ERP System Implementing With
Subscription-Based Cloud Technologies
S.Kuzhali
Department of Computer Applications IFET College of Engineering
Villupuram Kuzhali.s5@gmail.com
Abstract - When our company implemented the ERP, the biggest issue was the transfer of information from the old to the new. There was a large amount of data that didn't mesh well with the new system because of the new way that information was organized. There simply was no plan in place to manage the old data. Another drawback to the implementation was the fact that the end users, myself included, had to pull 'double duty' for quite some time after the implementation. That is to say, we had to enter data twice, once in the new system and once for the old. In my opinion, the implementation can be established in web Service in Cloud technology. Cloud technology in web based software is a way for the IT function in an organization to increase capacity or add capabilities without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud technology encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that extends existing capabilities in real-time over the Internet.
INTRODUCTION
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is abusiness management software—usually a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to
collect, store, manage
and interpret data from many business activities, including:-
Product planning, cost and development
Manufacturing or service delivery
Marketing and sales
Inventory management
Shipping and payment
ERP systems track business resources— cash, raw materials, production capacity— and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll. The applications that make up the system share data across the various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that provide the data. ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions, and manages connections to outside stakeholders.
ERP FOCUS ON:
ERP systems initially focused on automating back office functions that did not directly affect customers and the general public. Front office functions, such as customer relationship management (CRM), dealt directly with customers, or e–business systems such as e–commerce, e– government, e–telecom, and e– finance—or supplier relationship management (SRM) became integrated later, when the Internet simplified communicating with external parties.
ERP II IS MARCHING AHEAD
"ERP II" was coined in 2000 in an article by Gartner Publications entitled ERP Is Dead — Long Live ERP II. ERP II is more flexible than the first generation ERP. Rather than confine ERP system capabilities within the organization, it goes beyond the corporate walls to interact with other systems. Enterprise application suite is an alternate name for such systems.
Developers now make more effort to integrate mobile devices with the ERP system. ERP vendors are extending ERP to these devices, along with other business applications. Technical stakes of modern ERP concern integration—hardware, applications, networking, supply chains. ERP now covers more functions and roles—including decision making, stakeholders' relationships, standardization, transparency, globalization, etc.
FUNCTIONAL AREAS
An ERP system covers the following common functional areas. In many ERP systems these are called and grouped together as ERP modules:
Financial accounting: General ledger, fixed asset, payables including vouchering, matching and payment, receivables cash application and collections, cash management, financial consolidation
Management accounting: Budgeting, costing, cost management, activity based costing
Human resources: Recruiting,
training, rostering, payroll,
benefits, 401K, diversity management, retirement, separation
Manufacturing: Engineering, bill of materials, work orders, scheduling, capacity, workflow management, quality control, manufacturing process, manufacturing projects, manufacturing flow, product life cycle management
Order Processing: Order to cash, order entry, credit checking, pricing, available to promise, inventory, shipping, sales
analysis and reporting, sales
commissioning.
Supply chain management: Supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, product configurator, order to cash, purchasing, inventory, claim processing, warehousing (receiving, putaway, picking and packing).
Project management: Project planning, resource planning, project costing, work breakdown structure, billing, time and expense, performance units, activity management
Customer relationship management: Sales and marketing, commissions, service, customer contact, call center support - CRM systems are not always considered part of ERP systems but rather Business Support systems (BSS).
Data services : Various "self– service" interfaces for customers, suppliers and/or employees
ERP IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES:
In choosing new enterprise resource planning systems, implementation is every
bit as important as finding the right program. You should be thinking about it proactively when evaluating systems, you should raise the topic with propsective vendors and even ask for examples of their customers’ strategies. There are hundreds of articles on ―best practices‖ for implementing ERP software, but understanding each strategy and choosing the best option is difficult. So, we set out to consolidate the information in a single guide. Our aim is to give you enough information – and the most important pieces – to choose the best implementation process for your organization. We’ll cover the three most widely discussed ERP implementation strategies:
Big bang - Implementation happens in a single instance. All users move to the new system on a given date.
Phased rollout - Changeover occurs in phases over an extended period of time. Users move onto new system in a series of steps.
Parallel adoption - Both the legacy and new ERP system run at the same time. Users learn the new system while working on the old.
Which ERP Implementation Strategy is best for Your Business?
There certainly is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to implementing an ERP system. Every company has unique goals, and an implementation requires careful planning and analysis. Some companies may choose a combination of strategies, like a mini big bang mixed with phased rollouts (i.e. ―big bang‖ the important modules, then add in the peripheral modules later). Others may choose to implement a mid-market ERP
system (e.g. Microsoft Dynamics, Epicor) at the plant-level, while keeping a major ERP system (e.g. SAP, Oracle running at headquarters). And at times, the best implementation strategy will be obvious.
