Key updates in April include powerful new AI and GenAI features, such as improved forecasting algorithms, AI-powered summaries in Process Mining, and a GenAI Assistant designed to streamline conversational data access. The Data Fabric platform was enhanced with improved schema synchronization and expanded query editor limits. Meanwhile, Infor Portal received fresh UI upgrades and KPI widget functionality. Updates also spanned GRC, ION, API Gateway, and BaaS, targeting performance, security, and data integration. 

Real-world Risks Demand Real-world Testing 

While these updates offer considerable value, they also introduce potential risks to customized Infor instances. Infor tests its standard platform extensively but does not validate your specific configurations, integrations, or workflows. That responsibility falls on each organization. 

According to Gerard O’Rourke, IT Director at Fónua, an Original Software customer that chose the platform to help de-risk Infor updates, cloud ERP brings clear benefits, including continuous upgrades and access to new features with every release. “No more massive EOP upgrades every five, six, or seven years,” he said. However, he was quick to add that it’s a double-edged sword: even small changes can unexpectedly impact day-to-day operations. “Other M3 customers have expressed similar challenges and reported outages they’ve faced,” O’Rourke noted. 

Without a structured, proactive testing strategy, updates become a gamble. Custom workflows may fail, third-party tools might disconnect, and business-critical processes can be disrupted. O’Rourke underscored this risk, explaining that he’s seen real examples where APIs became unresponsive, orders failed to be created, and the ability to manufacture, repair, or dispatch was halted. “Any release window could introduce a change that causes the business to stop,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.” 

How to Mitigate Disruption Through Testing 

With the October release already on the horizon, now is the time to reinforce your testing discipline. Even monthly service packs that contain new features require careful validation. Relying on spreadsheets, isolated scripts, or ad-hoc manual testing is no longer sufficient. 

To reduce risk and maintain control, leading organizations are turning to platforms like Original Software’s ERP testing solution for Infor CloudSuite. The platform supports both CloudSuite and on-premise environments and provides the tools needed for automated regression testing, seamless integration testing, and code-free user acceptance testing. It also includes capabilities for managing manual tests and capturing business process documentation. 

These tools deliver measurable business value. For example, Valmet cut its Infor M3 upgrade testing time in half—saving thousands of hours—by using Original Software’s solution. Similarly, CertainTeed has experienced zero unplanned downtime for five consecutive years while managing weekly updates through a consistent, automated testing approach. 

O’Rourke said testing methodology must “show real strength” by verifying as much as possible ahead of time and providing the ability to react quickly when issues arise. He was clear on its role in supporting business continuity: “There’s no other way to provide comfort to the business that a release isn’t going to cause the business to stop.” 

In today’s ERP landscape, innovation must be balanced with risk mitigation. A smart, automated testing strategy isn’t just good practice—it’s foundational to maintaining operational resilience as Infor continues to evolve the CloudSuite platform. 

What This Means for ERP Insiders 

Customization equals responsibility. While Infor thoroughly tests its standard CloudSuite platform, it does not account for your organization’s custom configurations, third-party integrations, or unique business workflows. It’s up to your team to ensure those custom elements remain functional after each update, therefore making a structured, proactive testing strategy essential. 

Manual testing is no longer viable. Relying on spreadsheets or ad-hoc testing methods can’t keep up with Infor’s release cadence. Monthly service packs and major biannual updates require automated regression, integration, and user acceptance testing to avoid delays, downtime, or costly post-deployment fixes. 

Intelligent testing protects business continuity. Platforms like Original Software offer Infor-specific capabilities that reduce testing time, minimize risk, and improve operational resilience. Organizations using automated, repeatable testing processes—like Valmet and CertainTeed—achieve faster upgrade cycles and uninterrupted service, even in high-change environments. 

The post Why Testing Your Unique Environment Is Critical After Infor Updates appeared first on ERP Today.

Pankaj Goel, CEO and co-founder of Opkey, understands this problem better than most. A two-decade veteran of the testing industry, Goel has seen too many automation tools overpromise and underdeliver. “We kept seeing tools become shelfware,” he told ERP Today. “The maintenance was brutal. The onboarding took too long. Most of them simply didn’t work for ERP.”

The breakthrough came when Goel and his team developed a way to combine process mining and observability, powered by ERP-specific small language models (SLMs), to enable what they call “agentic automation.” Unlike traditional test automation tools that rely on static scripts, Opkey’s platform uses AI agents that adapt dynamically to ERP configurations, changes, and business context—across Oracle Fusion, Workday, SAP, and beyond.

