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Blog
June 14, 2022

Cutover vs. ERP systems and Cutover vs. project management tools

Sometimes, Cutover is described as “an intergalactic to-do list” or “Excel on steroids.” But to more deeply explain what Cutover is, we can start by telling you what it isn’t.

While the Cutover platform might include some of the elements included in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, project management software, or even their ancient spreadsheet ancestors, it isn’t any of these things. Cutover’s capabilities go far beyond planning or managing discrete tasks, and into the realm of what we call “orchestration,” which brings complex work activity together in one real-time, user-friendly platform.  

A proactive platform 

“One of our key differentiators is that the Cutover platform is innately operational,” says Brian Thompson, Cutover General Manager, Release. “We’re not simply ingesting info and tracking projects; Cutover can proactively do things.”

For Cutover’s clients, many of whom are leading global companies, those things include complicated, high-stakes, large-scale operations — many of which require a strict audit trail — such as  IT disaster recovery, cyber resilience, application release, cloud migration and platform implementation.

One real-time hub for visibility and operations

Cutover’s platform creates dynamic runbooks that orchestrate every team and every tool involved in a major operation – both human and automated processes. 

These operations may involve using and updating ERPs, project management software or even those primitive spreadsheets, which Cutover integrates into its own platform, along with other technology tools, to create one highly visible hub that offers real-time status reports and dashboards. With these features, Cutover users can instantly communicate and adjust  operations as they are running, which is outside the scope of ERPs and project management tools.

Cutover vs. ERP

Many large businesses use ERP systems to plan and manage day-to-day operations, including financial, HR, supply chain and other tasks. But ERP systems can be difficult to integrate with other technologies and systems, expensive and time-consuming to update and ill-equipped to bring collaborators together in real time during mission-critical work. 

Cutover can fill in these gaps by providing a central platform where ERP can integrate with other tools and teams, and can be updated in a time- and cost-saving manner.  Cutover also can help analyze how an ERP system performs during an operation, helping companies understand what changes may need to be made in the timing and operation of the ERP tool.

In other words, Cutover plays an orchestra conductor’s role during a major operation, where an ERP is one of many instruments.

Cutover vs. project management software

Cutover can also integrate and orchestrate project management software, which is even more siloed and has fewer features than an ERP. Project management software is also strictly meant for planning and organizing a project – not executing a project. There’s no way to make things “go” within the tool. 

Because there’s no orchestrating capability, it can be easy for project timing to falter. Users may perform tasks out of order; multiple users may wind up duplicating work on the same tasks, and work may be moved to other project management pages without teams becoming aware of it.

Most project management software also lacks the ability to create a clear, indelible audit trail. That can be a deal-killer for projects that need this requirement to meet regulatory laws. 

The good news about project management software is that it can be integrated into Cutover, which can unify project tools and spreadsheets into one source of information that all teams can see and act on, and provide an audit trail that meets compliance and regulatory needs.

Charting the differences

We’ve summarized some of the differences between Cutover, ERPs, and project management software in the chart below:

? = sometimes 

System/Platform Executes operations Gives all stakeholders real-time visibility and control Integrates with other tools in complex operation Can be implemented in a short time Can automate pr
Project Management Software ?
ERP ?
Cutover

While Cutover is far from being an ERP or a project management program — it can help companies:

  • Run more efficiently and collaboratively, reducing costs and duplication of work 
  • Ensure that tools like ERP and project management software play the right role at the right time during an operation
  • Offer real-time and post-execution analysis of how tools are operating
  • Create operational systems of records and indelible audit trails that meet compliance standards

Large enterprises seeking to maximize efficiency and resilience bring Cutover into the picture because it offers the control and visibility they need over all tools and teams – ERP systems and project management software included.

To learn more information about how Cutover can help you see and control complex operations with confidence, book a demo.

Kathy Jones
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