Your Cloud Database Solution

This week is Dreamforce. Salesforce.com‘s hugh event in San Francisco with more than 20,000 attendees. The big announcement this year is Database.com, a cloud database solution that is promising to be the end all data storage solution in the cloud for companies both large and small.

This concept of a cloud database is not that original, but what is original is the fact that you can design your own schema and then attach any platform to it through open APIs. Further, they are giving you user management and communication tools within the same license. So this could be the launching point for any number of applications from simple desktop applications to mobile applications all running on a managed cloud database using Database.com.

Salesforce.com has grown from nothing to a Billion+ dollar company in ten short years. Moving from their mainstay product, Salesforce.com CRM to a platform solution in Force.com has opened a broad area of cloud computing offerings. Now with Database.com as their cloud database solution, they are further reiterating that you do not need infrastructure or computing power. It can all be leased, and for less money than if you invested in-house for the same capabilities.

More about Salesforce.com’s cloud database offering

ERPandMore.com’s partner SoftwareAdvice.com’s CEO Don Fornes sat down at Dreamforce to discuss this new cloud database solution. We were fortunate enough to get an early look at this video and would like to share it with you.

The official cloud database video

As you can see from the video, they are very bullish about the direction of cloud database technology and all the benefits it brings. For a more “official” version of what Database.com is, you can view this video:

This is continuing the drive to Cloud 2.0. This means that you are location independent and utilize the cloud for your computing requirements. A cloud database only supports this endeavor. Let us know where you think this is going. Let us know if a cloud database is in your future!

Here is a basic overview of ERP. For people just starting it is a beginning primer on ERP software.

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A Closer Look at the ERP Software Solution
Mike Piotrowski

ERP Solution

Information technology has not only transformed the way we live in modern society, but also the way in which we do business. Enterprise Resource Planning, often referred to as ERP, is becoming one of the most commonly used software systems in several industries and organizations. The object of this article is to provide pertinent highlights about exactly what ERP is.

The definition of Enterprise Resource Planning refers to not only software but also the business strategies employed as part of the implementation of ERP systems. This implementation makes use of various software applications in order to improve the performances of organizations in resource planning, control of operations, and control of management.

ERP software contains several software modules that work to integrate vital activities across operating departments. An ERP System not only includes the ERP Software but also the business processes and hardware that make this system work. These systems are more than the sums of their parts as the many components work together in order to achieve one common objective-to provide an organization with a greatly improved and streamlined business process.

History of ERP

ERP has been well over 20 years in the making. This system is the result of the trial, error, and growth of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) during the 80s. MRP was the evolution of Inventory Management and Control, which was conceived during the 1960s. ERP has grown beyond the coordination of manufacturing processes into the integration of back end processing on very large scales. From its origins as a legacy implementation ERP has morphed into a new and improved client-server architecture.

Benefits of ERP

This software attempts to bring all aspects of the business into one single enterprise-wide database or information system. This allows instantaneous information and communications to be shared between multiple departments. The primary benefit of this is a greatly improved efficiency in business operations. Implementing this system will not only help communications between departments but in day-to-day management functions as well. ERP is an ambitious design that also supports the resource planning part of corporate planning as this is often the weakest link in strategic planning as the result of the inadequate integration of ERP software with Decision Support Systems.

ERP Failures

It would be quite rude to conclude without at least mentioning the fact that failures in this system are occasionally reported in one of the four components of an ERP System. These systems are: ERP software, Business processes supported by the ERP System, Users of the ERP Systems, and the hardware and/or operating systems upon which the ERP applications are actually run. The failure of one or more of these components has the potential to cause the entire ERP project to fail.

Ontech Systems of Milwaukee Wisconsin, is committed to making a difference in your business through the productive use of computers, networks, software and the vast array of products and services we offer. Contact Michael Piotrowski, President of Ontech Systems to discuss a new ERP business solution for your company today.