What are the actual costs of your current service and maintenance software?

We regularly hear from companies that they have been using on-premise ERP for a long time and actually want to switch to modern service and maintenance software in the cloud. However, many organizations postpone the upgrade for a few years due to, among other things, the high costs of ERP software, according to them. What many people do not know is that an outdated on-premise package often entails higher costs than they realize. We would be happy to explain the situation to you.

IT costs of an on-premise package

When discussing IT costs, many people rightly think of the associated maintenance costs. An on-premise package is installed on your company’s server and is therefore under your own management. This requires time and expertise from your own IT department. Additionally, you often pay monthly fees for service and maintenance.

‘Hidden’ costs of ERP software in an outdated environment

What many do not realize is that an on-premise ERP package often entails other costs, especially if your current package is somewhat outdated. Work processes have often become cumbersome and inefficient over the years, and have been crying out for improvement. How much time – and therefore cost – is lost in your company as a result? Although these costs are harder to define, they are present and tangible. Consider how much time is wasted on current work processes and how much time automating certain processes would save. If you apply this time-saving to labor costs and other financial benefits of process improvement, you will gain realistic insight into the costs that can be saved with new, modern service and maintenance software.

For example, what our consultants regularly see at service and maintenance companies is that they originally started by installing and maintaining boilers. Over the years, heat pumps have been added, but this requires a different approach to work processes, as it consists of multiple installations that need to be maintained. Outdated on-premise software is not designed for this and does not adapt, causing employees to work suboptimally.

A modern ERP package in the cloud

One of the most important advantages of cloud-based ERP software for installation companies is its flexibility. The situation we just outlined is a thing of the past and will not recur. Should it turn out, for example, in one, five, or ten years, that certain work processes are no longer efficient, actually require change, or if new business activities arise, the cloud software can be easily adapted without having to purchase an entirely new software package. You can easily scale functionalities up or down. Therefore, the investment you make for the implementation will not become unusable in a few years.