Ten years ago they said it wouldn’t happen; that is was a joke; that such software vendors would not succeed. But Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce.com, had a different point of view; one that proved to be right. Software as a service is a huge success! So much so, that it represents the largest enterprise resource planning (ERP) marketplace, today. Cloud computing is the new big thing and many businesses, especially small ones, are taking advantage of it. Businesses are increasingly acknowledging that don’t need all of that in-house software, servers and storage. Instead, they can grab whatever software or tools they need out of the Cloud, from a Web-based software vendor.

ERP Software

ERP and Software as a Service  

It seems by now, that every major software vendor has jumped aboard the enterprise, online wagon. Numerous vendors both large and small are placing their stakes and offering specialized services. For the small business community enterprise software has been like a God send. For them it has substantially reduced costs and given them the opportunity to compete more effectively. Accessing your software online means that you can get any application you need, when you need it. And it’s a much faster and streamlined way of operating. The software application modules are integrated and the system is automated for greater speed and efficiency. Who wouldn’t be pleased with that?

A traditional ERP set up can be very expensive. In the past, it was something only large corporations could experience, because of the exorbitant costs of implementation and deployment of the system. Everything was done on site, at headquarters, or designated plants. Expensive servers and storage has to be installed and then there was the software as well as the training that was required. That could costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more. But today, software as a service has come to the rescue; accessing enterprise software online, means that you only need pay a subscription fee for the number of users and for the amount of time spent online using the system.

And what about the software applications? Well, there is something for every businesses needs. You can get application modules bundled or as stand-alone for such tasks as accounting, sales and marketing, supply chain management, distribution, manufacturing, project management and planning and scheduling - which may or may not be bundled with supply chain management; customer relationship management and more. There are enterprise systems that are especially designed for different industries, such as construction, retail and wholesale trade, services, manufacturing, transportation, government and public administration. There are enterprise applications for all of these and more.

ERP, online, is also very convenient. You can get up and running much quicker than you can with a traditional in-house platform and there is very little training required, so employees can get up and running in no time. Software as a service is paying off big time for enterprise software vendors and it is increasing the productivity of many businesses. And it’s getting better as the technology becomes more refined. If you’re interested in ERP, this is the way to go.

Written by :

Amy Cruz