April2018
QADCHANNELISLANDS:QADENTERPRISEPLATFORMISTHENEXTSTOPONTHE
JOURNEYTOTHEEFFECTIVEENTERPRISE
QADdefinestheEffectiveEnterpriseasone“wherebusinessprocessesareoperatingatpeakefficiencyandperfectlyalignedwithstrategicgoals.”Yetgiventheever-acceleratingpaceofchangeinourworldtoday,QADalsorecognizesthattheEffectiveEnterpriseismoreofajourneythanadestination.Thejourneyisoneofcontinuousimprovementandcarefullybalancedobjectives.
Thesamecouldbesaidforthesoftwarethatrunsthebusiness.Whichiswhyits“ChannelIslands”initiativehasbeendividedintomilestones.OverthepastfewyearsQADhas(figuratively)hoppedfromoneislandtothenextonitsjourney.Thejourneybeganin2014withextensiveresearchandthegoalofimprovingtheoveralluserexperience(UX).AyearlateritreleasedAnacapaandwitheachsubsequentyearhasaddedanewisland.SantaCruzcamein2016,followedbySantaRosain2017.By2018,whatstartedasa“userexperience”initiativehadbeenbeentransformedandSanMiguelemergedasafull-blownplatform:theQADEnterprisePlatform.
Andso,theChannelIslandsjourneyisdrawingtoaclose.ButthejourneytotheEffectiveEnterprisewillcontinueasitisanever-endingjourney,andQADwillverylikelyembarkonotheradditionaladventuressuitabletowhateverthefuturemightbring.
CHANNELISLANDS:ANAPPROPRIATEMETAPHOR
QADappearstohavechosenthenameofitsmulti-yearinitiativewell.Originallyfocusedontheuserexperience,QAD’sChannelIslandsprogramveryquicklydevelopedadualpurpose.Themetaphorisperfectbecausethefirstgoal-re-inventingtheentireuserexperienceofQADERP-madeitmorenatural(intuitive),visuallyappealingandeasytouse.TheChannelIslandsofCaliforniaareachainofeightislandslocatedinthePacificOceanoffthecoastofsouthernCaliforniaalongtheSantaBarbaraChannelnearQADheadquarters.ThemainattractionoftherealChannelIslandsistheirnaturalbeauty,providingrelieffromthecluttered,hard-to-navigateurbansetting.
Butthesecondgoaloftheinitiativemakesitevenmoreappropriate.Theislandsaredividedintotwogroups—theNorthernChannelIslandsandtheSouthernChannelIslands.ThefourNorthernIslandsusedtobeasinglelandmass,butaswaterlevelsrose(thousandsofyearsago),Anacapa,Santa
About QAD Foundedin1979byPamelaLopker,QADprovidesintegratedenterprisesolutionsformanufacturers.Ms.LopkerwaslaterjoinedbyherhusbandKarlLopker,andthetworemainatthehelmofwhatisnowacompanywith1,600+employeesin27officesaroundtheworld.
HeadquarteredinSantaBarbara,CA,QADispubliclytraded(NASDAQ–QADA)andcloseditsfiscal2016(endingJanuary31,2016)withrevenuesofapproximately$278million.Itscustomersemploy3millionpeopleandgenerate$1trillioninrevenuesgloballyinover90countries.QADERPisagoodfitforthefollowingmanufacturingindustries:
üAutomotiveüConsumerProductsü Food&BeverageüHighTechü Industrialü LifeSciences
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Cruz,SantaRosaandSanMiguelemergedandevolvedasseparateislands.WhileQADERPwasoriginallydevelopedasasingle,tightlyintegrated,monolithicsolutionthatneededtomoveforwardinlockstep,thegoalquicklyexpandedtosupportmoremodularupgrades,allowingdifferentmodulesanddisciplines(thinkfinanceversuspurchasingorproduction)tomoveforwardindependentlyattheirownpace.MintJutrasoftenreferstothisapproachas“looselycoupled”versustightlyintegratedandmonolithic,butitshouldnotbeconfusedwithacollectionofpointsolutionswitharms’lengthinterfaces.JustliketheNorthernIslands,underthesurfaceallthesedifferentfunctionalareasarestillconnected.
