Prospects for Sage ERP X3 in Russia

    Another manufacturer of ERP systems has come to Russia. Sage company. The event is positive, because competition. But it seems that Sage came to Russia clearly with caution. There is no direct representative office in Russia; they work through a single partner, Energy Consalting. And a whole series of interesting nuances.

    Are there any prospects for this product with this approach? Let's try to figure it out.

    When you come to a mature market (and I think that the Russian market is mature), then of course you can gain a foothold in it. The only question is how to do this.

    As the main competitor, Sage names 1c. Reasonable. From the point of view of marketing - a competent move. When you come to some market, it is most correct to call its leader the main competitor. Thus, you are approaching him, as it were. But there must be something behind it. Something specific that sets you apart from this very leader.

    Localization

    The laws of doing business in Russia are much more complicated than in the west. Even going through a simple deal in the west is much easier. Not to mention all kinds of taxes and “paper” registration of the transaction. According to the representatives of Energy Consalting, the localization of the system was carried out by two (!!!) developers and several consultants for about a year. Is such a team able to localize an ERP system in such a time? Not sure. When in the spring of 2010 I watched this product with my own eyes, there was no smell of localization there. The result of this testing can be found at pcmag.ru/solutions/sub_detail.php?ID=41552&SUB_PAGE=1

    Separation from customers

    Imagine a situation. You - make kitchen knives. What kind of knives will you use in your own kitchen? Some other? Then it says a lot.

    Energy Consalting uses SAP to automate its own business processes. I do not really understand how the company is going to support customers who will use Sage ERP X3, while the company responsible for the maintenance and implementation of this product does not use it. Customers will speak another language, support will not feel the problems of customers, because the company itself will not have the problems that customers will talk about. I have almost no doubt that if AvtoVAZ management (and officials) moved to the products of this plant, then these cars would simply be of a completely different quality.

    How will the product be tested? The best testing is when you work with the product yourself.

    My friend has a trading computer company. So he will not begin to sell any new goods (up to mice and keyboards) until the company employees work with him.

    Documentation

    It is simply not there yet. This was told to me by the representatives of Energy Consalting. But they said it would be. Later. What clients do in this situation is not entirely clear. Most likely, a simple recipe is planned here: there is no documentation - prepare money for eternal training.

    Prices

    Traditionally, in Russia in the ERP market this issue is one of the most closed and non-transparent. I don’t know why, but I guess. I asked this question in the forehead during a press conference. Energy Consalting representatives were at first confused. Then, under the pressure of representatives of other IT publications, we were answered this question. A simple question was asked - how much can be the budget for the implementation of Sage ERP X3 in discrete production for 50 users. A figure of about 200,000eu was named. The budget is indicative. There are no open access prices. How easy it will be for companies to enter the Russian market with such pricing, judge for yourself.

    Implementations

    While they are not in Russia. Therefore, to say whether this product is able to work in Russian conditions is not yet possible. Why shouldn't Energy Consalting be the first company to introduce this product? Or does Energy Consalting itself not really believe in success, so it does not take risks? And then who should take the risk?

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