an order so that you can give your customer information about its location. This, in turn, enables you to provide accurate predictions of delivery, meaning customers are never left wondering where their products are in the manufacturing and shipping phase.

3: Automated Profit Tracking

Estimating sales margins and profit ratios is difficult for a rising business. These reports are made readily available by the correct ERP system when synchronizing them to make it easier for you to determine metrics. With automated profit monitoring and reports, you can see places that need to be changed before they have the capacity to hurt your profit margins.

4: Prompt Customer Support

What happens when you tell a customer that you have an item in stock or that you can provide service within a set time span, only to find that you can’t? Inaccuracy affects customer support and overall brand opinion. Real-time ERP data prevents certain forms of errors from being committed, and you can see what’s available at the time of sale. This helps improve customer service and overall customer experience, which preserves your image in the eyes of your target audience.

5: Removal Of Redundancies

You can find that employees enter the same data several times as the company expands, which leads to loss of productivity and time management issues. When you have an ERP program, this dilemma is avoided. Both databases are connected, and employees can see if data that has already been registered is being entered. If a redundancy exists, the system will mark it so that you can erase it. This improves accuracy by fixing outdated data entries and eliminates time wasted.

The points mentioned above are only a few of the benefits of ERP software and the real-time data it provides. It’s time for businesses to exploit these benefits to make competitive gains.

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