Release the Kraken!

Using an ERP implementation as the primary driver for Business Transformation will most probably have the same impact on the organisation as did the Kraken on the people of Argos in the movie Clash of the Titans.

To be sure, Business Transformation and the implementation of ERP-type information systems does share a common objective and is driven by the same force, namely an increase in competitiveness.

In the information age, competitiveness stems from the flexibility or agility of the organisation to adapt to rapid change - more specifically this flexibility is essentially the inherent ability of the organisation's entire system of means or architecture to respond quickly and appropriately to changes (and therefore opportunities) in its business environment - irrespective of the the nature of the changes.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessarily the organisation's business processes that determine the measure of organisational flexibility, but the organisation's ability to continuously process data and information within context of their business activities and to take appropriate business decisions based on the information gains.

As knowledge is the capacity to act, the centrality of  the organisational information processing competence for purposes of continuous knowledge-processing and knowledge-creation cannot be overstated. 

The success of using the implementation of ERP-type information systems as the primary driver for business transformation has yet to be confirmed. In fact research on multi-factor productivity has not determined a correlation between the investment in information systems and an increase in productivity. However, what research has shown is that where organisational restructuring or redesign was done before the system implementation, a significant productivity gains have been achieved.

In my experience, where client companies have integrated their system implementation with a well-designed business consulting programme to redesign their organisation and a new way of work in the organisation, a high level of awareness and understanding have built the basis for in-depth understanding and change readiness.

Where business transformation is only driven by the CIO with a restricted and systems focused budget, the ERP "Kraken" will create havoc amongst the affected people of the organisation. Where an integrated and expanded programme of organisational redesign - using an architecture approach - is launched that also includes the implementation of new information systems, then a high level of positive organisational change is achievable.

The ultimate objective should always be to empower people to work in business processes delivering quality services to customers using applications - such as ERP systems.