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Since the development of the earliest ERP software business solutions in the mid 1990s, several evolutions have occurred that, over time, open ERP software opportunities to increasingly small business clients and startups with restrictive budgets. At first, the only way a business could take advantage of the integration and standardization capabilities of ERP systems was to purchase and implement a complete server architecture and then hire a full time IT staff to run and maintain it. Only the largest enterprise level firms could afford to do this, so until forces moved in to open ERP software options up to smaller businesses, large software providers focused solely on meeting the needs of large clientele.
Established ERP solution providers and developers like Oracle, Microsoft and SAP shaped their product offerings to appeal to fortune 500 business, large university systems, and sprawling government offices. The United States Navy was an earlier client of SAP, and Microsoft and Oracle assisted many large firms throughout the 1990s as they hurried to free themselves from isolated legacy software platforms and upgrade their business systems before the end of the millennium. In the rush to satisfy high demand at the high budget level, these large providers mostly ignored smaller business clients, even though small clients showed increasing interest in taking advantage of the increased revenues and new opportunities offered by open ERP software.
At this point, the enterprise level market is drying up and providers are now trying to find ways to open ERP software services and products to small businesses. But in the interim, several forces moved in to occupy this available business niche, so these providers now face competition for market share at this level. For example, free and open source ERP software has become a possibility for small clients. Open ERP software can facilitate a variety of back office business functions but instead of requiring a huge initial investment that must be made up over time, these open ERP software options are available for free over the internet.
Small providers have also appeared to open ERP software availability up even further, some of whom can provide industry specific applications for pharmaceutical firms, garment, food and beverage firms, and construction businesses. And hosting or outsourcing solutions are now available that can offer small clients the opportunity to rent, rather than buy, access to shared server infrastructures. All of these options make it increasingly possible for smaller and smaller businesses to take advantage of the benefits of ERP systems, including tightened efficiency controls, improved asset management and better record keeping and communication structures. Large providers must now work to customize their product offerings and scale them down in order to make them more affordable and appealing at the small business level.
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