ERP Solutions

You can find Open Source ERP Solutions

Enterprise Resource Planning is a booming business and there are numerous open source ERP solutions from which to choose. If you have a good idea of what your needs are, you can save money with an open source ERP application. It’s important to have an IT person on staff who has experience with deploying ERP platforms. They will need to have a good understanding about reading codes handling configurations. Just like mainstream ERP software vendors, open source service providers cover a number of industries and different size companies.

One of the things you’ll need to consider with open source is the level of assistance you will get from the software company. Open source companies generally have free version, whereby you can obtain the code and go from there. They also offer a proprietary version that offers more support and cost. Still, if you’re an adventurous businessperson and you think you can work with open source then, why not. There are some well known open source companies that are also grabbing a bit of market share.

Just as with a mainstream ERP application, you’ll need to have a clear understanding of the type of applications configuration you are looking for. There are open source ERP solutions for manufacturing, accounting, and customer relationship management (CRM), as well as other operating sectors.  For example, SugarCRM is a popular open source alternative for customer relations. If you work in local government, CiviCRM might appeal to you. Compiere offers CRM as well as ERP management solutions, Openbravo has a Web-based option that is fully integrated, and Opentaps can provide a one source platform for all of your management needs.

Open source options are great for those who are computer savvy. If you can manipulate code and tweak a system to suit your needs, you might want to explore open source alternatives. You might be pleasantly surprised. You may also be able to work out a solution that works better than you might have thought. The Web-based ERP solution is inviting and competitive. It might provide better economies of scale for you.

Whichever way you choose to go, make sure you’ve get support to go along with the package. You will need to be able to keep the system up and running and you will probably at some point need service and maintenance help. So think about that if you’re seeking open source ERP solutions.

Written by :

tracey boxer