Case study
ERP upgrade with staged validation
From my work leading IT at a mid-sized manufacturer. Names are left out on purpose.
Context
For more than a year, a 32-bit compatibility limit in the company's ERP stopped it from integrating the ERP with its accounting system, and from preparing the ERP for integrations with other apps and tools.
My role
I ran the project management and handled the database configuration and backups. I worked with the IT managed service provider to plan a transition without downtime. I also made sure the document functions staff rely on every day were thoroughly tested in the upgraded ERP.
Approach
I built a test environment and set up every tool in it first, so I could verify everything would work before rebuilding the live environment.
There was a hard deadline: the work had to be ready before the next month-end run, which depended on a tool that needs a 64-bit architecture. Only after the test environment proved out did we convert the live system.
Tools
ERP platform (not named), database and backup tooling, a test environment.
Result
The compatibility bottleneck that had lasted more than a year was removed, which opened the way to the accounting integration and future integrations. The cutover happened with no downtime.
Lessons
- Review every integrated system and test everything, assessing the risks, so that business-critical systems are not hurt by what looks like a small update.
- Prove the change in a controlled environment before you touch the live one.