In Morocco’s dry, arid regions, ancient communities developed an ingenious method of irrigation called the Khettara system. These horizontal underground channels were carefully constructed with deep vertical shafts to tap into hidden aquifers, providing a slow, steady flow of water over long distances to sustain agriculture. This time-tested method is an apt metaphor for how businesses should think about their Enterprise Systems (ES), particularly when managing complex systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
Just as the Khettara system ensures a consistent water supply in harsh environments, reliable ES support system can ensure your ERP remains relevant, functional, efficient, and secure. But like these ancient irrigation systems, managing an ERP requires more than surface-level maintenance, it demands depth of expertise, strategic planning, and constant care. Here’s how BACS Consulting Group can act as your Khettara for ERP management, providing extraordinary ES support beyond what an in-house team can handle.
ERP Systems: The Lifeblood of Modern Business
ERP systems serve as businesses’ central nervous system. They integrate core processes—finance, supply chain, manufacturing, labor, human resources, and more—into one platform. These systems look at both vertical and horizontal connections throughout the enterprise. However, without careful planning and consistent support, your ERP system’s value will slowly decline or even fail, leading to inefficiencies, downtime, lost opportunities and even security risks.
This is where the analogy to the Khettara system becomes apparent. Much like how the Khettara taps into hard-to-reach water reserves, your ERP system requires deep, ongoing expertise to operate at the most efficient capacity. Simply relying on an in-house IT team is like relying on surface-level water sources, it’s often insufficient, especially in times of growth or crisis.
Why an In-House IT Team Isn’t Enough
- Depth of Expertise: The Khettara is a highly engineered system, requiring knowledge of both the environment and the technology to ensure a sustainable water supply. Similarly, ERP systems are complex and require specialized knowledge to manage, troubleshoot, and optimize effectively. In-house IT teams often lack the depth of experience with specific ERP platforms, which can lead to delays in addressing issues or missed opportunities for optimization. Conversely, sometimes solutions can be made simple. Firms often over engineer solutions and add complexity where it is not necessary.
- Depth of Expertise: In-house teams should not audit their own work or their own security. As the security threat changes almost daily, and as audit expectations change along with these threats, a team that fully and independently understands cyber security needs and audit expectations is essential to any enterprise.
- Constant Monitoring: Just as the Khettara system relies on constant flow, your ERP system must be continuously monitored and maintained deliver the flow of data to the various users, departments, reports, and analytics in your organization. An in-house team may not have the bandwidth to provide round-the-clock support, leaving your system vulnerable to disruptions outside business hours. At BACS Consulting Group, we provide 24/7 monitoring and proactive maintenance, ensuring your ERP system flows smoothly, no matter the time of day.
- Scalability: As your business grows, your ERP needs to scale in tandem. Much like how the Khettara can be expanded to support larger areas of agriculture, by adding new vertical shafts and interconnecting tunnels, your ERP system needs constant reconfiguration and integration with new tools and processes. In-house IT teams rarely have the resources or experience to handle these transitions smoothly, leading to inefficiencies, missed growth opportunities, and reducing the value derived.
- Security & Risk Management: ERP systems store sensitive business data, much like the water stored in underground aquifers. If improperly managed, both can be easily contaminated or breached. BACS Consulting Group implements robust cybersecurity frameworks, regular system audits, and stays ahead of emerging threats, ensuring that your ERP and business remain protected.
How BACS Consulting Group is Your Khettara for ERP Optimization
At BACS Consulting Group, we are more than just a support team—we are your strategic partner in ensuring your ERP system is optimized for growth and resilience. Just as the Khettara system was built for long-term sustainability, we help you lay the groundwork for an ERP that can evolve with your business. Here’s how we can help:
- Proactive Problem Solving: Like maintaining the tunnels and shafts in a Khettara system to prevent blockages, BACS Consulting Group monitors your ERP system to catch potential issues before they become significant problems. This reduces downtime and ensures a smooth flow of operations.
- Customization for Growth: Your ERP system must adapt to new challenges as your business scales. We help you customize and integrate additional modules, ensuring your ERP can handle increased data loads and complex business processes.
- Continuous Flow of Support: With 24/7 monitoring and dedicated teams, we ensure that your ERP system is always flowing, like the consistent water supply from a well-maintained Khettara. You’ll never have to worry about disruptions or being left without critical support during off-hours.
Success Story: Keeping the Flow Steady for a Growing Manufacturer
Our client, a large-scale manufacturing company, faced significant performance issues with its ERP system. As its business expanded, the limitations of its in-house IT team became evident—The IT team tried to expand their knowledge to keep up with integrations and experienced frequent downtime, but their other responsibilities were getting in the way. As challenging as a farmer facing drought without access to a reliable irrigation system, this company lost time and resources due to system inefficiencies.
After partnering with BACS Consulting Group, we provided:
- Continuous 24/7 monitoring is needed to ensure that any issues are addressed immediately.
- Optimization of system performance, increasing overall speed and functionality by 30%.
- Scalable solutions that integrated their ERP with other business systems, allowing for seamless expansion.
This client now enjoys a steady, reliable flow of business operations, as do the communities that depend on the Khettara for water.
Ready to Unleash the Full Power of Your ERP?
A well maintained Khettara means peace of mind, plentiful and reliable water. A poorly maintained Khettara means slow dehydration, suffering, lost crops, and potentially death. Likewise in business, howe the systems are implemented, maintained and improved will determine future success or failure.
If you’re ready to ensure your ERP system has the extraordinary support it needs, consider BACS Consulting Group as your partner. We provide the depth, consistency, and expertise to keep your business running smoothly and efficiently. Don’t rely on surface-level solutions—dig deep with BACS Consulting Group.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you realize more value from your ERP system by reaching its full potential.
Interested? Want to know more? Contact Dawn Irving, our Enterprise and ERP Systems expert at dirving@bacscg.com.
