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Enterprise systems are designed to integrate important business processes, improve data management, and increase organizational efficiency. However, implementing these systems can be challenging. Two organizations that demonstrate very different outcomes are The Hershey Company and Birmingham City Council. Hershey successfully completed Avenger SAP Enterprise Resource Planning upgrade in 2024, while Birmingham City Council experienced significant difficulties after implementing Oracle Fusion. 

 

The Hershey Company completed an enterprise-wide upgrade to SAP in 2024. In 2025, more than 95% of Hershey's global business was operating on a single ERP instance. The implementation can be considered successful because the company completed the transition by creating a more unified technology platform. Hershey still faced challenges during the process. BRB projects require significant financial investment, care system integration, employee adaptation, and coordination among departments. Hershey's experience also shows the importance of learning from previous technology projects, since the company experienced serious difficulties with an early SAP implementation in the 1990s. 

 

In contrast, Birmingham City Council experienced major problems following the 2022 Oracle Fusion ERP. The system was intended to improve financial, human resources, and other administrative processes. Instead, problems with customization, financial reporting, and data processing disputed normal operations. Costco projected to rise essentially above the original budget, and problems with the system affected the city's ability to complete financial reporting. 

 
Commonalities and Lesson learned 

Both organizations attempted to modernize operations through large ERP systems and faced the challenges of integrating technology across complex organizations. The major difference was how those challenges were managed. Hershey achieved greater integration and operational benefits. While Birmingham experienced costly disruptions and required extensive corrective work. These examples demonstrate that purchasing powerful enterprise software alone does not guarantee success. Effective leadership, employee preparation, realistic planning, testing, and strong change management are essential to successful enterprise system implementation. 

References:

Dignan, L (February 2025). “Hershey finishes SAP S/4HANA implementation: Is it sweet or suite? Constellation Research. 

Hershey finishes SAP S/4HANA implementation: Is it sweet or suite? | Constellation Research 

Swain, G (February 2025). "How Birmingham’s $48M Oracle ERP project turned into an epic failure". CIO. 

How Birmingham’s $48M Oracle ERP project turned into an epic failure | CIO

 

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Big data has become an important resource for organizations because it can help businesses make better decisions, understand customers, and improve operations. Big data refers to extremely large and complex collections of information that traditional data management systems may struggle to process. It is commonly described by characteristics such as volume, velocity, and variety. 9 refers to the amount of information collected; velocity describes how quickly the information is generated and processed, and variety refers to the different forms of data, including texts, videos, transactions, and sensor information. 

Make data difference from traditional data, mainly because traditional data is usually smaller structured and stored in organized relational databases. For example, a traditional database might contain customer names, addresses, sales transactions, and inventory records. Big data can combine this information with unstructured and semi-structured information from websites, mobile applications, online reviews, and Internet devices. 

Organizations can use big data to gain valuable new insights in several ways. A retail business can analyze customers, purchases, website activity, and product searches. This information could help the company provide personalized recommendations and improve marketing campaigns. Financial organizations can analyze large amounts of transaction data to identify usual patterns that could indicate fraud. Manufacturers can also analyze information collected from equipment sensors to predict when machinery may require maintenance before it breaks down. 

Several tools are available to help organizations analyze big data. Big data allows large data sets to be stored and processed across multiple applications. Organizations can also use cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data visualization tools to discover patterns that communicate their findings. 

References:

Badman, A (2023). " What is Big Data". IBM.

What is Big Data? | IBM

Arthur, L (2013). "Big Data". Forbes. 

What Is Big Data?