What does this mean in practice? It means eliminating the manual drudgery of quarterly patch testing. Ameren’s ERP lead, Chinmay Samal, reports that Opkey cut their testing time by 85%, with better coverage and faster releases. Cummins slashed their testing effort by 80%, freeing IT to focus on delivering value rather than managing test cycles. At Myriad Genetics, pre-built accelerators reduced validation timelines and boosted confidence in change deployments.

“Our platform makes testing a non-event,” says Goel. “We’ve had CIOs tell us, ‘I haven’t heard a word about testing in six months—and that’s the best news I could hope for.'”

But Opkey is no longer just about testing. Its “digital workforce” now includes agents that handle automated configuration migrations, real-time training content generation, and user behavior analytics. For one global apparel retailer, this meant shrinking a three-week change deployment cycle to a matter of hours.

Goel is wary of how loosely “agentic AI” is being thrown around. “A lot of what’s being sold as agentic is just glorified RPA with a prompt,” he says. For Opkey, agentic means autonomous decision-making—ERP agents that interpret, adapt, and act without human instructions.

This isn’t generic generative AI layered on top. Opkey’s ERP-native SLMs are trained on domain-specific data and logic, enabling higher accuracy and context awareness. The result? AI agents that can automatically generate test scripts, monitor systems, validate updates, optimize performance, and even create dynamic job aids for end users based on their real-time behaviors.

This level of sophistication isn’t just a novelty. It’s a necessity. As ERP systems become more modular and composable—mixing Oracle, SAP, Workday, Coupa, and Salesforce—enterprise leaders need platforms that understand the intricacies of each system and the glue that binds them. “End-to-end capability is critical,” says Goel. “Testing a Workday module means nothing if it breaks your Oracle finance integration.”

At the heart of Opkey’s philosophy is the idea that ERP should be treated as a lifecycle—not a project. “Most CIOs invest millions in licenses and implementation but forget the long-term operating system,” Goel says. “They think deployment is the finish line. It’s not. It’s the starting gate.”

This lifecycle approach is where Opkey aims to make its greatest impact—cutting 30–35% off total transformation time and cost by automating not just testing but also configuration, optimization, and user enablement. As ERP failures mount, this could be the margin between survival and success. In a world where 70% of ERP projects fall short, Opkey is determined to prove that smarter software isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline.

What this means for ERP Insiders

Rethink how you measure testing success. If testing still feels like a high-effort, low-impact activity, it’s time to upgrade. Platforms like Opkey make regression testing invisible by using AI agents to autonomously execute test cycles, validate patches, and generate documentation. Ameren and Cummins reduced testing efforts by over 80%—while increasing both speed and quality.

Build ERP lifecycle resilience, not just deployment velocity. A successful go-live is not the end goal. It’s the first step in an ongoing cycle of change. Opkey enables continuous lifecycle management through autonomous config updates, real-time training delivery, and performance monitoring. Enterprises that adopt a lifecycle model will weather vendor updates, M&A, and new business models with far greater agility.

Choose agentic AI that’s purpose-built for ERP. Generic AI platforms aren’t enough. Opkey’s ERP-native small language models and observability engine are designed specifically for Oracle, Workday, and SAP ecosystems. For organizations managing multi-ERP environments or planning to scale with composable architectures, ERP-specific agentic platforms will deliver superior accuracy, adaptability, and ROI.

The post The Quiet Revolution in ERP: How Opkey is Automating the Impossible appeared first on ERP Today.

Broadly speaking, Cottage Health lacked the basic test automation framework to optimize their testing workflows.

Download the Case Study Here

The post Opkey helps Cottage Health achieve 85% of Test Automation Coverage appeared first on ERP Today.

With new upgrades and implementations arriving more frequently than before, the enterprise software landscape is constantly in flux. This means businesses face new challenges in ensuring the quality and stability of their increasingly complex application ecosystems.

In an exclusive interview, Colin Armitage, CEO of Original Software, provided invaluable insights into the critical world of end-to-end testing, helping companies understand how they can mitigate risk and meet their quality goals. With a history stretching back to 1997, Original Software has been a consistent presence in a space often characterized by fleeting trends, offering a unique perspective shaped by decades of experience.

Making Testing Straightforward and Accessible

One of the key differentiators of Original Software is its roots in low-code and no code capabilities. Armitage explained that the decision to avoid a code-based testing solution was fundamental from the company’s inception, as it was fundamental to problem-solving.

“If you are trying to test a code base as it is, why on earth would you want to build another code base to test the first one? The testing code would be just as likely to have bugs in it as the code being tested. You would need specialized skills to build it, and you haven’t made the problem easier. You’ve made it harder,” said Armitage.

