Kenandy
August
2015
WHY
PLATFORM
MATTERS
WHEN
CHOOSING
AN
ERP
SYSTEM
CASE
IN
POINT:
KENANDY
PUTS
BUSINESS
FIRST
WITH
THE
SALESFORCE1
PLATFORM
Platform
as
a
Service
(PaaS)
is
a
category
of
cloud
computing
services
that
provides
developers
with
a
platform
to
create
software
without
the
complexity
of
building
and
maintaining
the
infrastructure
typically
associated
with
developing
an
enterprise
application.
Clearly
developers
benefit
from
using
the
services
delivered
with
a
platform,
speeding
the
development
process.
But
how
does
this
translate
to
benefits
to
the
business?
The
obvious
answer
is
in
delivering
more
features,
functions
and
innovation
in
ways
that
help
companies
keep
up
with
the
accelerating
pace
of
change.
But
not
all
platforms
are
created
equal.
Some
simply
deliver
more
value
through
more
services,
in
a
wider
variety
of
ways…
which
makes
the
choice
of
platform
even
more
important.
Nowhere
is
this
more
critical
than
in
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
(ERP).
After
all,
this
is
the
software
that
runs
your
business.
In
order
to
survive,
grow
and
compete
in
the
digital
age,
you
need
an
ERP
that
is
highly
flexible
and
able
to
adapt.
This
means
it
must
be
easily
configurable
and
extensible.
ERP
can
benefit
tremendously
from
the
availability
of
application
services
that
ease
and
speed
development
and
customization,
as
well
as
from
the
ecosystem
that
develops
around
the
platform.
CHANGE
HAPPENS
Why
is
a
development
platform
such
a
significant
factor
today?
The
short
answer
is:
Because
change
happens.
While
“nothing
is
constant
but
change”
is
not
a
new
observation,
never
has
it
been
more
relevant.
The
pace
of
change
has
been
accelerating
over
the
past
several
decades,
reaching
a
crescendo
in
today’s
digital
age.
And
with
that
acceleration
comes
the
added
risk
of
disruption
to
your
business.
While
industries
and
business
models
used
to
take
decades
to
evolve,
today
this
transformation
can
seem
almost
instantaneous.
The
disruption
from
the
introduction
of
new
products,
and
sometimes
entirely
new
categories
of
products,
has
been
with
us
for
several
decades.
Kodak
did
not
respond
quickly
enough
to
digital
photography,
toppling
it
from
its
position
of
dominance
and
leading
to
its
filing
for
bankruptcy
in
2012.
Digital
Data Source
In
this
report,
Mint
Jutras
references
data
collected
from
its
2015
Enterprise
Solution
Study,
which
investigated
goals,
challenges
and
status
and
also
benchmarked
performance
of
enterprise
software
implementations
used
to
actually
run
a
business.
At
this
time
almost
400
responses
have
been
collected
from
companies
of
all
sizes,
across
a
broad
range
of
industries.
While
industries
and
business
models
used
to
take
decades
to
evolve,
today
this
transformation
can
seem
almost
instantaneous.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
2
of
9
Equipment
Corporation
(DEC)
did
not
respond
quickly
enough
to
personal
computing,
leading
to
the
demise
of
a
company
that
was
once
a
powerhouse
in
the
industry.
DISRUPTING
YOUR
BUSINESS;
DISRUPTING
YOUR
ERP
Even
though
new
products
and
product
categories
could
bring
about
the
downfall
of
corporations,
it
was
rarely
because
ERP
couldn’t
respond
fast
enough.
After
all,
ERP
was
built
to
introduce
new
products
and
obsolete
old
ones.
But
the
type
of
change
occurring
today
has
the
potential
of
having
a
very
significant
impact
on
ERP.
More
often
than
not
today,
new
business
models
are
responsible
for
the
disruption
and
demise
of
businesses.
Who
would
have
thought
an
upstart
like
Netflix,
with
a
new
idea
for
delivering
entertainment,
would
bring
about
the
disruption
and
ultimate
failure
of
Blockbuster
stores?
These
new
business
models
often
mean
new
ways
of
transacting
business,
new
ways
that
your
old
ERP
may
not
be
able
to
accommodate.