InfactthatwaswhyQADnamedthefirstphaseAnacapa.OfthefourNorthernChannelIslands,Anacapaappearstobethesmallest,butinfacthasanenormouslandmasshiddenunderthesurfaceofthewater.Thisisrepresentativeoftheworkdonetore-architecttheunderlyinginfrastructure,reworkingtheapplicationprogramminginterface(API)structureandprotocols,andfutureproofingtheuserinterface(UI),includingtheframeworkforconnectingdevices.ThissupportsthetheorythatsometimesthebestUIisnoUIatallandpavesthewayforsucceedingphases(Islands).
Andthereforethejourneyhasbeensomewhatcircular.ThedesiretocreateanewuserinterfacepromptedQADtotakeaplatformapproach.Theresult:theQADEnterprisePlatform.Andfromtheplatformemergedanewandbetteruserexperience.
THEVALUEOFTHEQADENTERPRISEPLATFORM
WhiletheuserexperienceaspectsofQADChannelIslandsgetmostoftheattention(moreonthatlater),theQADEnterprisePlatformisequallyimportant.WhileMintJutrasisastrongproponentoftakingaplatformapproach,werealizethetypicalbusinessdecisionmakermightnotfullyunderstandorappreciatewhatthismeanstoday.
InsomewaysanyERPsolutionisbuiltonadevelopment“platform.”IntheearlydaysofERP,theplatformequatedtotheprogramminglanguage,theoperatingsystemandthedatastructuresused(e.g.aflatfilestructureorarelationaldatabase).Datastructuresforenterpriseapplicationstendedtobehierarchicalinnatureandrathercomplex.Enterpriseapplicationsolutionproviderswoulddevelopstandardroutinesforcommontaskslikeretrievingandstoringdataorprinting,buttherewasstillalotofheavyliftingtobedoneindevelopingcode,andmostso-calledplatformswereclosedinthatitwashardforanyoneapartfromtheoriginalauthortoaddvaluebeyondinvasivecustomization.
Todayaplatformapproachmeansmuchmore.Modernplatformsallowdeveloperstocreatesoftwarewithoutthecomplexityofbuildingand
“Looselycoupled”versustightlyintegratedandmonolithicshouldnotbeconfusedwithacollectionofpointsolutionswitharm’slengthinterfaces.
Modernplatformsallowdeveloperstocreatesoftwarewithoutthecomplexityofbuildingandmaintainingtheinfrastructureandservicestypicallyassociatedwithdevelopinganenterpriseapplication.
Andthereforethejourneyhasbeensomewhatcircular.ThedesiretocreateanewuserinterfacepromptedQADtotakeaplatformapproach.Theresult:theQADEnterprisePlatform.Andfromtheplatformemergedanewandbetteruserexperience.
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maintainingtheinfrastructureandservicestypicallyassociatedwithdevelopinganenterpriseapplication.Whiletherearenumerousbenefits,themostimportantisthatitbringsagility-theabilitytoeasilyinnovate,evolveandrespondtotherapidlyacceleratingchangeallbusinessesfacetoday.Thetwokeyelementsthatamodernplatformshoulddeliveraremodularupgradesandextensibility.
LOOSELYCOUPLEDè MODULARUPGRADESInordertobetterunderstandtheadvantage,let’sfirstrecaphowtraditionalEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP)ingeneral,andQADERPinparticular(priortotheChannelIslandsinitiative),hasalwaysworked.MintJutrasdefinesERPasanintegratedsuiteofmodulesthatformstheoperationalandtransactionalsystemofrecordofabusiness.ThisisarudimentarydefinitionbecausetodayERPislikelytodomuchmorethanthis,particularlyinamanufacturingbusiness,andQADERPisnoexception.Itsfootprinthasgrownovertimetobeveryextensive,reachingintomanydifferentfunctionsanddisciplineswithinamanufacturingcompany.