Beyond simply eliminating code, this approach tackles other inherent challenges in traditional test automation, such as managing timing dependencies. The common practice of embedding fixed-duration wait loops in test scripts highlights their inflexibility and potential for failure if application response times vary. Original Software’s solution intelligently handles timing, recognizing when the application is ready for the next action.

Adapting to the new Enterprise Software Landscape

Original Software’s core business revolves around helping organizations achieve their quality goals while man aging and reducing risk. This is particularly crucial during major upgrades and the implementation of new applications, ensuring a “risk informed state of play” when companies go live.

This is especially important in the modern technology landscape. ERP vendors are increasing the rate of updates, and companies cannot test the software the same way they have done in the past.

“Recently, a lot of ERP vendors have moved to monthly updates. What you could do to test something if it was only once a year was fine. If you have to test every month, you can’t go and rip 20 or 30 of the key business users out of the business every month for two weeks. It is just physically impossible. So, it tends to be at that more operational level there where they’ve reached a point where they just can’t continue testing the way they have been doing it,” said Armitage.

Armitage added that the ability to test business processes seamlessly across multiple applications becomes not just advantageous but “essential.” Original Software’s platform rises to this challenge by supporting a wide array of applications, from modern browser-based ones to desktop applications and even legacy IBM emulators, recognizing their continued importance in some business processes.

This is particularly important for companies that are now managing multiple ERP systems due to acquisitions. The ability to support these diverse environments is crucial for their companies navigating consolidation efforts.

“We may run into somebody who says, ‘we’re an SAP shop,’ but they’ll be using Salesforce as a CRM rather than SAP or they will be using something else for their e-commerce. For an end-to-end business process, you’ll typically be visiting multiple applications. So, it’s not a nice idea to support multiple applications. It’s essential,” said Armitage. “And it is that end-to-end testing, the ability to test the process across applications, that is essential. You don’t want to see application boundaries. You just want to be able to test the business process. It’s very much a strength of ours, going across applications.”

Understanding Challenges and Evolving to Meet Them

With nearly 30 years of experience in the testing space, Original Software understands where technologies like automation can be helpful and where business process overhauls are more likely to yield the desired results.

When looking to improve their testing workflows Armitage says companies should start off by taking a step back and evaluating their business pain points. For instance, companies often request test automation as their first order of business. Yet taking the time to review their current practices may reveal that the real issue isn’t a lack of automation but the disruptive impact of user acceptance testing (UAT), where key users are taken away from their regular duties.

“Companies can argue that maybe they could automate their testing, but that’s difficult if there’s new features. There’s always going to be an element of manual testing done on that. But more importantly, that familiarization with either changes or new features has to be done by the users, and that, again, has an impact on the business,” said Armitage.

While automating UAT might seem like a solution, it’s challenging with new features, and the crucial familiarization aspect for users will always require manual input, impacting business operations. Therefore, enhancing the efficiency of this process can be a significant win for companies.

Armitage cautioned against the expectation of automating everything, as it “doesn’t make any sense” for processes which run infrequently. Instead, he advocated prioritizing the automation of core processes that would cripple the business if they failed. He used the analogy of building a “survival pack” of automated tests for critical processes like order-to-cash or procure-to-pay, al lowing companies to quickly verify their core functionality after a new release.

Recognizing that some companies, especially in test automation, might need extra support, Original Software also offers a “fast start service” involving remote embedding of its personnel to help build initial test assets quickly. However, the bedrock of the company’s offering remains its comprehensive software platform.

Incorporating AI into Testing

Original Software has long been ahead of the curve on AI, incorporating it in a practical sense to solve fundamental testing challenges. Armitage illustrated this with the example of identifying UI elements, explaining how their AI can understand what a user would intuitively call an element (e.g., the “User” text box) rather than relying on technical HTML identifiers that are meaning less to a business user.

This focus on user-friendliness and readability is crucial for making test scripts accessible to a wider audience. While promising further developments in AI for its offerings, Armitage emphasized a realistic approach, learning from the initial over-promising often associated with new technologies. This allows Original Software clients like Costco to have an accurate expectation that it is refining what it already does well, rather than doing anything radically different.

“Costco uses part of our platform. It takes them three days to run the extraction because their live database is so big. They were delighted when we managed to shave around 20% off their time. That’s a big win, because they can get back to their day jobs earlier on and do more testing with the available time,” said Armitage.

Building a Business Case

While many IT experts will understand the importance of sophisticated testing capabilities, the reality is that they also need to build a business case that emphasizes the importance of testing to business leaders. However, this can be difficult, particularly when the primary benefit is avoiding potential catastrophes rather than generating direct revenue.

Armitage acknowledged that the “tipping point” for investment varies among customers. Companies that have experienced significant negative impacts from software failures often find the justification straightforward.

