"Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." - B.F. Skinner

Continuing education and training have always been the keys to continued success. For example, in primary school, multiplication tables were drilled into our subconscious. In secondary school, those same tables became the building blocks for a more complex education. In college and beyond, we were trained and retrained on the proper applications of those mathematical laws and equations in hopes of becoming competitive in the market-place.

In business, the importance of education and training becomes a constant, revolving event that has taken on an even greater necessity, from the boardroom to the last employee hired. In a roundtable discussion, an ERP software company executive, an implementation manager, two software resellers and a customer discuss the critical factors in ERP education and training - the challenges, the values, the issues and the benefits.

Midrange ERP: The training process can have an endless set of variables. Today in the software industry, business-critical training is designed and implemented by software vendors and resellers. What are some of the underlying elements of an effective training program?

Greg Hunt, PMP, implementation manager, Navision Software US: First of all, the customer must be involved, not just a bystander. There has to be a two-way flow of communication.

Rick Burtt, CFO, Navision Software US: Absolutely. In addition to communication, there also has to be trust. The customer must trust that the vendor is knowledgeable and understands its business.

Wendy Gold, vice president, Business Management International, ERP reseller is key: really knowing the business process and what a client needs.

Brett Schwartz, CEO, Universal Atlantic Systems: I think, from a customer standpoint, relationships are important. You need to like the vendor understands your company and what your issues are. In our case, we had grown our accounting department from two people to eight. So, having a training that could train our people quickly and effectively was really a priority. Having a solid relationship with the vendor was the only way to do that.

Larry Schiff, president, Business Management International, ERP reseller: I think a key element of any training pa that it accommodates the needs of the customer, and those needs vary because no two projects are ever the same. My job insure that our customers have a smooth and efficient software installation, so I have to be aware enough of my clientīs particular sensitivities to judge what those needs are and meet them through the education and training processes.

Midrange ERP: With an ERP system implementation, how in-depth should the 5 process be?

Burtt: You would never trust someone to fly a space shuttle if he didnīt have a deep and intimate knowledge of what he was doing. The same applies here. For instance, my company is intent on training our software resellers in how the product works and how to implement our solutions. We have to make sure that there is a sufficient depth of knowledge to make the solution function properly.

Schiff: Yes, but it is also a confide issue. Knowing that the person install ERP system has undergone stringent and has jumped through several hoops already, I think, adds to customersī confidence in the abilities of their implementer.

Gold: When you make as big a financial and emotional investment as you do with an ERP system, you want to know the company you are working with understands your business and is thoroughly knowledgeable about its product.

Midrange ERP: Today, providing ERP functionality to the middle market is hot. A number of software vendors and resellers are moving upmarket and downmarket to serve the attractive IT budget found in the middle market. Are there any unique training or educational needs specific for middle-market ERP customers?

Burtt: I wouldnīt say that there really are any unique needs in the middle market. To run a business, you do the same stuff as for a Fortune 500 company. Middle-market companies need customization for their business processes as well but it has to be done in a much shorter timeframe.

Schiff: Thatīs right, time is a big differentiator. You donīt have customers with the money to keep an army of people on-site for months at a time.

Gold: Especially working in the mid-market, we really have to do everything that happens in the large implementations, just on a smaller scale.

Schwartz: There are differences in approach, too. In a small company you have one person who wears all the hats. In the middle market, the training is designed more for people in roles. It isnīt like you sit this one guy down and, once he knows it, the job is done. There are many nuances with each department, and the trainer needs to address them and show how the software benefits the group and really build a synergy.

Gold: We try to make sure that we train people together who do similar work. Like Brett said, each group has its nuances. We donīt have an army of people to address it, and we have a shorter timeframe to work in, which presents its own challenges.

Midrange ERP: It would seem that getting across-the-board support for the new solution and the subsequent training is key when an ERP system is purchased. Is this true, or are there other