In
the
days
of
traditional,
on-‐premises
deployments
of
ERP,
if
your
business
model
needed
to
change
and
your
solution
wasn’t
flexible
enough
to
accommodate
the
change
(which
was
quite
likely),
you
could
take
one
of
two
different
approaches,
or
perhaps
a
combination
of
the
two.
You
could
ask
your
ERP
solution
provider
to
modify
the
software
or
you
could
customize
the
solution.
Either
could
be
costly
and
lead
to
failure.
A
traditional
on-‐premises
ERP
solution
typically
undergoes
a
major
revision
(upgrade)
every
12
to
18
months.
This
time
factor
is
not
only
determined
by
the
vendor’s
ability
to
design,
program,
test
and
package
up
the
new
version,
but
also
by
its
customers’
ability
and
willingness
to
undergo
a
major
upgrade.
If
you
request
such
a
change
(and
your
vendor
agrees
to
it)
before
the
cutoff
for
the
design
of
the
new
release,
you
might
wait
12
to
18
months.
But
timing
is
everything.
If
you
miss
that
window
of
opportunity,
you
might
have
to
wait
for
an
additional
cycle.
So
in
reality
you
would
wait
12
to
36
months,
and
perhaps
longer
if
you
were
unwilling
or
unable
to
jump
right
on
the
newest
release.
Meanwhile
your
window
of
opportunity
could
close
on
that
new
business
model
and
you
could
well
be
on
the
road
to
being
the
next
Blockbuster
store.
So
perhaps
instead
you
choose
the
route
of
customization.
Unless
you
are
on
the
leading
edge
of
modern
technology,
this
customization
is
likely
to
mean
invasive
code
changes
that
are
expensive
and
typically
take
longer
than
planned.
Furthermore,
they
will
likely
create
obstacles
that
prevent
you
from
taking
advantage
of
the
innovation
your
solution
provider
delivers.
Instead
of
being
the
next
Netflix,
you
could
wind
up
being
the
next
Netflix
“wannabe.”
THE
CLOUD:
PATH
TO
MORE
INNOVATION
More
and
faster
innovation
is
one
of
the
advantages
of
the
cloud.
Enterprise
applications
delivered
as
software
as
a
service
(SaaS)
have
the
potential
to
New
business
models
often
mean
new
ways
of
transacting
business,
new
ways
that
your
old
ERP
may
not
be
able
to
accommodate.
If
you
let
the
window
of
opportunity
close
on
that
new
business
model,
you
could
well
be
on
the
road
to
being
the
next
Blockbuster
store
-‐
closed.
Enterprise
applications
delivered
as
software
as
a
service
(SaaS)
have
the
potential
to
deliver
more
innovation
through
more
frequent
updates
–
but
not
all
actually
do.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
3
of
9
deliver
more
innovation
through
more
frequent
updates,
while
also
reducing
the
cost
and
effort
of
upgrades.
The
cost
and
effort
part
is
intuitive
and
universal
–
the
solution
provider
does
the
heavy
lifting
when
it
comes
time
to
upgrade.
But
not
all
cloud
solutions
deliver
more
innovation
and
more
frequent
updates.
In
fact
our
2015
Mint
Jutras
Enterprise
Solution
study
found
only
37%
of
those
actually
running
SaaS
solutions
indicated
this
was
a
benefit
actually
realized.
There
are
several
factors
at
play
here.
Some
SaaS
solution
providers
offer
the
option
of
running
the
same
solution
on-‐premises
and
as
SaaS.
Solution
providers
that
deliver
on-‐premises
solutions
are
forced
to
maintain
multiple
versions
of
the
software.
Very
often
the
software
is
offered
on
a
choice
of
platforms
and
databases,
and
the
vendors
must
support
multiple
release
levels
determined
by
their
customers’
ability
to
keep
pace
with
upgrades.
For
every
person-‐day
they
spend
on
innovation,
they
spend
another
multiple
of
that
day
making
sure
it
works
across
multiple
environments.
A
pure,
multi-‐tenant
SaaS
solution
(see
sidebar)
eliminates
these
distractions
from
enhancing
the
software
and
affords
the
luxury
of
maintaining
a
single
line
of
code.
So
multi-‐tenant
SaaS
solutions
are
more
likely
to
deliver
more
innovation,
more
frequently.
But
the
speed
with
which
innovation
is
delivered
will
depend
a
lot
on
the
strength
of
the
underlying
platform.