However, for others, the impetus might come from middle management facing increasing pressure due to inadequate testing coverage or the rising frequency of software updates.

The shift towards monthly updates by vendors like Infor, compared to the less frequent updates of on-premise systems like SAP ECC or Oracle EBS, makes traditional manual testing approaches increasingly unsustainable.

Armitage emphasized the need to present a compelling case to senior management, which Original Software assists customers in doing. Highlighting real-life examples of companies narrowly avoiding major issues can be a powerful tool.

Adapting to the New Normal

Companies often struggle to adapt to the rate of change in the new technological landscape. Armitage said that the move to the cloud has changed the rules in terms of vendor relationships and it also means that businesses are not in control of how often they need to run tests on their software.

Finding a partner like Original Software in this new environment is essential. It can help companies not only understand the technology landscape as it now exists but allow them to adapt to it. With new software deployments and upgrades constantly being rolled out, businesses need to have confidence that their investments are being protected from risk and can deliver the value they need to reach their business goals.

The post Protecting and Maximizing ERP Investment through Testing appeared first on ERP Today.

This misplaced confidence can be a costly mistake. 

ERP systems are dynamic, not static. They evolve constantly—whether through software patches, configuration updates, new user roles, or integration changes. And with each change comes a potential risk: a misaligned workflow, a security vulnerability, a data error, or a compliance breach. Even small issues can have large consequences, rippling across systems and departments. 

Fortunately, organizations don’t have to wait for things to break before they act. By investing in robust testing, continuous quality assurance (QA), and real-time monitoring, businesses can dramatically reduce risk, improve ERP performance, and uncover significant return on investment—often in places they never thought to look. 

Tricentis, Original Software, and Delinea are helping enterprises shift from reactive to proactive ERP management, with strategies that deliver both operational resilience and real financial gains. 

The Cost of Errors: It’s Not Just Technical 

When an ERP system fails, the impact can be immediate—and painful. Imagine an inventory system that misallocates stock, a payroll module that delays employee pay, or an access rights issue that exposes sensitive financial data. These aren’t just glitches; they’re business-critical failures that can disrupt operations, damage trust, and invite regulatory scrutiny. 

Studies suggest that more than half of ERP implementations experience some form of post-deployment disruption, often caused by insufficient testing or a lack of proactive system oversight. And as ERP platforms increasingly shift toward agile, cloud-native architectures with frequent updates and integrations, the potential for disruption only grows. 

That’s why leading organizations are embracing a new mindset: one that treats ERP quality and monitoring not as optional extras, but as essential components of long-term success. 

Tricentis: Speed Meets Stability 

In a world of rapid deployment and continuous updates, Tricentis is redefining how enterprises approach ERP testing. The company’s platform leverages AI-driven test automation to validate complex ERP workflows, data integrations, and user processes across multiple environments—all at scale and speed. 

Traditional testing methods often rely on manual scripting and lengthy QA cycles, which slow down innovation and miss key edge cases. Tricentis flips that model by integrating directly into Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, enabling real-time validation as part of every update or change. 

With automated testing, companies can simulate thousands of use cases in just a few hours, catching issues before they reach production. The result: fewer rollbacks, smoother launches, and more confident innovation. 

For organizations operating on platforms like SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft Dynamics, this kind of continuous testing can be a game-changer—transforming ERP from a risk to a growth enabler. 

Original Software: Testing from the User’s Point of View 

While backend automation is vital, the success of any ERP system ultimately rests on the experience of the people using it. That’s the focus of Original Software, a company that brings testing down to the ground level—where workflows meet real users. 

Original Software’s tools help bridge the gap between IT and business users by enabling end-to-end functional testing and user acceptance testing (UAT) without requiring technical expertise. Users can record their interactions with the system, highlight inconsistencies, and test business-critical tasks—without ever writing a line of code. 

This approach ensures that ERP systems aren’t just technically sound, but also usable and aligned with day-to-day workflows. It also fosters collaboration between departments, reduces reliance on IT for testing support, and shortens the time to go-live readiness. 

By uncovering issues that might otherwise be missed—such as workflow breakdowns, data entry friction, or unexpected user behaviors—Original Software helps companies reduce post-launch support calls, improve adoption rates, and increase overall productivity. 

Delinea: Watching What Matters Most 

Beyond functionality and usability lies another critical ERP dimension: security. Especially in large or regulated organizations, user access and permissions must be tightly controlled to avoid conflicts of interest, data leaks, or compliance violations. 

Delinea’s Fastpath offers an integrated solution for access monitoring, segregation of duties (SoD) conflict detection, and audit readiness. Its tools provide real-time insight into who has access to what within an ERP environment—and whether that access introduces risk. 

