BETHLEHEM, PA: "ERP success isn't about the technology. It's about the people," reveals a new survey from SpinAct, the Knowledge-as-a-Service (KaaS) company. With 2,100 respondents weighing in, the survey found the following two success factors for ERP:

* Organizational buy-in/Commitment: 39 percent
* Right team skills and attitude: 45 percent

While ERP insiders know the truth -- that the technology itself is seldom to blame for an implementation gone bad – the perception among potential customers is different. "ERP sounds frightening to a lot of companies, especially in the small and mid-sized arena," stated Monty Kalsi, founder and CEO of SpinAct. "But the survey shows that ERP is very doable if you learn how to execute properly."

The Global 2000 companies has long since made ERP investments, but smaller companies are hesitating to begin their ERP journey. There's nothing to fear, as SpinAct's survey revealed that 22 percent of large companies have inadequate training and support for ERP, compared to only 16.3 percent of small companies.

"The smaller companies who've actually taken the leap have done much better than expected," stated Kalsi. "That's very good news, especially as ERP may be allowing those small companies to stay afloat in these challenging times."

According to Jon Reed of JonERP.com, the right kind of user training has a major impact on SAP project success, regardless of company size. "Far and away, the most underrated aspect of ERP project success is effective user training," says Reed, an SAP Mentor. "I have seen situations where the right kind of user training reduced consulting expenses by as much as 80 percent. And don't forget the importance of training to achieving user buy-in."

SAP has promised to ramp up the quality of the SAP partner ecosystem in training and consulting, an integral part of growing the company's customer base to 100,000. SpinAct's contribution to the ecosystem is to offer a neutral, on-demand knowledge marketplace of ERP experts and consultants who provide the ERP knowledge and support that you need, when you need it, to maximize your chances of project success.

Buying subscriptions and/or a la carte services means that SAP implementers won't have to break the bank on training and solutions, and gives them the flexibility to assemble custom-tailored knowledge, training and consulting solutions – something that, previously, only the largest companies could afford.

Reed sees an exciting future in on-demand training and the KaaS model that SpinAct is innovating. "On-demand training solves three key problems: it gets an individual user only the training they need, at the pace they are comfortable with, and in a cost effective manner." At a time when companies are slashing already modest training budgets, Reed believes that on-demand training providers such as SpinAct can have a bigger impact on ERP project success than ever before.