SaaS ERP Continuous Release Cycles | Deloitte US has been saved
Authored by Franz Gilbert and Pruthav Joshi
Continuous release cycles have become the norm in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry and for good reason. They enable organizations to deliver new features and improvements to their software more frequently—which can lead to faster innovation, increased efficiency and a better user experience.
When executed with intention, continuous release cycles can contribute to the digital transformation efforts poised to unlock as much as $1.25 trillion in additional market capitalization across Fortune 500 companies alone.¹ However, these benefits can also come with challenges, particularly for organizations that use SaaS enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
Challenges of continuous release cycles
One of the biggest challenges of continuous release cycles is the difficulty organizations face in keeping up with the rapid pace of change. This is a critical area organizations can’t afford to ignore. When digital change efforts are aligned with organizational strategy and tech investments, organizations report as much as a 14% market cap differential as compared to when they’re not.²
With new features and improvements being released on a regular basis, many organizations struggle to stay up-to-date to fully leverage the latest capabilities of their SaaS ERP. This can lead to underutilization of new features and capabilities, which can in turn impact return on investment (ROI) and outcomes.
Continuous release cycles can also disrupt existing business processes. Frequent updates demand constant reskilling. This can take time and resources away from other business priorities and can cause frustration and resistance among employees, who may feel overwhelmed by the pace of change.
For organizations that use SaaS ERPs, the challenges of continuous release cycles are compounded by the complexity of these systems. These ERPs are often highly configurable and integrated with other external systems, making it difficult to determine the change impacts to downstream systems within the short timeframe allocated to testing during each release cycle.
Managing software release challenges
Fortunately, there are solutions available to help companies overcome the aforementioned challenges. Platforms such as SimplrOps offer intelligent product sets that specialize in helping organizations manage their continuously updating applications to maximize their ROI.
Such platforms can significantly reduce the time and effort to analyze and identify system impacts through an ERP release cycle. This enables organizations to focus on adopting new capabilities or enhancing existing ones. Additionally, they can proactively identify cross-module, reporting, and downstream impacts to development environments—mitigating operational risks across the organization.
Looking forward
The global ERP market is projected to grow 11% annually through 2030, and continuous release cycles can facilitate the innovation and efficiency critical for organizational success within that space.³
But while continuous release cycles offer many benefits, they can also pose significant challenges for organizations that use SaaS ERPs. To address these challenges, organizations should be proactive in their approach to change management—investing in training and support for employees and working closely with their SaaS ERP vendors to help ensure smooth upgrades and customization. By doing so, organizations can fully leverage the latest released capabilities to achieve greater ROI and business impact.
Solutions such as SimplrOps can help companies overcome challenges for greater ROI from their SaaS applications. By providing real-time insights through a centralized platform for SaaS application and automation management, these solutions help companies keep up with the pace of change, reduce disruptions to business processes and encourage greater adoption among employees.
Learn more about Deloitte’s SimplrOps
Authors:
End Notes
¹ Tim Smith et al., “Unleashing value from digital transformation: Paths and pitfalls,” Deloitte Insights, 31 Jan 2023.
² Rupert Darbyshire, Nicole Scoble-Williams, and Diana Kearns-Manolatos, “Digital change capabilities can make or break a digital transformation,” Deloitte, 13 Feb 2024.
³ Kelly Raskovich et al., “The intelligent core: AI changes everything for core modernization,” Deloitte Insights, 11 Dec 2024.