The
ability
to
operate
a
strong,
safe
and
secure
multi-‐tenant
environment
doesn’t
just
happen
on
its
own.
Either
the
PaaS
provides
this,
or
the
SaaS
solution
provider
needs
to
develop
this
itself,
drawing
resources
away
from
developing
the
features
and
functions
of
the
application.
GROWING
PAINS
But
the
emergence
of
new
business
models
is
not
the
only,
or
even
the
most
likely
change
that
confronts
your
business.
Many
of
the
challenges
felt
by
companies
today
are
simply
growing
pains.
Today
growth
is
not
limited
to
established
economies.
Completely
new
markets
are
opening
up
in
emerging
economies.
Innovation,
advanced
technology
and
the
Internet
have
combined
to
create
new
consumer
middle
classes
in
countries
that
were
hardly
industrialized
a
short
decade
ago,
creating
unprecedented
growth
opportunity.
Not
only
does
this
result
in
increasingly
remote
and
distributed
environments,
it
also
adds
risk
and
creates
new
challenges
in
maintaining
governance
and
control.
You
can’t
afford
to
take
years
to
implement
solutions
to
run
the
business.
And
you
probably
don’t
have
the
deep
pockets
or
the
time
needed
to
build
out
infrastructure
half
a
world
away
from
your
established
locations.
Cloud
ERP
delivered
as
SaaS
can
certainly
help.
No
capital
expenditure
required;
no
need
to
build
out
a
data
center,
or
even
put
hardware
or
a
huge
Multi-tenant versus
Single-tenant SaaS
Multi-‐tenant
SaaS:
Multiple
companies
use
the
same
instance
of
hosted
software;
configuration
settings,
company
and
role-‐based
access
personalize
business
processes
and
protect
data
security.
Single-‐tenant
(or
Multi-‐
instance)
SaaS:
Each
company
is
given
its
own
instance
of
the
(hosted)
software,
but
may
share
common
services,
such
as
an
integration
platform,
and
security.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
4
of
9
information
technology
(IT)
staff
in
country.
This
of
course
assumes
your
cloud
provider
can
support
these
new
territories.
But
these
new
and
emerging
economies
place
new
demands
on
your
ERP.
Don’t
necessarily
assume
any
ERP
will
be
fully
localized
for
transacting
business
here.
There
may
be
new
tax,
customs
or
reporting
legislation
that
needs
to
be
developed
to
fully
support
a
new
region.
Again,
the
ease
and
speed
of
development
will
be
a
large
and
looming
factor
in
being
able
to
conduct
business.
And
the
ecosystem
surrounding
your
ERP
will
also
play
a
role,
because
solution
providers
are
quite
likely
to
look
to
local
partners
to
fill
that
need.
Our
conclusion
is
that
companies
that
seek
to
grow
and
thrive
in
the
digital
age
cannot
be
confined
by
old
and
slow
ways
of
developing
software.
Speed
matters
and
the
right
development
platform
can
have
a
tremendous
impact
on
how
quickly
software
can
be
developed,
enhanced
and
extended.
Moving
to
the
cloud
can
further
accelerate
your
ability
to
respond.
A
cloud
solution
supported
by
the
right
platform
can
help
you
get
there
even
faster.
SPEED
MATTERS;
PLATFORM
CAN
HELP
Did
you
ever
wonder
why
it
takes
so
long
to
develop
software?
It’s
because
of
all
the
little
(and
big)
things
you
(the
businessperson)
don’t
see…
things
like
securing
records
in
a
file
so
that
two
users
aren’t
trying
to
update
the
same
one,
at
the
same
time,
causing
changes
to
be
lost.
Or
maybe
it
is
indexing
a
file
so
that
a
program
doesn’t
have
to
search
the
entire
file
sequentially
to
find
the
right
data.
You
probably
never
even
think
about
these
components
of
programming,
but
your
developers
must.
A
development
platform
can
provide
“application
services”
such
as
these
and
many,
many
more,
so
that
developers
don’t
have
to
worry
about
all
these
details,
for
each
and
every
program.
The
platform
handles
them…
and
handles
them
consistently,
the
same
way
every
time
a
program
is
written.
