ERP Business

Open Source ERP is Open for Business

Open source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages originated for small to mid-size businesses.  But, open source ERPs are growing in popularity for numerous reasons and big businesses are implementing them as well.  Some popular open source ERP packages are Compiere, Adempiere, GnuCash, and ERP5.  What’s nice about open source ERP packages is that they are platform independent.  This means that you don’t need a specific platform to operate the open source ERP software.

New open source ERP packages are emerging on the market constantly.  N21 eBusiness Suite is one such package.  Other newer open source ERP packages include OpenERP and Openbravo.  So, with all these open source Enterprise Resource Planning packages on the market, which one should you choose?  Which one will best meet your business needs?  That’s not an easy answer.  But, before you start shopping open source Enterprise Resource Planning packages, define your necessary businesses processes.  Think about those processes that are essential to your business.  Consider your business model and your users.  Download trial versions of the open source ERP package or demo the software.  Involve your technical and functional folks and get their opinion.  Spend time on the Internet reading reviews.  There are tons of user reviews on the Internet. 

If you’re considering purchasing an on-site paid solution, explore all open source ERP opportunities first.  Open source ERP packages may surprise you with their easy integration capabilities, extensive functionality, and lack of bugs.  You can also customize the heck out of open source Enterprise Resource Planning packages.

Once you’ve narrowed down the plethora of open source ERP packages to a few you like, ask yourself what you like the open source Enterprise Resource Planning packages you’re interested in.  Are they easy to use and will they be easy for your users to learn?  If you don’t want to support the open source code, who will support it for you and how much will they charge?  There are plenty of vendors that offer support services.  Open source ERP packages come with comprehensive documentation, which will you and your employees learn the system.

After you’ve selected your open source ERP package, you can implement the software quite quickly. Open source implementations are generally quite friendly.  They don’t disrupt your day-to-day business tasks.  It is typical for an open source ERP package to take about one week to implement.  Not too bad when compared to an on-site paid solution.

Written by :

tracey boxer