By continuously analyzing roles, permissions, and user behavior, Fastpath can automatically flag anomalies, enforce policy controls, and generate audit-ready reports. This streamlines compliance with standards like SOX, GDPR, and HIPAA, while also reducing the internal burden of manual review. 

For many organizations, the savings are twofold: fewer audit findings (and associated penalties), and significantly reduced staff hours spent on access reviews and documentation. 

Where the ROI Hides (and How to Find It) 

Testing and monitoring might not carry the same flash as a new analytics dashboard or AI module—but they drive real, measurable returns. Here’s where businesses can often find hidden value: 

• Downtime Avoidance: For large enterprises, an hour of ERP downtime can cost anywhere from $100,000 to over $1 million. Preventing just one major outage easily justifies the cost of a QA platform. 

• Shorter QA Cycles: Automated testing can reduce ERP testing cycles from weeks to days—accelerating release timelines and enabling more responsive business operations. 

• Fewer Support Tickets: Identifying issues before deployment means less post-launch firefighting, fewer help desk calls, and lower user frustration. 

• Compliance Confidence: Proactive access monitoring means smoother audits, fewer surprises, and a lower risk of non-compliance fines. 

• Happier Users: Systems that are tested for real usability see better adoption, faster onboarding, and fewer training challenges—translating to improved workforce productivity. 

In short, ERP QA isn’t just about reducing risk. It’s about enhancing performance, reducing waste, and enabling growth. 

A New Standard for ERP Success 

As ERP systems become more agile, modular, and interconnected, the margin for error shrinks. Businesses can no longer afford to rely on reactive maintenance or one-time testing strategies. 

The future of ERP requires continuous validation, real-time oversight, and user-centered design—all underpinned by platforms like Tricentis, Original Software, and Delinea. 

These aren’t just tools; they’re strategic assets that help businesses stay one step ahead of risk, change, and complexity. Because in the world of enterprise technology, what you don’t see coming is often what costs you most. 

What this means for ERP Insiders 

Proactive ERP testing saves more than it costs. Relying on manual testing or waiting for problems to emerge post-deployment is a high-risk, high-cost strategy. Automated testing platforms allow businesses to validate thousands of workflows quickly and accurately, dramatically reducing downtime, deployment delays, and costly rollbacks. By integrating testing into continuous delivery pipelines, organizations can ensure ERP changes are stable and reliable—without slowing innovation. In many cases, avoiding a single system failure or critical bug more than justifies the investment in automated testing. Smart QA isn’t a cost center—it’s a business continuity strategy with measurable returns. 

Usability testing drives adoption and productivity. Technical success doesn’t guarantee operational success. If ERP users can’t navigate workflows, perform key tasks, or trust the system, adoption will suffer—and support costs will rise. Bringing a user-centric lens to ERP testing enables business teams to test real-world scenarios without needing technical skills. This approach uncovers hidden issues like inefficient workflows, UI friction, and misaligned processes before they impact productivity. By involving users in the testing process and addressing their needs early, companies reduce resistance, accelerate onboarding, and maximize ROI from their ERP investment. 

Access monitoring prevents compliance headaches. Security and compliance risks often lurk in overlooked corners of ERP environments—especially around user permissions and segregation of duties. Continuous, automated monitoring can flag risky access patterns and simplify audit preparation. For decision-makers, this means fewer fines, faster audits, and tighter control over who can access what. Beyond compliance, real-time access visibility enhances governance and trust across the enterprise. By embedding monitoring into day-to-day operations, companies move from reactive defense to proactive risk management—unlocking not just security benefits, but operational efficiency and peace of mind. 

The post The Hidden ROI of Testing and Monitoring in ERP Systems appeared first on ERP Today.

That’s why forward-thinking organizations are reimagining their testing approach from the ground up. 

Cloud ERP brings new complexity—and higher stakes 

Legacy ERP systems were often slow to change and relatively contained. In contrast, cloud-based ERP platforms are part of a much broader and constantly shifting ecosystem. They connect to CRMs, supply chain tools, third-party applications, and custom APIs. Each integration introduces potential points of failure. A single missed bug in a critical workflow could mean invoicing errors, inventory delays, or compliance headaches. 

Cloud ERP systems also come with regular vendor updates that can disrupt custom configurations or break downstream processes. With so many moving parts, testing can no longer be a once-and-done phase of a project. It must be continuous, thorough, and business-driven. 

Capture what matters—with zero disruption 

The first step in preparing for a cloud migration is understanding what you’re migrating. But too often, organizations rely on outdated process maps or tribal knowledge that lives only in employees’ heads. That’s a major risk. 