The
use
of
the
term
“services”
here
might
at
first
seem
a
little
confusing,
since
in
the
context
of
PaaS,
the
platform
itself
is
delivered
“as
a
service.”
But
in
this
context,
think
of
it
simply
as
a
service
the
developers
use
instead
of
writing
code
from
scratch
every
time,
much
like
you
would
make
use
of
the
calculations
included
with
TurboTax
instead
of
doing
all
the
manual
calculations
for
your
tax
preparations
each
year.
Any
PaaS
delivers
some
level
of
these
application
services,
but
some
will
deliver
more
services
than
others,
including
mobile
and
social
capabilities,
as
well
as
analytics.
MOBILE
Everyone
today
carries
one
or
more
mobile
devices;
they
become
our
lifeline
for
connectivity.
More
and
more
we
want
to
access
enterprise
data
from
these
Companies
that
seek
to
grow
and
thrive
in
the
digital
age
cannot
be
confined
by
old
and
slow
ways
of
developing
software.
Speed
matters
and
the
right
development
platform
can
have
a
tremendous
impact
on
how
quickly
software
can
be
developed,
enhanced
and
extended.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
5
of
9
devices
in
order
to
support
informed,
data-‐driven
decisions,
wherever
we
happen
to
be.
By
adding
a
mobile
element,
sometimes
we
forget
we
need
added
levels
of
security.
Many
of
us
have
a
very
definite
preference
for
Apple
iOS,
Android,
perhaps
a
Windows
device
or
even
a
Blackberry.
We
choose
these
devices
in
large
part
because
of
the
user
experience.
If
we
then
start
to
access
enterprise
data
using
the
mobile
device,
we
would
like
to
preserve
the
native
experience
we
are
accustomed
to
on
the
device.
This
secure
user
experience
doesn’t
just
magically
happen
without
any
effort
from
the
developer.
That
is,
unless
the
platform
takes
care
of
it,
freeing
up
the
developer
to
add
more
features
and
functions.
SOCIAL
As
to
social
capabilities,
some
business
leaders
have
yet
to
recognize
the
value
of
“social”
in
the
context
of
enterprise
applications,
thinking
it
only
pertains
to
marketing
and
perhaps
as
a
window
to
customer
sentiment.
When
Mint
Jutras
survey
respondents
were
asked
to
stack
rank
10
different
selection
criteria
for
enterprise
applications,
“social”
capabilities
came
in
dead
last.
Yet
the
connection
to
real
business
value
beyond
this
is
quite
easy
to
make.
In
fact,
when
asked
to
prioritize
some
of
the
actual
capabilities,
we
got
a
different
response
(Table
1).
Forty
percent
(40%)
of
survey
participants
indicated
the
ability
to
capture
a
conversation
(chat)
and
associate
it
directly
to
a
business
object
(e.g.
customers,
orders,
products,
suppliers,
etc.)
would
be
useful,
and
an
additional
21%
indicated
this
was
a
“must
have.”
Table
1:
Are
these
“social”
capabilities
useful?
Source: Mint Jutras 2015 Enterprise Solution Study
While
“chat”
capabilities
are
typically
outside
the
scope
of
an
ERP
application,
the
desire
to
connect
these
conversations
back
to
the
transactions
in
ERP
is
If
you
expect
to
access
enterprise
data
from
a
mobile
device,
preserving
the
native
experience
to
which
you
are
accustomed,
don’t
assume
that
will
just
magically
happen
without
any
effort
from
the
developer.
That
is,
unless
the
platform
takes
care
of
it,
freeing
up
the
developer
to
add
more
features
and
functions.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
6
of
9
becoming
a
definite
“must.”
Look
to
the
platform
to
help
make
the
connection.
CONFIGURATION:
CUSTOMIZE
WITH
CLICKS
NOT
CODE
With
a
good
platform,
enhancements,
customizations
and
extensions
can
be
built
much
more
quickly.
With
a
modern,
technology-‐enabled
architecture,
this
innovation
might
just
be
possible
without
ever
touching
the
core
ERP
application,
without
building
any
barriers
to
future
upgrades.
A
good
development
platform
allows
ERP
to
be
built
in
layers
that
are
separate
from
the
source
code,
protecting
it
from
invasive
customization.
First
and
foremost
there
will
be
a
user
interface
layer.
