The implementation of an ERP solution in a company requires some maintenance. To ensure system performance and access the latest features, the solution needs to be updated regularly. Even if the software package (your ERP solution) seems well structured, a corrective or evolutionary upgrade must be carried out carefully. This will make it possible to determine the impacts and mitigate the possible risks. Here are the essential steps to properly update the database of your ERP solution.

1 — Before updating the database of your ERP solution

As with any update, it is necessary to take precautions to ensure that everything is carried out in order. These preliminary steps also help to reduce the risks associated with possible errors along the way.

The first instinct to have, before upgrading your software package, is to test the compatibility. We need to make sure that the database and its applications are compatible with the new version. To do this, a review of software design documentation is required.

Then, you have to analyze and research the update and its improvements. Is it stable? Does it support platforms that are already installed? What are its requirements in terms of software, middleware, hardware, applications, operating systems, etc.?

The answers to these questions will allow you to know if you have the right tools to update the database of your ERP solution. When this is the case, you can create a copy of the instance that manages the database. Remember to include the full amount of storage. This backup will allow for a restore, if necessary.

The next step is to develop a test plan to be carried out on all the functions of your software package. This action will make it possible to verify that the data is not altered and to make a diagnosis, if not. The aim is to ensure that the products continue to function and that they are properly configured.

2 — Use common sense

It's no secret that technological change is rapid and leads to outdated product versions in a short period of time. An upgrade is therefore regularly done to keep a system flexible and efficient. No business wants an aging and outdated platform.

Updating your software database is obviously a key factor, but there's more. The synchronization of the lower layers is difficult to control. Upgrading just one item can disrupt the others. It is therefore more than important to properly assess the risks by establishing a flawless upgrade strategy.

In it, you need to draw up a communication plan. Report to your employees and collaborators the benefits of your new system as well as the estimated time required to adapt to it. To motivate them, explain the immediate benefits they will derive from it, such as time and efficiency savings.

It is not uncommon to call on an external firm like PlanAxion to carry out such an upgrade. Serious and reliable expertise makes it possible to determine real needs in order to propose only necessary improvements. This way of doing things allows businesses to obtain a solution that takes into account their needs as well as their budget.

Updating the database of an ERP solution on an ad hoc basis is essential. Benefiting from external support by experts in the field makes it possible to avoid unpleasant surprises and to work with an adapted and efficient software package.

3 — Optimize your investment

We will not hide it, the technological tools used by businesses represent a considerable cost. It is therefore necessary to be in a position to evaluate and maximize the investment!

Oracle has fully understood this need from its customers. The company invites users of On Premise structures to take the plunge into the cloud. In this way, Oracle takes care of some of the software maintenance with a next-gen ERP. The implementation of updates is thus simplified.

An important fact when upgrading is that you shouldn't try to get around them. This avoids distorting the application, which would no longer be updated effectively if necessary. An update consolidates and facilitates the operation of a structure and allows it to be coherent and homogeneous with respect to the entire system.

A punctual but not systematic update of the database of your ERP solution facilitates a better return on investment. It also optimizes its security. Contact the PlanAxion team to get an opinion on your solution. I also invite you to read the article written by my colleague Pierre Beaudry on eliminating the uncertainties associated with a project. This text, very interesting, is an excellent complement to the article you have just read.