Original Software solves this with a game-changing approach to process capture. As users go about their daily work, the platform automatically records every step—across web apps, legacy systems, and multi-platform workflows. No need to slow down or retrain. As a result, organizations can get a complete, accurate view of real-world business processes that becomes the blueprint for targeted, meaningful testing. 

Business users become testing champions 

One of the biggest barriers to effective ERP testing is that it’s typically owned by technical teams. But it’s business users who know how the system should actually perform. Original Software bridges that gap. 

Its intuitive, code-free testing platform empowers non-technical users to design, run, and manage tests based on the processes they know best. That means faster feedback, better coverage, and fewer post-go-live surprises. With Original Software, testing becomes a shared responsibility—and quality becomes everyone’s job. 

Built for change, ready for tomorrow 

Cloud-based ERP systems aren’t static. They’re constantly evolving—through vendor updates, configuration changes, or new business requirements. Original Software is designed for this pace of change. 

Its regression testing tools make it easy to compare old and new system behavior, spot differences, and validate fixes before issues reach production. Because the platform is designed for low maintenance and high reusability, it supports ongoing testing without slowing your team down. 

ERP cloud migrations are too important—and too complex—to leave testing to outdated methods. By modernizing your testing approach with Original Software, you can move faster, reduce risk, and bring your business users into the quality conversation from day one. 

What this means for ERP Insiders 

Involve business users early in the testing process. Cloud ERP systems impact every corner of the business—from finance to operations to HR. Waiting until after deployment to engage business users in testing is a costly mistake. With Original Software’s intuitive, code-free platform, organizations can empower non-technical teams to validate real-world processes from the start. This leads to more accurate test coverage, fewer surprises at go-live, and faster adoption of the new system. 

Document your current-state processes before migrating. Migrating without a clear picture of how your ERP system is currently used opens the door to errors and inefficiencies. Use tools like Original Software’s process capture solution to automatically record how users interact with existing systems. This creates a comprehensive, real-world blueprint for both migration planning and post-migration validation—eliminating guesswork and ensuring critical workflows aren’t overlooked. 

Adopt continuous testing to manage post-migration change. Cloud ERP platforms evolve constantly through vendor updates, integration changes, and internal configurations. One-time testing efforts won’t keep up. Original Software enables continuous regression testing that adapts to system changes, helping teams catch issues early and ensure business continuity. Investing in a sustainable, automated testing approach protects long-term ERP performance and minimizes downtime. 

The post Why ERP Cloud Migrations Demand a New Approach to Testing appeared first on ERP Today.

The case of ViaSat, a leading innovator in satellite and digital communications, offers a compelling blueprint for navigating such upgrades with a focus on reducing risk and improving quality thanks to a strategic approach to testing. 

Outlining the Challenges 

ViaSat, a publicly traded company with government oversight, faced the impending upgrade to Oracle E-Business Suite R12 with a clear understanding of the stakes. As Aaron Sager, Director of Business Systems and Processes at ViaSat, explained, with the increasing frequency of major software changes, they found themselves “more or less constantly in test mode.”  

This continuous testing put significant time demands on finance, HR, and other crucial functions, raising concerns about employee retention if their focus became solely testing. Furthermore, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements meant any changes to their financial systems faced heavy scrutiny from external auditors, making comprehensive testing assurance paramount. The upgrade to their chart of accounts, the largest financial system change in years, amplified this need. 

Faced with these challenges, ViaSat recognized the limitations of traditional testing methods, and wanted to avoid record keeping on simple spreadsheets. They sought a solution that would streamline software testing for business users, enabling faster and more accurate execution of tests for any application change. Crucially, the solution needed to document every test, creating a repository for financial audits, regulatory compliance, and continuous process improvement. ViaSat also required tools that were “system agnostic,” capable of supporting their Oracle ERP applications, Agile product data management software, Concur expense reporting, and other technologies. 

The Solution: Original Software 

After evaluating various options, ViaSat selected Original Software’s platform for test management, capture, and automation. A key factor in this decision was the platform’s ease of use for business users, eliminating the need for specialist programmers or manual code writing, which had led them to rule out solutions from HP and Oracle. As Business Systems Analyst Patrick Hooper noted, “If a software testing solution requires me to write code, it won’t appeal to me.” 

The implementation of Original Software yielded significant benefits for ViaSat. The upgrade of the chart of accounts became the first project leveraging the new tools, resulting in a very straightforward audit process that previously would have been significantly more time-consuming and less conclusive. Management, auditors, and regulators gained greater confidence due to the lowered risk of change. 

