JD Edwards Managed Services Provider: Why Consider Using One

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne (JDE) software provides a powerful, comprehensive and feature-rich enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that can help businesses increase their productivity, efficiency, and industry visibility. To get the best value from JDE, however, companies should consider working with a JD Edwards managed services provider (MSP) partner.

Here are six reasons why.

1. Experience and Expertise

Using an MSP to implement or manage all or part of a JDE environment frees up your staff to concentrate on your core competencies related to the business rather than the intricacies of an extensive ERP system.

JDE’s highly complex environment includes more than 80 application modules across ERP functions that include customer relationship management (CRM), financials, supply chain, order management, environmental health and safety, Internet of Things (IoT), and much more. Businesses can also leverage modules for specific vertical markets such as real estate, apparel, construction, and agribusiness.

Beneath JDE’s application layer is a technology layer that allows operability across a wide variety of different operating systems, hardware, database, and web application platforms. The technology layer supports multiple middleware components, including software servers such as Enterprise Server, HTML Server, Server Manager, and Database Server, to name a few. Also built into JDE’s underlying technology is an abstraction layer that enables applications to work without relying directly on the middleware. Each of these layers require expert resources to administer the system.

The underlying middleware, abstraction layer, infrastructure, and tools offer adaptability to your own particular business requirements. Yet at the same time, they contribute even more complexity to the system. By teaming up with a managed services provider, you can work with a pool of experts who are experienced, trained, and certified to handle the complexities of JDE software and to optimize the environment for your company’s needs.

2. Lower Operational Costs

By tapping into the skills of a managed services provider, you gain economies of scale. This dedicated group of professionals can also provide JD Edwards EnterpriseOne solutions to multiple other companies on a daily basis so you don’t have to pay for full time resources for each area of expertise. You also access experienced resources that have been exposed to all areas of JD Edwards on a daily basis.

Generally speaking, alternatives such as adding full-time JDE specialists to your staff or trying to train existing IT employees in new JDE implementations don’t turn out to be nearly as cost-effective. By some estimates, customers pay as much as 80% less by working with JDE managed services provider than by paying for a single full-time staff resource.

“Many businesses that run their own applications are forced to increase their staffs to include information technology experts who maintain and upgrade application software. Over time, this can become an expensive endeavor,” says Inc.com. “The speed at which advances are made in the field of computerization means that a significant investment must be made to remain knowledgeable and informed about the newest applications in the field. The cost-benefit assessment of this investment for a single user is often not favorable.”

Lowering your costs through JD Edwards managed services also results in more predictable IT spending for your organization.

3. Adding Specialized Functionality

“When a managed service provider is requested to meet the business objectives of an organization, it is often expected to fill in some gap or role in an IT system or staff,” notes TechTarget.

Even if a company does have qualified JDE specialists already on staff, partnering with an MSP allows increased flexibility in implementing, managing, and maintaining the JDE environment. By outsourcing certain functions related to the JDE environment, organizations can operate more effectively and efficiently.

As one example, JD Edwards consultants are typically trained in deploying and managing JDE software across on-premises as well as public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. If a business wants to move from an on-premises to a hybrid implementation, the organization might retain existing IT staff to continue operating the on-prem deployment while hiring a service provider to handle cloud migration and hosting of cloud components on a platform like Oracle Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud.

Organizations can also opt to outsource any of a long list of functional areas to a JDE services provider, including application/tool upgrades, custom development, integrations and extensions, patches and package builds, cybersecurity, high availability/disaster recovery, operating system management, hardware and infrastructure management, ERP reporting, JDE orchestrations, and third-party tools.

4. Scalability

Along similar lines, the availability of JD Edwards consultants can help companies scale JDE resources up or down in accordance with changing business needs.

Expansion through company mergers and acquisitions are one big reason to work with JDE managed services providers. MSPs can provide extra resources needed for JD Edwards implementations across new business units and large numbers of new end users.

However, there are also innumerable other drivers behind scalability needs. When organizations add new JDE releases and features, existing staff may need to be trained to support this functionality. A managed services team can easily offload day-to-day ERP operations while staff are away at training or otherwise getting up to speed on the new functionality.

Likewise, a managed services team can step in to handle a special integration or development project, to fill in when staff goes on vacation or on leave, or to furnish JDE resources on night-time or weekend shifts.

5. Minimal Downtime

Turning to expert JDE managed services can also minimize system downtime, business interruptions, and costly delays, speeding time to market and raising customer satisfaction.

Gartner estimates the average cost of system downtime at $5,600 per minute. Other recent research indicates that downtime costs are significantly more for high-priority apps such as ERP than for “regular” apps.

Outages in day-to-day operations are often caused by software misconfigurations or other human errors. Meanwhile, downtime can be particularly lengthy during system upgrades or migrations to new environments such as cloud platforms, lasting anywhere from hours to days.

During downtime, businesses can undergo data loss along with diminished productivity, lost business opportunities, and reputational damage to brands. When ERP systems are down, employees may be unable to complete tasks in ordering supplies or fulfilling orders, for instance. Shipment delays can interfere with customer relationships and adversely impact future sales revenues.

JD Edwards consultants have the knowledge and skills needed not only to keep JDE environments up and running but also to provide proactive monitoring on a 24/7 basis and to maximize system response time and business performance. Organizations receive a single point of contact for all JD Edwards implementations.

6. Data Compliance

Managed services teams also include specialists in cybersecurity and data compliance. Specialists are adept at making sure that JDE environments remain secure and compliant throughout processes such as system upgrades, migrations, customizations, and the addition of new features.

To lower your risk, these teams are highly trained in regulatory requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act for publicly traded companies, as well as US regulations impacting vertical industries such as finance, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals.

For international deployments, GSI and other members of the JDE Global Alliance work together to ensure 24/7 worldwide customer and cybersecurity support. Alliance members also have access to in-country consultants familiar with local legislative and language requirements for most regions around the globe.

Make a Great Thing Even Better with JD Edwards Managed Services by GSI

JDE software can work wonders in providing your company with a highly robust approach to meeting needs across financials, procurement, ordering, manufacturing, and all other aspects of ERP.  Is JD Edwards right for my business? Please check out our whitepaper Insider’s Guide: Is JD Edwards Managed Services Right for My Business?

You can make a great thing for your business even better by harnessing the expert knowledge and skills of JD Edwards Managed Services from GSI. Also, if we can help with any of your JD Edwards consulting needs, please reach out to us. With many years of experience behind them, GSI’s JD Edwards consultants can help your organization save on operational costs while supplying you with optimal system performance, flexible deployments, scalable management, and topnotch data compliance and cybersecurity.

Get in touch with GSI to find out more.