Computer Economics report: ERP is top investment among IT categories

In its report “Technology Trends 2010/2011,” IT research consultancy Computer Economics finds that ERP software, out of 19 different technology areas, has the most investment and development. The analysis was conducted between January and April of this year, and included extensive surveying of 210 senior IT managers from various businesses.

As quoted from the report: “About two-thirds of all organizations in the study have ERP systems and about half of the organizations are investing in these systems, either by expanding the capabilities of systems that are already in place or implementing an ERP system for the first time.”

Other technologies with similarly heavy investment, but less maturity, include renewal of legacy systems, unified communications, CRM systems, and mobile applications. Video conferencing has generally low investment, but a high degree of adoption. Technologies such as Windows 7 migration, social networking, and desktop virtualization have a high investment, but a smaller degree of adoption. The lowest in both investment and adoption trends are 10G Ethernet, infrastructure in the cloud, open-source applications, and RFID systems.

“Unified communications is a fast-growth, emerging technology with positive economic experience profile. On the other hand, legacy system renewal is a well-established IT initiative that seems to be attracting ongoing interest. Organizations are choosing to modernize their older applications, making them more flexible and integrated, rather than rip and replace them with new applications.”

The report also noted that companies recently tended to consolidate applications into single interfaces. While this has not so far been a major investment, application consolidation is a rising trend. 16% of those surveyed have consolidated applications and are increasing their current investment, and 20% are planning to consolidate in the future.

In recent recessionary years, ERP software has been a popular option for many companies. The idea is to increase productivity among workers wherever possible instead of hiring new ones.

Tags: computer economics, technology trends 2010/2011