NotonlydoallmodulesofanERPsolutionshareacommondatabase,butalsoallaredevelopedusingthesametoolsandtechnologyandtheyallmoveforwardinlockstep.Thiseliminatesdataredundancyandanyneedforseparateintegrationefforts.Everyonestays“instep.”
Buttherewasalsoaveryrealdrawbackofthismonolithicapproachandithaseverythingtodowiththepartaboutallmodulesmovingforwardtogether.Itmeansaccountingcan’tmoveforwarduntilordermanagement,shopfloorcontrolandinventorymanagementarereadytomove.Ittakesmassiveeffortsofcoordinationforalldepartmentswithinacustomer’sorganizationtotakethosenextstepsalltogether.Andtheymightnotallhavethesamelevelofmotivation.
ThenewrevenuerecognitionrulessurroundingASC606andIFRS15,whichcameintoeffect(forpubliccompanies)in2018,providetheperfectexample.Thesenewrulescreatedthemostsignificantchangesaccountantsfacedinmany,manyyears,providinglotsofincentiveforthefinancedepartmenttomoveforwardwithinnovationthataddressesthem.Notsomuchfortherestofthecompany.ThiswaswhyQADchosefinanceasthefirstislandtoseparatefromthemainland.Asaresult,QADcustomersdidnotfacetheusualdisruptionthattypicallyoccurswithamajorcompany-wideupgrade.
EXTENSIBILITYModularupgradescertainlyhelpQADcustomerstokeepupwithinnovationprovidedbyQAD,butwhathappenswhenyouneedtodosomethingbeyondthecapabilitiesofyourcurrentsolution?Perhapsdisruptionisintroducinganewbusinessmodel(thinkUber,NetflixandAirbnb).Orperhapsyouhavehituponagreatnewwayofdifferentiatingyourselfinthemarket.Inthepastthiswouldhavebeenaddressedthroughclumsywork-aroundsorinvasive
Definition of ERP MintJutrasdefinesERPasanintegratedsuiteofmodulesthatformstheoperationalandtransactionalsystemofrecordofabusiness.ThisisarudimentarydefinitionbecausetodayERPislikelytodomuchmorethanthis,particularlyinamanufacturingbusiness,andQADERPisnoexception.
Themostimportantbenefitofaplatform:Itbringsagility-theabilitytoeasilyinnovate,evolveandrespondtotherapidlyacceleratingchangeallbusinessesfacetoday.
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customization.Butassoonasyouresorttoeitherofthesealternatives,youbuildinbarrierstofurtherinnovation.
TheQADEnterprisePlatformaddressesthisbycreatingcomponentsratherthanasinglemonolithiclineofcode.Newcomponentscanbeaddedasextensions,orusedtoreplaceexistingcomponentswithouthavingtoinvasivelymodifythatmonolithicstructure.ItsupportsloosecouplingoftheseextensionsbyprovidingmodernAPIs(applicationprogramminginterfaces)thatnegatetheneedforinvasivecustomization.
Thistypeofloosecouplingisoftendescribedasmicroservices.Forthereaderwithatechnicalbackground,microservices,alsoknownasthemicroservicearchitecture,isdefined(byWikipedia)asanarchitecturalstylethatstructuresanapplicationasacollectionoflooselycoupledservices.Forthosenontechnicalreaders,thinkofitasconstructingasolutionfromasetofLegobuildingblocks.
ThinkabouthowyoubuildastructurefromLegos.EachLegoblockismadeofthesamekindofmaterialandisattached(connected)totheotherLegoblocksthesameway.Inmanywaystheyareinterchangeable.Butbychoosingdifferentcolorsandsizes,andconnectingthemwithadifferentdesign,youcanmakeastructurethatisveryunique.Andonceconstructed,ifyouwanttochangeit,decouplingsomeoftheblocksandreplacingthemdoesn’tdestroythepartsthatarenotaffected.Thereisfarlessdisruptionintroducedthanifyouhadconstructeditwithtimber,ahammerandnails.