The platform’s capabilities for full documentation of every test case, execution, and captured screenshots proved invaluable for governance and compliance. Now, managers can review tests with complete visibility of the data entered and the output, and if production issues arise, they can trace back to the exact test carried out. Furthermore, Original Software facilitated real-time reporting during the R12 upgrade, allowing daily status reviews based on current platform reports, a significant improvement over the previous time-consuming and less accurate manual data collection process. 

The Road Ahead 

Looking ahead, ViaSat is well-positioned for future projects, as the results of their initial testing have been captured for automation, enabling them to build a complete set of automatic regression tests. This will allow them to test far more comprehensively with fewer staff, raising software quality while lowering the risk of business disruption. As a bonus, the animation feature will even be used to create video training guides for new employees. 

ViaSat’s success story underscores the importance of a strategic and user-friendly testing platform in managing complex enterprise software upgrades. By choosing Original Software, they not only streamlined their Oracle EBS R12 upgrade but also established a foundation for continuous improvement, reduced audit burdens, and ultimately, lowered the risk associated with critical technology changes.  

For business technology decision-makers facing similar challenges, ViaSat’s experience provides valuable insights into how the right testing solution can transform a potentially disruptive project into a catalyst for efficiency and quality.  

What this means for ERP Insiders 

User-friendly, system-agnostic testing tools reduce risk and improve efficiency. ViaSat’s success in upgrading to Oracle EBS R12 highlights the value of adopting intuitive testing solutions that don’t require coding expertise. By choosing a platform that business users could operate independently—and that worked across multiple systems—ViaSat streamlined testing, improved test accuracy, and minimized reliance on IT resources. 

Comprehensive test documentation strengthens audit readiness and compliance. With heavy regulatory oversight, ViaSat needed complete traceability for every test. The chosen solution enabled automatic documentation and screenshot capture for every test case, simplifying audits and ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, while also supporting continuous process improvement. 

Test automation enables scalability and reduces long-term disruption. By capturing reusable test data during their initial project, ViaSat laid the groundwork for full regression testing automation. This not only accelerates future upgrades but also allows broader, more reliable testing with fewer resources—boosting software quality while minimizing disruption to core business operations. 

The post Streamlining Critical Upgrades: How ViaSat Lowered Risk and Raised Quality with Intelligent Testing appeared first on ERP Today.

Why Documentation Matters 

Automation is only as effective as the processes it is designed to streamline. Without a clear understanding of how work is currently being done, organizations risk automating inefficiencies, redundancies, or outdated workflows. By documenting processes before implementing automation, businesses gain visibility into their operations, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure that automation efforts are targeted and effective. 

Original Software provides a powerful solution for business process documentation, allowing organizations to capture and store workflows regardless of complexity or the applications involved. Whether it’s a single-page web application, a green screen terminal, or a multi-platform workflow spanning ERP, CRM, and cloud solutions, their technology-agnostic platform records it all. Users simply perform their tasks, and the software automatically captures the process in the background, ensuring accuracy and comprehensiveness. 

Unlocking the Benefits of Process Documentation 

There are several benefits to leveraging a business process documentation solution including:  

• Accurate and Up-to-Date Process Library – By systematically documenting workflows, businesses maintain a clear and current record of how work is performed. This visibility helps in identifying bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for optimization before automation is introduced. 

• Standardized and Context-Rich Documentation – A well-documented process goes beyond basic workflow descriptions. Original Software’s solution enables organizations to add context, standardize documentation formats, and create materials that support various business functions, from process improvement to compliance and training. 

• Enhanced Testing and Auditing – Process documentation serves as a valuable resource for software testing and auditing. Automated processes must be thoroughly tested to ensure they function as intended. Documented workflows provide a blueprint for testing automation, ensuring that all critical steps are considered and validated. 

• Stronger Employee Onboarding and Training – New employees benefit from well-documented processes as they navigate their roles. Training materials derived from documented workflows help employees understand their responsibilities and integrate into the organization more quickly and effectively. 

• Risk Mitigation and Future-Proofing – As businesses evolve, documented processes help teams manage change with confidence. Whether implementing new technologies, restructuring workflows, or expanding operations, having a detailed process library ensures consistency and reduces risks associated with process changes. 

A Foundation for Successful Automation 

One of the most significant advantages of process documentation is its direct impact on automation success. A well-documented process allows organizations to pinpoint specific steps that are suitable for automation and understand the interactions between different systems. These process documents can be directly translated into automated test cases, ensuring that business-critical workflows remain intact as automation is introduced. 

When paired with Original Software’s Test Automation solution, documented processes enable comprehensive regression testing. This approach ensures that any system updates or modifications do not disrupt established workflows, reducing the risk of downtime or operational failures. Because automated tests are built from documented processes, businesses can have confidence that they are testing and automating correctly. 

