ERP Software

ERP Software Small

ERP, or enterprise resource planning, is intended to combine all the business procedures within a given company in order to make it run more effectively and more efficiently. The reason it is so helpful is that without ERP, companies are running different software programs for different functions. This has the potential to be time-consuming and error prone. ERP software allows for one central database for all of the applications used by a particular business.

It took some time before ERP software vendors became interested in the small business market.  Initially, ERP software was designed to assist only large businesses succeed. They were reaping all the benefits, and the reason was cost.  Since ERP software systems can cost in the millions of dollars, many vendors assumed (correctly) that small businesses could not afford their product. It took some time before vendors realized there was quite a large, untapped market just waiting for ERP Software for Small Business so it would be worth their financial risk to initiate development of small business ERP.

ERP systems are known for high costs and troublesome implementations. Many potential users, but in particular, smaller companies, were scared away due to the lofty software and hardware prices, risks of ERP failures, long implementation times, and high system maintenance costs. Within the past five years, ERP vendors began to put money into developing compact, less expensive ERP software solutions for the targeted market of small sized companies. These mini ERP software systems represent development efforts geared to nurture small businesses. The focus of these ERP solutions is to reduce overhead, lower maintenance costs, provide better documentation, and automate business processes.

Although small, the ERP Software for small businesses proved to be powerful.  It is capable of integrating processes from the front and back office producing one, cohesive centre. For small sized companies with limited resources and limited finance, ERP software calculated to fit their needs was a stroke of good fortune. The new solutions were not only much less costly than the initial software designed for large, manufacturing enterprises, but they were less complicated and easier to use.

Another development that helped small businesses jump into the ERP software market was the software as a service (SaaS) solutions.  This allows smaller companies to choose a Web-based online SaaS ERP software system instead of buying the hardware and software associated with more traditional ERP. Some vendors also began to sell open source ERP software packages for small companies at a reduced cost. This allows smaller companies to download and install certain ERP software packages for free.

Written by :

Amy Cruz