By
removing
this
from
the
source
code,
you
can
easily
tailor
what
the
users
see,
and
how
they
see
it,
without
ever
touching
the
underlying
code.
This
is
also
how
translations
are
much
more
easily
delivered
these
days,
allowing
different
users
to
interface
with
ERP
in
different
languages.
This
means
tailoring
the
look
and
feel
is
easy.
It
also
means
that
configuration
(versus
customization)
does
not
require
deep
technical
skills
and
is
carried
forward
as
the
software
is
enhanced.
In
fact,
with
a
good
platform
this
type
of
configuration
should
be
easy
enough
for
a
business
user
to
do.
In
addition,
a
platform
might
introduce
a
set
of
business
rules
that
are
created
and
maintained.
These
rules
might
be
used
to
determine
behavior
of
a
function
or
to
configure
next
steps
in
a
workflow.
Business
rules
might
define
different
thresholds
for
approval
(e.g.
all
purchase
orders
require
approval
but
those
over
a
certain
value
require
an
extra
step
in
the
approval
process).
This
keeps
a
lot
of
the
“intelligence”
of
the
application
out
of
the
code.
Less
code
means
faster
development
and
easier
maintenance
as
business
conditions
change.
STRENGTH
IN
NUMBERS…
OF
DEVELOPERS
The
better
the
development
platform,
the
more
likely
it
will
attract
more
developers.
The
more
developers
attracted
to
the
platform,
the
more
applications
get
developed,
which
ultimately
can
be
shared.
Features,
functions
and
extensions
have
the
potential
to
start
to
grow,
if
not
exponentially,
at
least
much
faster
than
the
typical
linear
sequence
of
development.
This
is
sort
of
a
Catch-‐22,
but
in
reverse.
The
strong
keep
getting
stronger,
while
the
weak
(those
that
attract
only
a
few
developers)
will
struggle
to
compete.
Consumer
technology
provides
us
with
a
good
analogy.
When
“smart
phones”
first
became
almost
ubiquitous,
Blackberry
dominated.
However,
since
those
early
days
it
has
seen
a
dramatic
decline
in
popularity,
in
large
part
because
of
consumer
mobile
apps.
Everywhere
you
look
there
are
free
(or
inexpensive)
apps
for
anything
from
counting
calories
to
tracking
your
fitness
to
ordering
a
A
development
platform
with
few
customers
will
not
attract
developers
while
the
platform
with
the
largest
customer
base
will
be
most
attractive
to
developers.
Conversely,
the
platform
with
the
most
developers,
creating
the
most
applications,
will
be
most
attractive
to
customers.
Configuration
(versus
customization)
does
not
require
deep
technical
skills
and
is
carried
forward
as
the
software
is
enhanced.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
7
of
9
taxi
or
a
pizza
to
selling
stuff
sitting
in
your
garage.
But
the
majority
of
these
apps
don’t
run
on
a
Blackberry.
They
run
on
Apple
products
(iPad,
iPhone
and
others
on
the
iOS
platform)
and
Android
devices.
And
iOS
and
Android
don’t
just
dominate
in
consumer
apps.
The
dominance
is
coming
to
the
world
of
business
as
well.
Going
to
a
conference?
Want
to
download
and
build
your
own
agenda
and
communicate
with
other
attendees?
If
you
just
carry
a
Blackberry,
you’re
out
of
luck.
It’s
enough
to
make
even
diehard
Blackberry
fans
switch.
Which
means
fewer
Blackberry
users
in
the
future,
and
even
less
incentive
to
provide
the
same
kind
of
connectivity
on
the
platform.
We
can
apply
the
same
principles
to
the
development
platform
on
which
ERP
is
built.
If
you
find
an
ERP
solution
built
on
a
platform
that
attracts
a
lot
of
developers,
you
are
very
likely
to
find
a
lot
of
extensions
developed
that
can
complement
your
solution.
The
fact
that
these
third
party
products
are
built
on
the
same
platform
does
not
necessarily
guarantee
they
will
be
tightly
integrated
with
your
ERP.
If
developed
by
a
partner
of
your
ERP
solution
provider,
the
likelihood
increases.
And
even
if
it
is
not
tightly
integrated
right
“out
of
the
box,”
it
is
likely
going
to
be
much
easier
to
make
that
connection
than
it
would
be
if
the
complementary
solution
were
not
developed
on
the
same
platform.
