Every business these days is being told to elevate its processes with “agile ERP.” But, as any enterprise will tell you, achieving this in practice is notoriously challenging.
That’s where solutions like Unit4 ERP come into the picture. This particular piece of software has been in the public eye recently, thanks partly to its focus on simply making staff’s on-the-job lives simpler. It’s all about improving workflows and bringing together disparate parts of the business into a cohesive whole.
ERP solutions like these should make life easier by ensuring consistent and accurate data. They should also remain secure by leveraging scalable technology, which is why most are now cloud-based.
Our initial investigations revealed that Unit4 ERP hit many of these points, which is why we became so interested in it. We liked the fact that it is secure and allows enterprises to remain relevant at every level.
However, what we really liked was the way it empowered people, which is why we ultimately gave it a five-star rating. Any business looking to accelerate strategic growth should explore using this tool.
How Unit4 ERP Works
Unit4 ERP has the same foundations as other enterprise resource planners. However, what sets it apart is its focus on specific industries, particularly the public sector, but also private firms. Using the tool revolves around the dashboard: here, you’ll find everything you need to take your business to the next level while dealing with problems, like data siloes.
Unit4 works by allowing you to upgrade your core experience. We liked how it made managing the global workforce simple and reduced administrative burdens among managers and employees. It was also great for monitoring reports, particularly things like staff absences, which can sometimes fall off the radar.
These HR-related solutions also then integrated with other elements, like projects. Understanding what staff are doing also enables superior project profitability and improves data consistency and accuracy.
What We Liked About Unit4 ERP
There was quite a lot we liked about Unit4 ERP, so we’ve broken down our favorite bits into sections to make things more digestible. However, overall, we were happy with our experience.
People-Focused And Industry-Specific
The fact that Unit4 ERP is people-focused and industry-specific was one of the first things that we loved about it. The solution is all about helping people get on with their days and get more work done.
This approach means that the software feels like it is holding your hand throughout your workflow. Little nuggets in the software just make things easier, so you come away with the impression that the developers put themselves in users’ shoes and asked what was best.
The industry-specific elements are also a nice touch. These reduce the need for costly customizations trying to shoehorn the ERP into doing what you want it to do.
AI-Based Features
Another thing we liked about Unit4 ERP was how it is now experimenting with AI-based features. Obviously, many of these are quite new, but they reduce manual work and boost productivity.
As you use Unit4 ERP, you’ll find these features everywhere. Fundamentally, they change the nature of using an ERP and produce quite a different experience from the classical approach (which still involved quite a bit of manual work).
Cloud-Native Setup
The fact that Unit4 ERP is also cloud-native is another point of attraction for us. We like the idea that business stakeholders can access the tools they need from any location at any time, without having to log on via an approved company end point.
This setup is helpful for traveling sales staff, managers logging in from home at the weekend, and everyone else. The fact that it’s possible to interact from everywhere makes the solution more user-friendly, especially for companies with hybrid working.
Role-Specific Solutions
Finally, Unit4 ERP offers what we’ve dubbed “role-specific” solutions. Essentially, these provide tools to various people across organizations, according to their needs. For example, chief financial officers can use Unit4 one way, while chief information officers can use it in quite another. This specialization means that the tool is always looking to serve end users in the best way possible, depending on their function.
What We Didn’t Like About Unit4 ERP
Our gripes about Unit4 ERP are minimal and most enterprises that use this solution won’t notice any issues at all.
One problem is simply the migration process. If you’ve been using another type of ERP, you might have some trouble transferring data and getting set up. Unit4 ERP provides all the tools you need for this, but it can still be a hassle.
You may also need to set up additional customisations, depending on the type of business you run, which further adds to the complexity. You may find it challenging to manage all these, especially if you’re new to using ERPs. As such, it is probably best to stick to the industries that Unit4 caters to, unless you feel you have sufficient experience to perform additional integrations in-house.
Before Choosing Unit4 ERP
Here’s our view on what you should do before choosing Unit4 ERP:
- See whether it fits your organization’s technical requirements and culture – Unit4 caters to specific businesses.
- Verify you have the infrastructure to support it – you’ll need a reliable internet connection that won’t go out in the middle of workflows
- Evaluate how much customization you’ll need if you decide to go ahead and use Unit4 ERP. Your teams might not have the resources to implement it, but this is unlikely.
- Ask whether you can afford it on your budget and if it will provide genuine value to your firm
Conclusion And Final Verdict: Is Unit4 ERP The Best ERP Solution?
To our eyes, Unit4 ERP is among the best ERP solutions available, especially for public sector enterprises and departments. The tool has specific customizations that make life easier for staff while focusing on their experience as people. There are also nice AI touches and role-specific additions that make the software even more usable than you’d expect.