At a minimum, we hope this guide gets your organization off on the right foot. By choosing one of the above or developing an entirely custom strategy, you should be well on your way to success.
CLOUD BASED ERP AND WEB-BASED SOFTWARE
Cloud ERP software deployments
Deploying a software package to ―the Cloud‖ can have several benefits. The two most obvious benefits are (1) scalability and (2) the ability to pay only for resources that you use.
Deploying on an external cloud also delivers benefits in the area of hardware outsourcing and pooling. An external cloud can shift capital expenses for organizations that prefer operational expenses from an accounting perspective.
Web-based ERP software deployments
When you utilize a web-based software solution, the benefits of the cloud increase exponentially. In addition to the savings that you achieve from the cloud, you eliminate client software to reduce deployment times and ongoing software maintenance. Web-based solutions also deliver centralized data that is always current and can be delivered to devices on any operating system.
In the case of ERP software, the benefits of web-based software greatly outweigh the benefits of a cloud deployment. Our previous article discusses the benefits of cloud, SaaS, and web-based software in more detail.
VENDOR CAUSED CONFUSION
Many ERP software vendors are using
―The Cloud‖ in marketing and sales pitches. This is good because it promotes technology and a new way of deploying applications that may benefit several organizations. This is bad because the Cloud means different things to different people.
The confusion has been introduced by vendors crediting the Cloud for advantages that are more accurately attributed to web-based software. As pointed out in an earlier article on cloud ERP versus hosted ERP, many vendors do not distinguish between web and cloud.
CLOUD ONLY AND CLOUD WITH WEB SOFTWARE MERITS
Many vendor do not know the difference between cloud technologies and web technologies.
Several ERP vendors have announced cloud solutions that do not utilize web-based software. Infor, AccountMate, Sage, and others have delivered ―cloud‖ software by deploying legacy software on a hosted virtual private server (VPS).
The best case scenario for this type of solution is one in which your ERP solution scales up and down during the course of a month – such as needing to add a server during a period of high usage. Unfortunately, this is a rare situation for most organizations. ERP systems experience resource peaks and valleys, but usually not to the degree which requires adding and removing server resources.
The other benefit delivered by ―cloud‖ is case where an application requires only a small share of the resources on your casino online canada server. In this case a virtual private server can free up your hardware resources for other applications. Many IT departments deploy virtual servers to take advantage of this and reduce hardware costs. Most external cloud based ERP vendors deliver only the application, so the resource savings will only result in a slightly lower price or additional vendor profits.
THE CLOUD DELIVERED FROM THE GROUND UP
Some companies developed new code to deliver a web-based cloud offerings. These include companies that started new product lines such as SAP ByDesign and Epicor as well as companies that started with web-based architectures such as NetSuite, Intacct, Plex, and Acumatica. These solutions provide the benefits of
cloud with the addition of web-based benefits.
Why web-based is critical?
Eliminating thick PC clients provides a huge savings both initially and with ongoing maintenance. Web-based software can deliver a rich user experience without client software so organizations can implement faster and pay less for maintenance. In addition, the web provides cross platform compatibility, simplified remote access, and the ability to add and remove users.
STEP ONTO THE CLOUD AND UPGRADE YOUR BUSINESS
The existing technologies failed to backup data and information, in the event of a recent disaster. As the problems escalated, moving onto the cloud, couldn’t have been more aptly timed, with an upcoming proposal made out to a major client. Big and small businesses like the one in which the company worked in, have significantly benefited from the adoption of cloud services, not only in terms of significant advances in profits but also due to reduced efforts undertaken for existing processes.
What does it mean to be on the cloud? As information technology progresses every minute of the day, the waves of these technological innovations are often hard to keep up. Yet, just as the advent of the internet changed the way we do business and interact with each other, similarly, the idea of going on the cloud is one of the most talked about these days.
DOES THE CLOUD MEAN BETTER OPPORTUNITIES THAN BEFORE?
One of the fantastic opportunities presented by the cloud, is the fact that they present a level-playing field for big, small and medium enterprises. How does moving onto the cloud actually help media companies? ACHIEVE COST ADVANTAGE OPTIMISE EXSITING RESOURCE ENHANCING EXISITING IT INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET EXISTING STANDARDS IN THE MARKET
WHAT DOES BEING ON THE CLOUD ACTUALLY RESOLVE?