THEUSEREXPERIENCE
OfcoursethebenefitsofmodularupgradesandextensibilityshouldnotdetractfromthevalueoftheoriginalobjectiveoftheChannelIslandsinitiative:animproveduserexperience.Whilemanyequatetheuserexperiencetonavigation,lookandfeel(i.e.theuserinterface),inrealityitgoeswellbeyondthis.Anditreachesafarbroaderaudiencethaneverbefore.
GonearethedayswhenERPusagewaslimitedtothosedoingheads-downdataentryandafewsuperusers.ThepercentageofemployeeswithdirectaccesstoERPhasbeenrisingoverthepastfewyears.Whileforyearsthepercentagehoveredbetween15%and20%,our2015EnterpriseSolutionStudyfound51%ofemployeesinparticipatingmanufacturingcompanieshaddirectaccesstoERP.Foracoupleofyearsitjumpedtoover60%andthensettledbackthisyearto54%.Whythedip?Webelieveitisduetotheunusuallyhighlevelofparticipationofcompaniesrunningcloud-basedsoftwareasaservice(SaaS)solutionsin2016and2017.NotehowthelevelofparticipationwithSaaS-basedsolutionsfarexceedsthatintraditionon-premiseinstallations(Figure1).
Forthosenontechnicalreaders,thinkofamicroservicesarchitectureasconstructingasolutionfromasetofLegobuildingblocks.
Data Source InthisreportMintJutrasreferencesdatacollectedfromits2015through2018EnterpriseSolutionStudies.Foryears,thisannualstudyhasinvestigatedperceptions,goals,challengesandstatusofsoftwareusedtorunabusiness,aswellastheimpactofthesesolutionsontheenterprise.
Studiescollectedresponsesfrom400to525participantsfromcompaniesofallsizesfromverysmalltoverylarge,representingawiderangeofindustries.Eachyearmanufacturingmakesup40%to50%ofthesample.
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Figure1:WhatpercentageofyouremployeeshasdirectaccesstoERP?
Source: Mint Jutras Enterprise Solution Studies
Additionally,whileafewshortyearsagoitwasveryrarefortop-levelexecutivestoputtheirhandsdirectlyonERP,todaythemajorityhasdirectaccess(Figure2).
Figure2:WhatpercentageofyouremployeeshasdirectaccesstoERP?
Source: Mint Jutras 2018 Enterprise Solution Study
However,someengagemoreeffectivelythanothersandwefind“Progressive”companiesengagingonamoreregularbasis.MintJutrasdefinesaProgressivecompanyasoneinthetop15%basedoncompletenessofsolutionrunningthebusiness,aswellasinvestmentinadvanceddigitaltechnologies.
Butengagementisoftenlargelydependentoneaseofuse,makingQAD’seffortstoimprovetheuserexperiencebothtimelyandrelevant.But“easeofuse”meansdifferentthingstodifferentpeople,especiallyacrossthedifferentgenerations(Figure3).Ayearago,oursurveyparticipantswereaskedtoselectthetopthreemostimportantaspectsofeaseofuse.Whileintuitivenavigationandtimetocompletetasksconsistentlyrisetothetopofthelist,otherprioritiesareasmuchanindicationofexpectationsastheyareofthedifferentrolesplayedatdifferentstagesofacareer.
Progressive versus All Others
MintJutrasdefinesaProgressivecompanyversusAllOthersbasedonuseoftechnology,bothintermsofthecompletenessofthesolutionusedtorunthebusiness(ERP),aswellastheuseofdigitaltechnologies.
Welookatcompletenessofsolutionbyfunctionsintheorganization,aswellasbusinessprocesses.
Progressiverepresentsthetop15%withtheremainingcategorizedasAllOthers.