The
bottom
line…
look
for
a
popular
platform
and
an
extensive
ecosystem.
And
also
look
for
one
with
a
marketplace
on
which
developers
can
sell
their
wares
to
businesses
like
your
own.
If
a
developer
is
able
to
build
an
extension
and
potentially
market
and
sell
it
to
other
companies,
there
is
a
better
chance
the
solutions
developed
will
be
products
that
can
be
used
“off
the
shelf,”
rather
than
as
one-‐off
customizations.
CASE
IN
POINT:
KENANDY
RUNS
ON
SALESFORCE1
Kenandy
is
one
of
the
new
kids
on
the
ERP
block.
Founded
in
the
cloud
in
2010
by
industry
veteran
Sandra
Kurtzig,
the
company
had
the
luxury
of
starting
from
a
clean
sheet
of
paper.
But
it
needed
to
find
a
way
to
add
both
speed
and
efficiency
to
the
development
process
in
order
to
compete
against
“mature”
ERP
products
and
providers
in
the
modern,
connected
digital
economy.
Selecting
the
right
platform
on
which
to
build
was
therefore
critical
and
Kenandy
chose
the
Salesforce1
Platform,
citing
cost
and
speed
of
development
among
the
deciding
factors.
Salesforce
estimates
the
platform
speeds
development
by
a
factor
of
five,
and
cuts
the
cost
of
development
in
half.
As
a
result,
leveraging
the
Salesforce1
Platform
has
been
a
big
win,
not
only
for
Kenandy,
but
also
for
its
customers.
Both
benefit
from
the
ease
and
speed
of
development,
as
well
as
the
vast
ecosystem
that
has
grown
around
the
platform.
Salesforce
estimates
the
platform
speeds
development
by
a
factor
of
five,
and
cuts
the
cost
of
development
in
half.
This
translates
to
benefits
for
the
customer
in
more
innovation,
at
a
faster
pace.
If
you
find
an
ERP
solution
built
on
a
platform
that
attracts
a
lot
of
developers,
you
are
very
likely
to
find
a
lot
of
extensions
developed
that
can
complement
your
solution.
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
8
of
9
For
Kenandy,
it
means
fewer
wheels
to
(re)invent,
by
taking
advantage
of
application
services
already
built
into
Salesforce1
including:
• Support
for
a
multi-‐tenant
SaaS
environment,
which
we
previously
noted
as
a
key
enabler
in
delivering
more
innovation,
faster
• A
workflow
engine,
access
and
identity
management
• Other
rapid
developer
services
include
Salesforce
standard
user
interface
templates,
(business)
object
orientation
and
built-‐in
mobile
support
• The
ability
to
tie
“social”
online
chats
(through
Salesforce
Chatter)
directly
back
to
business
objects
• Embedded
analytics
with
Salesforce
Wave,
a
cloud-‐based
data
platform
as
well
as
a
data-‐analysis
front
end
designed
to
analyze
not
just
Kenandy,
but
also
any
third-‐party
app
data,
desktop
data,
or
public
data
you
bring
in
While
we
have
been
discussing
the
merits
of
development
platforms,
you
must
also
consider
the
infrastructure
as
a
service
(IaaS)
upon
which
the
applications
developed
with
the
PaaS
runs.
In
this
case,
Salesforce
also
offers
some
advantages.
The
numbers
speak
for
themselves.
Salesforce
is
a
platform
used
by
100,000
organizations,
supporting
3
million
users
and
one
billion
transactions
a
day.
It
boasts
99.9999%
uptime
and
global
datacenters
around
the
world.
While
any
solution
built
on
the
Salesforce1
Platform
has
the
potential
of
enjoying
these
benefits,
Kenandy
goes
one
step
further
in
how
it
has
architected
the
solution
on
top
of
that
platform.
It
has
developed
a
unified
data
model
that
takes
full
advantage
of
the
power
of
business
objects,
by
adding
new
dimensions
to
otherwise
very
familiar
“objects”
like
orders,
invoices,
customers,
product,
etc.
And
Kenandy
prides
itself
in
saying
it
can
personalize
with
“clicks,
not
code.”
This
means
adding
fields,
changing
workflows,
rearranging
the
screens
without
the
disruption
and
expense
of
invasive
code
changes.
