The Essence of ERP

If you are interested in Enterprise Resouce Planning, it is important to understand the essence of this technology. The basic idea of ERP is that the whole is more powerful than the individual parts. In traditional computer applications, transactions are processed separately. A large number of organizations have used this system for quite some time, and there are still some who continue to use it today.

With traditional systems, eacn transaction must be handled separately, and they are connected to functions which are specific. Enterprise Resource Planning is just the opposite of this. Instead of separating transactions, they are all treated equally.

It is important to realize that most of the application programs used by companies that simply used for manipulation. They will contain data, and this data will be processed and presented in the proper form when a user requests it. One of the primary problems with this process is that is no connection between the application programs which are used by various departments. With ERP, there may be hundreds of data tables which store information for numerous transactions, but they will not be limited. They will be integrated in a way that will allow them to be handled by multiple users for different purposes, and these users don't have to be located in the same department.

There are a number of advances in technology that has contributed to the growth of ERP. Enterprise Resource Planning is directly connected to Information Technology. The improvement of IT with the decreasing cost of computers has made it possible for small businesses and organizations to begin using ERP. When Enterprise Resource Planning was first introduced, it was designed to run on powerful mainframe systems. With the introduction of PCs and client servers, along with RDBMS, Enterprise Resource Planning has been introduced into smaller markets. When ERP is used with a client server, the server will store information, and the consistency of processes will be maintained.

The issues of program logic and information processing will be split between the client and the server. A number of ERP systems will use what is called a three tier structure. It can utilize business rules that are normally not connected to the primary system, and this will ensure that the proper validation checks are used. Many of the companies that use Enterprise Resource Planning are those that carry out operations in multiple locations. To make sure these transactions are carried out properly, a number of ERP systems are being utilized. In order for ERP systems to function properly, there are a number of things they will need to feature.

The first of these is flexibility. Many companies need to change their operations and transactions on a regular basis, and the ideal ERP system must be able to adapt to these changes. Client server technology is important, because it will allow the ERP system to operate on multiple database back ends, and it will do this through a process that is called ODBC, or Open Data Base Connectivity. Another important feature of ERP systems is modularity. The term modularity is used to describe a system that is "open." The module must be capable of being detached whenever it is needed to work with other system modules. It should also be capable of supporting multple computer platforms.

Most companies will use a variety of system platforms, and they may also be in need of third party platforms. The ideal ERP system must be capable of offering this. It is also important for an ERP system to be comprehensive. It must be able to support a large number of different functions that are related to the company. In addition to this, it must be calibrated for a diverse range of companies and organizations. When one is looking at the quality of an ERP system, they must look beyond the company. Instead of limiting it to boundaries within the company, they should make sure it supports the internet and other elements within the company. It is also crucial for the organization to look at best business practices. A collection of these business process should be used on an international scale. The overall goal of a company should be to take the business processes of the physical world and apply them to computers.

Source: www.exforsys.com

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