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Figure3:Top3MostImportantAspectsofEaseofUse
Source: Mint Jutras 2017 Enterprise Solution Study
Forexample,Millennials,whooftentreattheirsmartphoneslikeanextensionofalimb,tendtoplaceahigherpriorityoneaseofaccessfromanywhere,anytime.BabyBoomersprefertoconsolidatetheirdecision-makingactivityinasingleworkspace,ratherthanjumpingfromemailtoapplicationstotheircalendarandthentoanotherapplication.Astheybecomemoreconnected,theyalsobecomemoretetheredtothebusiness,evenduringpersonalandfamilytime,sothelessintrusiveanddisruptive,thebetter.Theyarelessconcernedaboutthevisualappeal(“prettysoftware”)thantheyareaboutpreservingthebusinessprocess,asareGenXers.Incontrast,Millenialsaremoredependentonthesoftwaretodefinethebusinessprocess,butarealsoveryaccustomedtoaparticularlookandfeelnativetotheirowndevices.
Inresponse,thenewandimproveduserexperiencedeliveredviaChannelIslandsiscompletelyrole-driven,whichiswhyQADhascreatedtwodifferentaspectsofthenewuserexperience(UX):ActionableInsightsandtheEffectiveUser.WhiletheEffectiveUserimprovesnavigationthroughtransactionscreens,ActionableInsightsisatoolthatisreflectiveofhowmanagementcan(orshould)engagewithERPtoday,withrealtimeinsights.
QADActionableInsightsdelivercustomizabledashboards,withkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs),togetherwithtasksandnotifications,allrefreshedinrealtime.Activecollaborationisenabledthroughanactivityfeed,bringinga“social”aspect,enablingexecutivesandstafftoengageina“dataconversation.”Thelookandfeelarenewandmodern,butmoreimportantly,extremelyflexibleanddeliver,asthenameimplies…actionableinsights.
Definition of Generations
Generationsaredeterminedbytheyearinwhichthesurveyparticipantwasborn.Whiledefinitionscanvary,particularlyintheboundariesdefiningMillenials,MintJutrasusesthefollowedranges:
ü Baby Boomers: born in 1946 – 1964
üGen X: 1965 – 1981 üMillenials: 1982 – 2003
Channel Islands Key UX Components
ü Role-basedMenusü Collaborationü Menuoptionsand
intelligenceü Mobilityü EmbeddedAnalyticsü Architectureand
BusinessServices
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KEYTAKEAWAYSANDRECOMMENDATIONS
ChannelIslandsshouldclearlybeadestinationofchoiceforanyandallQADcustomers.Itprovidesanattractive,appealingandfunctionaluserexperiencethatcanbetailoredtoindividualrolesandneeds.Anditrelievesyouoftheburdenofcoordinatingalldepartmentsaroundasingle,massiveandpotentiallydisruptiveupgradeprocess.LookforwaystoleveragethepoweroftheQADEnterprisePlatformtoextend(notcustomize)thesolutiontoaddressanynewbusinessmodelsthatbecomenecessaryand/orprovidecleardifferentiationinyourmarket.
Butdon’tconsideritafinaldestination,butratheralogicalnextstepwithaflexiblewayforward.TheQADEnterprisePlatformfacilitatesmorefrequentandrobustupdates.Withtworeleasesayearandmoremodularupgradespossible,thepathaheadisclearbutalsoflexible.
ForthosenotcurrentlyQADcustomers,butinoneofQADtargetmarketsandperhapslookingtogrowbeyondthefunctionalcapacityofyourcurrentsolutionortoreplaceoutdatedtechnology…checkoutQADChannelIslandsandtheQADEnterprisePlatformasapossiblestartingpointforyournewERPjourney.Theviewsappeartobeexceptional,anytimeoftheyear.
Abouttheauthor:CindyJutrasisawidelyrecognizedexpertinanalyzingtheimpactofenterpriseapplicationsonbusinessperformance.Utilizingover40yearsofcorporateexperienceandspecificexpertiseinmanufacturing,supplychain,customerserviceandbusinessperformancemanagement,Cindyhasspentthepast12yearsbenchmarkingtheperformanceofsoftwaresolutionsinthecontextofthebusinessbenefitsoftechnology.In2011CindyfoundedMintJutras(www.mintjutras.com),specializinginanalyzingandcommunicatingthebusinessvalueenterpriseapplicationsbringtotheenterprise.
