New study finds QAD offering lowest total cost of ERP ownership

An extension of last year’s pivotal research, it builds the survey group to more than 1,680 companies of all sizes, making it a significant benchmarking exercise. Aberdeen says that it looked at installations of ERP in manufacturing, measuring both depth and breadth of functionality, as well as the cost of ERP in terms of software, services and maintenance. QAD’s high scores in terms of TCO per functionality were due in part, it says, to its ease of use and simplified design. “In this study, we found that it is important for users to consider various factors when making buying decisions for an ERP system including, but not limited to, the price of functionality deployed,” says Cindy Jutras, vice president and group director, Aberdeen Group. “QAD continues to deliver at a strong price point in tandem with its ease of use as evidenced by its low service to software cost ratio,” she adds. Earlier this year, QAD released QAD Enterprise Applications 2007, a new version of its flagship enterprise software solution – describing it as a complete suite to address the requirements of global enterprises. Like virtually all major packaged software vendors, it moved to a claimed services oriented architecture (SOA). It also focused improvements on enabling global manufacturers to better manage supply and demand chains, enterprise assets, transportation and logistics, while streamlining communication and enhancing manufacturing productivity. “We continue to be committed to serving the needs of manufacturing companies around the world by developing and delivering enterprise software that is easy to install, implement, and use for better business performance,” comments Pamela Lopker, chairman and president of QAD. “This most recent report from Aberdeen validates our strategy to offer deep industry functionality, while remaining focused on the needs of manufacturers.”