Before launching automation projects, organizations must take the time to document their processes thoroughly. Investing in robust documentation solutions like those offered by Original Software provides businesses with a clear roadmap for automation, helping them achieve efficiency gains, reduce risks, and drive innovation. By capturing, documenting, and maintaining an up-to-date process library, companies can set themselves up for automation success, ensuring agility, accuracy, and long-term business resilience. 

What this means for ERP Insiders 

Document before you automate. Automating inefficient or outdated processes can lead to wasted resources and operational risks. Thoroughly documenting business processes first ensures clarity, highlights inefficiencies, and provides a solid foundation for effective automation. 

Process documentation enhances testing and compliance. A well-documented process library supports software testing, auditing, and compliance efforts. It enables accurate test automation, reduces errors, and ensures that updates or system changes do not disrupt critical workflows. 

Future-proofing through process visibility. Maintaining an up-to-date repository of business processes helps organizations adapt to change, scale operations, and onboard employees more efficiently. This documentation ensures consistency, reduces risks, and supports long-term digital transformation initiatives. 

The post The Critical First Step to Automation: Documenting Your Business Processes appeared first on ERP Today.

Without rigorous testing, organizations may encounter data integrity issues, broken integrations, system downtime, performance inefficiencies, and compliance concerns. A well-defined testing strategy is essential to mitigating these risks and ensuring a smooth transition. Original Software provides a comprehensive suite of testing solutions that support businesses in this endeavor. 

Common Pitfalls of ERP Cloud Migration 

The most significant challenge in ERP cloud migration is maintaining customizations and third-party integrations. Many organizations tailor their ERP systems to align with specific business processes, incorporating automated workflows, custom scripts, and external software integrations. Moving these configurations to the cloud can result in functional disruptions if not tested properly. 

Also important is ensuring data integrity. The process of extracting, transforming, and loading (ETL) data into a cloud-based environment introduces the risk of data loss, corruption, and formatting inconsistencies. If not detected early, these issues can lead to inaccurate financial reporting, operational inefficiencies, and regulatory non-compliance.  

Security and compliance risks further complicate cloud migrations. ERP systems contain sensitive business, financial, and customer data, requiring stringent security measures. A misconfigured cloud environment can expose businesses to data breaches, unauthorized access, and regulatory violations under frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX.  

Supporting a Seamless ERP Cloud Migration 

A structured and comprehensive testing approach is essential to mitigating risks during ERP cloud migration. Original Software’s suite of testing solutions ensures that organizations can transition to a cloud-based ERP system efficiently and securely. 

Through functional and regression testing, businesses can verify that critical ERP features, custom configurations, and integrations remain fully operational post-migration. Original Software’s automated testing platform simplifies this process, reducing manual efforts while increasing accuracy. 

Ensuring a Lower-Risk ERP Cloud Migration 

While ERP cloud migration presents significant benefits, it also introduces risks that can impact operational efficiency, security, and compliance. A well-defined testing strategy is essential to identifying and addressing potential issues before they disrupt business processes. 

Original Software provides a comprehensive testing solution that ensures data integrity, system functionality, and user readiness. By leveraging automated testing and user-friendly validation tools, organizations can reduce downtime, prevent costly errors, and ensure a seamless transition to the cloud. 

For organizations planning an ERP cloud migration, a proactive approach to testing is essential.  

What this means for ERP Insiders: 

More businesses are moving to the cloud. The cloud ERP market is experiencing significant growth, projected to expand from $49.80 billion in 2023 to $181.04 billion by 2032 at a CAGR of 15.5%. This is driven by increasing demand for scalability, cost efficiency, and digital transformation, as businesses shift from on-premises ERP systems to cloud-based solutions to enhance operational agility, remote accessibility, and integration with emerging technologies like AI and automation. 

Cloud migrations can be costly. Research indicates that cloud migration costs can range from $100,000 to over $1 million for mid-to-large enterprises. Unexpected expenses—such as data transfer fees, application refactoring, staff training, compliance audits, and post-migration optimization—account for up to 30% of the total budget. Additionally, over 60% of cloud migration projects exceed their initial cost estimates, often due to inadequate testing, unforeseen infrastructure dependencies, and the complexity of reconfiguring legacy ERP systems for cloud environments. 

A strong testing program can reduce migration costs. Comprehensive ERP cloud migration testing can significantly reduce costs by identifying and mitigating data integrity issues, broken integrations, performance bottlenecks, and security vulnerabilities before deployment. This can prevent unexpected downtime, compliance fines, and the need for post-migration fixes, ultimately helping businesses avoid costly disruptions, reduce rework expenses by up to 30%, optimize cloud resource allocation, and achieve a faster ROI for their cloud ERP transformation. 

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