Technological innovations may or may not be profitable ventures when implemented within the system. To seek the competitive advantage amongst big players, by moving onto the cloud, one can actually reach a level-playing field. Here’s a list of questions that can be resolved by moving onto the cloud:
Lesser investments on upgrades over time: Undertaking significant and regular investments in technology to achieve a state of standardisation with big players is probably the best way to achieve
business goals. Yet, with cloud computing, such regular investments are not required as the standardisations occur across platforms, all over the world. Ensuring optimisation of resources:
Whatever may be your current IT infrastructure, one can optimize these resources with the help of standardised software used by cloud computers.
IT infrastructure stays upgraded: Fear of redundancy and meeting the market standardisation need exist anymore. Not only will your existing security protocols stay upgraded but they will occur across the board.
Moving onto the cloud means installing either IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) or SaaS (Software as a Service), which can considerably reduce your time, effort and help one gain a sizable cost advantage.
Technological Giants like HCLTech are one of the leading Cloud computing services provider. They provide computing and storage capacity for consumption, enterprise platform for development and testing environments, and SaaS enablement services.
INNOVATIVE CLOUD ARCHITECTURE FOR ERP & CRM
Cloud Computing means automatic scalability and provisioning even if we speak about applications hosted in public cloud with shared instances, or applications hosted in private clouds, where the infrastructure behind the application is dedicated to one customer.
SocrateCloud comes with a new, modularized architecture which brings high scalability and multi-server deployments for high availability and it can be deployed natively on different cloud environments (public or private), while preserving the backward compatibility.
SocrateCloud allows to scale automatically based on the resource utilization, as for example if the number of users explodes and the workload of the application exceeds a certain limit, more instances are provisioned instantly. Load balancing mechanisms assure that users requests are redirected automatically to available resources.
OPINIION ABOUT NEW ERP SYETEM
PAY PER USE / SUBSCRIPTION BASED ARCHITECTURE MODULE
ERP WEB ARCHITECTURE
Pay-per-use web architecture dramatically improves user experience. It is an example of the latest generation of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) that utilizes Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology to deliver functionality, usability, responsiveness and personalization through a Web browser.
The interface is developed with the latest
SmartGWT technology and is browser
independent.
The WebUI is designed to be succesfully used on notebooks with small screens, but also on laptops/computers with large screens.
ERP, CRM AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DATA AND PROCESSES INTEGRATION
SocrateCloud fully integrates ERP, CRM and Performance Management data and processes. This tight integration ensures that the different functional areas have all the information required for business decision-making. There is no need to derive information as source transactions include linkages to all needed supporting data. Neither is there any delay in users having up to date information as there is no need to transport data or perform any data cleansing routines.
Platform / Technology
OS independent
Databases: Oracle 11g
Technology: J2EE &SOA
Application server independent: Glassfish, Jboss, Oracle WebLogic
RESTful Webservices
Users interface: Ajax – GWT
SUBSCRIPTION BASED ERP & CRM BENEFITS
Quick selection process
Integrated functionality
Industry focused
Short implementation time
Automated software upgrades
Automatic scalability and provisioning
No upfront capital costs
Low ongoing subscription fee
GLOBAL READY Multi - tenant Multi - organization Multi - currency Multi - accounting Multi - tax Multi - costing Multi - language CONCLUSION:
A process by which a company (often a
manufacturer) manages and integrates
the important parts of its business. An
ERP management information
system integrates areas such as planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance, human resources, etc.
ERP is most frequently used in the context of software. As the methodology has become more popular, large software applications have been developed to help companies implement ERP in their organization.
Think of ERP as the glue that binds the different computer systems for a large organization. Typically each department would have their own system optimized for that division's particular tasks. With ERP, each department still has their own system, but they can communicate and share information easier with the rest of the company.
REFERENCES
1. Alexis Leon, ―ERP Demystified‖, Tata McGraw Hill, 1999.
2. Joseph A. Brady, Ellen F. Monk,
Bret J. Wangner, ―Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning‖ ,
Thomson Learning, 2001. 3. Vinod Kumar Garg and N.K
.Venkata Krishnan, ―Enterprise Resource Planning – concepts and Planning‖, Prentice Hall, 1998.
4. http://www.answers.com/topic/ente rprise-resource-planning#ixzz37kHQHp7O 5. http://searchsap.techtarget.com/defi nition/ERP 6. http://computer.howstuffworks.co m/cloud.../cloud-computing 7. http://www.crn.com/.../cloud/.../the -20-coolest-cloud-software-vendors 8. http://www.google.co.in/url?q=http ://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_co mputing 9. http://www.bitsoftware.eu/products -content/socratecloud/ERP
