Your ERP system is slowing down during peak business hours. How can you ensure optimal performance?

There should be proactive and preventive monitoring of the infrastructure supporting the ERP, along with some precautions such as cleaning files and file systems, fine-tuning the database, checking which routines are consuming the most processing power, and working to optimize them. Establish standard times for running certain routines. I once experienced a situation where the system slowed down every time the budget planning team ran balance updates in managerial accounting. They did this throughout the day to catch financial accounting updates, causing significant stress for the other users. In this case, we needed to establish specific times for this routine.

To assess need it is required to estimate conucrrent user in peak times i.e. monthclosing time, average transaction per user per minute and total transactions per minute, and based on that decide wether existing CPU can cater need for total transaction per minute. Also calculate RAM requirement based on some assumptions i.e. 2GB of RAM for application server and 2GB for database server per 100 users. Also assess need of storage based on initial data size and projected growth. Also assess database Optimisation by reviewing database queries, indexes etc.

Keep patches & updates servers on time. Apply indexing on tables and data source. Analyze business processing to see long running process and optimize it using various techniques. Keep data archival policy in place and data archival process on yearly/quarterly basis.

Upgrade & Maintain: Treat your ERP like a well-oiled machine. Regular updates and patches from the vendor address bugs, improve functionality, and often include performance enhancements. Schedule updates during off-peak hours to minimize disruption. Review hardware specifications too. Outdated equipment can contribute to slowdowns. Consider an upgrade if needed.

We need to monitor system perfomance by reviewing CPU utilisation, memory consumption, Application performance by checking response time, Transaction throughput, database performance by index usage, query performance, security matrix by access logs, user activity by login patterns. We need to define monitoring strategy by intgrating monitoring tool

Database Tuning: Identify bottlenecks by analyzing performance metrics. Optimize slow queries and indexing with database administrators to improve data retrieval speeds during peak hours. User Management: Limit concurrent user sessions and establish session timeouts for inactive users to prevent system overload and ensure smooth access. Scalability: Consider cloud-based ERP solutions for automatic resource scaling during peak usage periods. Proactive Maintenance: Schedule health checks outside peak hours to identify issues early and implement a data archiving strategy to reduce database size and enhance query performance.

User need to make aware that frequent log in and log out can impact performance due to authentication and session management overhead. User shall be made aware to use standard report and limit the custom report and dashboard usage. Implementing data caching and setting of appropraite refresh intervals for dashboard. Need to educate users for feature that allows users to schedule report generation during off-peak hours.

How I Scaled an ERP for Growth Be a Growth Detective: Regularly assess your business's trajectory. How many new users, transactions, and data are you anticipating in the next year or two? Scalability Matters: Choose an ERP solution that can grow with you. Cloud-based systems are generally a good bet, but on-premise solutions with strong scaling capabilities exist as well. Don't Be Afraid to Adapt: Business needs evolve. Revisit your ERP strategy periodically to ensure it continues to align with your growth goals. By planning for growth and prioritizing scalability, you can ensure your ERP system remains a competitive advantage, not a hindrance, as your business flourishes.