Q & A
EDITOR ’ S
PRABHU BALASUBRAMANYAN , GLOBAL HEAD – ORACLE PRACTICE , TECH MAHINDRA
The MEA region largely sees three different ways ERP products are distributed to end customers . With some of the leading software , the direct purchase from the OEM vendors remains the highest percentage followed by the resell through a value-added distributor . While many of the deals may be partner influenced ,
Channel Partners need to develop a greater perspective of how the global peers of their customers are adopting these latest technology trends .
eventual fulfilment through channel partners are relatively lower in our view .
That is why resellers and systems integrators should look out for key business trends in the ERP space because there is a greater adoption of Software-as-a-Service ( SaaS ) as against the traditional on-premise ERP applications . With such growth of cloud subscription-based software , IT resellers need to ensure there are adequate provisions to cover themselves in the event the end customer wants to cancel the subscription for part or whole of the software .
Another important trend as is articulated subsequently is the emergence of line of business ( LoB ) leaders as the key stakeholders in the ERP selection process .
Cloud ERP is definitely here to stay and change the whole ERP software dynamics . Channel partners have a key role to play in
the adoption of the cloud ERP by helping customers to understand the overall cost and benefits around the adoption of cloud ERP . With the customer trust earned by channel partners in the region , such proactive engagement by solution providers with customers help build necessary confidence as well .
The traditional CAPEX based on-premise licensing where once the customer buys the software and pays for it , there is no mutual dependency between the reseller and the customer , is slowly becoming the thing of past .
That said , there is a greater focus now on hyper automation in the ERP segment by customers . Given that most part of ERP focuses on the back-office functions of the organisations , the need for continuous improvement in productivity is highly visible . This is best addressed through hyper automation initiatives such as robotic process automation ( RPA ) and IoT driven data capture etc . These are now increasingly being blended with the ERP software to deliver greater value to the customer . This is where Tech Mahindra differentiates itself – be it on the Digital Transformation initiatives or support engagements ( what in Tech Mahindra defines as change the business and run the business respectively ). Each of our ERP initiatives be it greenfield or brownfield , gets such hyper automation offerings embedded within the proposition – in the context of business process automation or application maintenance automation .
Within the overall agenda of Digital Transformation , there would be greater and continued emphasis on improving the employee experience and customer experience solutions . Channel Partners need to develop a greater perspective of how the global peers of their customers are adopting these latest technology trends and put themselves in a position to provide valuable advise to customers so that the technology gap .
When it comes to IT skills challenge facing the MEA ERP market , the demand as well as scarcity for IT skills in general and the Digital Transformation related skills in particular is a reality . Channel stakeholders ( vendors , distributors and resellers ) need to address and invest in building greater industry – academia collaboration so the skills in demand are integrated into the curriculum of universities , colleges and other higher learning institutions . This is where we expect OEMs to play greater role besides the systems integrators . •
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