EXTENDING
THE
SOLUTION
But
even
with
this
level
of
configurability,
no
ERP
will
ever
be
able
to
satisfy
every
need
of
every
company,
which
is
why
the
choice
of
development
platform
is
so
important.
Previously
we
advised
companies
in
search
of
an
ERP
to
choose
one
that
was
built
on
a
popular
platform.
Which
is
exactly
what
Kenandy
did
when
it
decided
to
build
on
top
of
the
Salesforce1
Platform.
The
Salesforce
AppExchange
is
the
largest
online
marketplace
of
its
kind,
offering
products
built
on
the
Salesforce1
Platform
–
all
220,000
of
them.
If
you
need
to
extend
the
Kenandy
solution,
this
should
be
your
starting
point.
Don’t
go
looking
to
reinvent
a
wheel
that
is
very
likely
to
have
been
already
designed
and
developed.
“I
immediately
saw
how
easy
it
is
to
add
and
extend
capabilities
with
Kenandy.
I
was
convinced
that
this
was
something
we
could
manage
pretty
much
on
our
own,
and
that
had
a
strong
appeal
to
us.”
Pete
Staples,
President
and
Co-‐founder,
Blue
Clover
Devices,
a
Kenandy
customer
“With
Kenandy,
I
don’t
need
a
C+
or
a
PHP
guy—I
just
need
someone
smart.
Kenandy
not
only
lets
us
see
our
data
more
clearly,
it
lets
us
quickly
react
to
things
and
customize
the
system
ourselves.
That’s
real
value.”
-‐-‐Charlie
Merrow,
CEO,
Merrow
Sewing
Machine
Company,
a
Kenandy
customer
Why
Platform
Matters
When
Choosing
an
ERP
System
Page
9
of
9
All
products
offered
on
the
AppExchange
are
100%
native
to
the
platform
and
share
an
integrated,
secure
data
and
identity
management
model.
All
go
through
a
rigorous
security
review
and
all
are
equally
easy
to
customize
using
developer
tools
available
from
Salesforce.
Don’t
have
developers
yourself?
With
such
a
lucrative
market
that
has
sprung
up
around
the
platform,
you
can
be
sure
there
are
lots
of
qualified
developers
around.
SUMMARY
AND
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
Any
company
making
an
ERP
purchase
today
should
be
cognizant
of
not
only
the
features
and
functions
being
delivered,
but
also
the
platform
on
which
it
is
developed.
Ask
the
tough
questions
about
platform
of
any
prospective
purveyor
of
ERP:
• Does
it
take
advantage
of
the
latest
technology
that
has
brought
us
into
the
digital
age?
• Are
mobile,
social
and
analytics
built
in?
• Can
it
support
cloud,
the
great
enabler
of
standardization
and
growth?
In
other
words
is
it
a
platform
“as
a
service?”
• Is
it
a
platform
that
supports
configurability
over
invasive
customization?
• Does
it
easily
facilitate
any
customization
that
truly
is
required?
• And
finally…
how
popular
is
it?
Will
you
be
searching
for
developers
or
searching
through
a
large
marketplace
of
add-‐ons
and
extensions?
As
a
business
leader,
you
may
not
understand
the
nitty
gritty
technical
details
of
PaaS,
but
you
shouldn’t
let
that
limit
your
expectations
for
ERP.
After
all,
it
must
keep
up
with
you
in
running
your
business
in
the
digital
age.
About
the
author:
Cindy
Jutras
is
a
widely
recognized
expert
in
analyzing
the
impact
of
enterprise
applications
on
business
performance.
Utilizing
over
40
years
of
corporate
experience
and
specific
expertise
in
manufacturing,
supply
chain,
customer
service
and
business
performance
management,
Cindy
has
spent
the
past
9+
years
benchmarking
the
performance
of
software
solutions
in
the
context
of
the
business
benefits
of
technology.
In
2011
Cindy
founded
Mint
Jutras
LLC
(www.mintjutras.com),
specializing
in
analyzing
and
communicating
the
business
value
enterprise
applications
bring
to
the
enterprise.
Don’t
have
developers
yourself?
With
such
a
lucrative
market
that
has
sprung
up
around
the
Salesforce1
Platform,
you
can
be
sure
there
are
lots
of
qualified
developers
around.
