OC CIO Minutes May 10, 2013

1993-2013

Southern California/Orange County CIO Breakfast Round Table

May 10, 2013 meeting

 

Present:        Mario Leone, Sean Brown, William Zauner, Jon Hahn, Jennifer Curlee, Joel Manfredo, Robert Hsu, Jeff Hecht, Jeff Reid, Jeff Crowell, Ron Glickman, Dave Phillips

The following is a list of topics and speakers through June:

5/9/13           ERP Implementation Experiences Mario Leone, Apri Technology Partners         

6/13/13         Preparing for Cloud Computing    John Mooney, Pepperdine

By May 17^th suggest one topic (or more) for future meetings, one which you would like to hear discussed, and suggest a date if you plan to prepare the introduction.

Topic:          ERP Implementation Experiences

Sean Brown introduced Mario Leone, APRI, our guest speaker for the meeting.  Mario is a very experienced IT executive who has worked for many substantial clients, including companies like Ingram Micro, and has implemented several ERP systems.  His introduction focused on ERP Governance, Methodology and case studies.  A copy of his slides is attached and adds substance to this summary.  Selecting a new ERP is transformational, as its purpose is to overcome the faults of current systems, improve business processes and procedures, expand global governance, minimize risks, and prepare for the future, whether that includes an IPO or making acquisitions.  Moving to a new ERP is not easy – see Slide 3.  Before starting on an ERP project, a business process and IS review is imperative – you must know why you are starting an ERP project and must get the executive management team behind it.  The next step is to select an ERP solution, which meets the objectives.  It is important to launch the project properly, with the right mixture of IT personnel, capable user representation, and experienced consultants.  And that’s only the beginning!  Slides 4, 5 and 6 summarize these points very nicely.  The rest of Mario’s presentation expands on these concepts, identifies the need for a structured approach and a project strategy.  Excellent presentation. 

Several of the attendees had experience with major project implementation, including ERP projects, and had these points to share:

-       make sure it’s clear why you are about to proceed with such a major project

-       is the IS organization ready for this?

-       keep it simple; identify the minimum you are trying to achieve

-       use a dedicated team of good people, not people who are about to be laid off

-       high user support is critical

-       CEO and executive team support and backing is critical

-       rarely do you achieve all the benefits

-       avoid going back to analyze how much of the goals you achieved

-       switch consulting partners if it is not working

-       before implementation, make sure you unit test and walk through a few days in the life of the business to identify and correct what might go wrong

I am sure there was more wisdom expressed but not captured in these notes!

Good meeting, great presentation and active participation. His slides are at:

http://www.slideshare.net/occio .