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If there’s one city in the nation that has had a chance to bear firsthand witness to the curious two decade history of ERP software, Atlanta, GA may be that city. As a business hub for software developers, supply chain managers, vendors, retailers, large and small businesses of every kind, consulting services, conferences, and every form of employee and employer who ever stood to benefit from an implementation of ERP software, Atlanta was there when the first systems were installed and it will be there to witness the next century of ERP and the next stage of the ever-evolving relationship between business and technology.
If you’re looking for work in the field of ERP software, Atlanta may be your next destination. Relocation to Atlanta means starting a new life in a city that’s bustling even during an economic downturn. For fast growing and fast moving businesses who depend on ERP software, Atlanta provides a great base of operations. It’s a livable city with excellent schools, beautiful weather and a young, hip atmosphere. Atlanta is also friendly to small businesses, offering a variety of tax breaks for new businesses and other incentives to keep risk takers and job creators in the metropolitan area. When the very first MRP software platforms were installed in the manufacturing sector to coordinate shop floor scheduling and raw material delivery, Atlanta businesses were there. When ERP integrated business solutions evolved from those early systems, Atlanta businesses bore witness to the implementation of those solutions and saw the potential returns that ERP systems were poised to provide. As the millennium approached and enterprise level businesses everywhere scrambled to replace their old systems with integrated ERP software, Atlanta had jobs to spare and young technology-minded workers moved there in spades.
Now that most large enterprise level businesses that want integrated ERP solutions have them, vendors and providers are turning their attention downstream and making an effort to court small businesses by customizing their products to fit smaller budgets. In Atlanta, as in most American cities, small businesses are showing an increasing interest the benefits that ERP systems can offer. But they have more options available than they used to, and small scale, industry specific providers are appearing on the market every year, giving small business owners plenty of options to choose from. As far as general business management tools are concerned, small businesses now have the option of downloading freeware and open source versions of accounting, HR and payroll tools over the internet for free. And they can also engage the services of a hosting solution, or ERP service provider, to rent space on a shared server and bypass the cost of owning and maintaining their own systems.
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