We are pleased to announce our new ERP forums!
We will be adding forums as we go, but for now, there are forums dedicated to ERP, PLM, and CRM.
Please feel free to post your questions, answers, topics of concern, or other related topics. Please keep the discussions professional! We hope that these will become a valuable resource to you. We welcome your contributions to this knowledge base of ERP, CRM, and PLM information.
You can view them by going to Our ERP Forums
Now that everyone is breathing a sigh of relief after RIM’s legal settlement:
Blackberry goes ERP
by Cliff Saran
Tuesday 7 March 2006
Research in Motion has given its Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) support for web services to enable wireless access to enterprise systems such as SAP.
The company’s aim with the 4.1 release of BES is to move Blackberry beyond push e-mail. It has introduced a development tool called MDS 4.1 to help businesses create links…Blackberry goes ERP
During the 1990s, the vast majority of Global 2000 companies deployed client/server systems for enterprise resource planning (ERP) to replace their mainframe-based accounting packages. Some did it as part of the business process re-engineering (BPR) boom, others as Y2K upgrades at the end of the decade and others simply to replace aging financial systems. A recurring theme throughout the ’90s was that implementing ERP was difficult, expensive and frustrating. Study after study showed substandard returns for ERP investments. Perhaps because of this experience, many organizations have been very cautious about making changes to their ERP environments. However, doing nothing may be a costly mistake because most companies can use their ERP software more effectively than they are doing today.
Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: Adding Value to ERP
Small and midsize manufacturers are increasing IT investment because they don’t have the IT architecture needed to compete in a demand-driven world. For many, this means going back to the basics: an ERP system that standardizes business processes, extends the company’s reach, and reduces overhead.
In a 2005 study of more than 550 companies’ ERP investment plans, only 27 percent of small companies “those with fewer than 500 employees” currently …more… (requires registration)
Chris Shaul
Now that Oracle has gobbled up its competitors, Peoplesoft and JD Edwards, and has aquired Seibel CRM, there is a shrinking landscape of Tier 1 vendors available in the marketplace. It used to be the old JBOPS (JD Edwards, Baan, Oracle, Peoplesoft, and SAP) that people relied on as the playing field for their selections. Now, you have Oracle and SAP battling it out at the top end. SSA Software is working at bringing Baan back to the game under the name SSA ERP LN, but the market has not yet recognized the “new Baan”. So essentially there are now three players in the Tier 1 space.
SAP and Oracle are continuing to compete on the extensiblity of their solutions. SSA is making some buzz in the market too.
So the question is, will there be more variety or options, or will it be more of the same. If it is more of the same from each of these three players, then who will companies turn to? One possible answer in the future will be Microsoft and their Axapta (Now called Dynamics AX) product. But that product is still a few years from being a true Tier 1 competitor. The advantage with the Microsoft solution is very flexible technology that allows solutions and modifications to be built around the product core easily, without breaking the upgrade path. This flexibility outshines the other players. The depth of the product will be their in a few years, but it is not there yet.
What about the Tier 2 players? Can QAD, Epicor, or Infor produce a competing product? As of right now, no. It seems that is not the niche they want to play in. So for now, in the upper tier space, there will be only a few players and few options. But with everything in the IT world, a short time can reveal many new changes.
Chris Shaul is a Sr. IT Consultant and specializes about ERP selections and implementations.
Chris Shaul
There are many vendors around today providing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software . These systems control the entire lifeblood of the business enterprise. From manufacturing to financials, from customer service to plant maintenance, these systems run the company. The information flow is critical to a company. Further the information flow must match the process flow. With many commerical ERP systems available today, how can you be sure that the ERP system you are selecting is the right fit.
Some daring folks are now trying on Open Source ERP solutions. Few of these solutions are developed or maintained by a commercial entity. Rather, many are developed by a group of programmers who collaboratively build these systems. The real benefit to these systems is that they are really open. The source code is available for all to see and modify.
With this openness, companies can truly fit the software to match their process flow. But they will need to have the coding expertize in house. They will also need to fully understand their process flows. Can you use open source without modifying code? Of course. Most of these systems have best practices built in. It does help though to know your processes and be willing to modify and improve the processes to match the best practices.
Compiere is one such software. CIO.com has an interesting article about Compiere.
Another system, in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) world is sugarCRM. This is a full function, open source CRM system. Its functionality rivals many commerical entities’ systems.
Is open source ready for prime time? It depends upon who you ask. If you ask a Linux enthusiast, then yes it is. If you ask a traditional IT manager, probably not.
Chris Shaul is a Sr. IT Consultant with CMTC and specializes about ERP selections and implementations.