Vendors are pursuing new markets by targeting smaller businesses, establishing reseller channels, and lowering prices. They are also improving implementation methods to reduce costs and time. Vendors are making their software compatible with newer operating systems like Windows and moving to web-enabled platforms. Finally, they are adding more features around decision support, data warehousing, and sales force automation to provide a more complete application platform beyond just ERP modules.

1. 7/3/2010
Chapter 10
Future Directions
in ERP
Sonali C.
UDIT -T.Y.B.Sc
(IT) 2008-090
New Market
 As larger enterprise becomes saturated with new-
generation client server ERP system, vendors are
forced to find new markets.
 Vendors target small business client.
 How do they attract new customers?
 Supplementing their direct sales force with reseller
channel
 Lowering the entry price
 Stratifying their software with reduced functionality
 Improving the implementation methodologies
 Porting the products to platforms such as Microsoft
Windows NT.
New Channels
 Vendors are building reseller channels-idea is to
reach smaller business that cannot afford the
complete package.
“Complete one-stop-shopping”
 Making it financially attractive at entry level.
 Oracle is very aggressive in this respect.
 JD Edwards ventured in by introducing
“OneWorld” by lower-cost line.
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Faster Implementations
 Perception of vendors:
 ERP is difficult and costly to implement
 ERP takes lots of time (years) to implement
 Delay in the implementation is going to effect my day-
to-day business.
 Vendors are thinking of making implementation
easy.
 SAP introduced : Accelerated SAP (ASAP)
(reducing implementation time to six months)
 Oracle introduced Fast Forward.
 The main reason of delay: Dearth of fully trained
and skilled consultants
Business Models and BAPIs
 Need of a tool for the implementation team can
review its progress from time to time.
 Reference Models can help the implementation.
 Third party application to interact directly with
ERP package (say SAP R/3) directly.
 Baan offers OrgWare which is tightly integrated
business modeling tool combined with business
specific templates that help automation.
Convergence on Windows NT
 Growing popularity of Windows based O/S: NT,
Windows 2003, Windows SP, forces the ERP
vendors to make their software compatible for the
latest O/S being used by the customers.
 SAP: over 200 R/3 installations on Windows NT
 Baan: “Designed for Microsoft Back office”
certification
 Oracle: Touts its support for its own NT based
clustering technology
 Peoplesoft: Shows recent switch to Backoffice
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Application Platforms
 The idea is to extend the reach of its
software far and wide.
 To make like an application platform rather
than just a suit of modules.
New Business Segment
 provide service to vertical markets:
 Governments, Healthcare, Financial, Services, Retail
environment
 Also into SCM, sales automation, market
 The world is competitive
 Not only for the user (of ERP)
 But also for vendors (of ERP)
 So to survive one should be on a constant look
out of New Business Segments
More Features
 Vendors focuses on improving decision power.
 What is DSS? Decision Support System
 What is OLAP? On line Analytical Processing.
 What is ROLAP? Relational On-line Analytical
Processing
 What is OLTP? On line Transaction Processing
 What is SFA? Sales Force Automation
 What is DW? Data warehousing
 What is D’Mart? Data Mart
 What is DM? Data Mining
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Web Enabling
 vendors moves from: (architecture)
 Client/server->Brower/server->web enable
 Deliver: Self service and e-commerce
 Platform independence:
 ERP vendors are using Java, rather than Microsoft’s Active-X
 Move away Proprietary technologies to open tech.
 ERP vendor now embrace:
 more universally acceptable tools
 Platform independent
 Web functionality
Market Snapshots
 SAP: The market Leader.
 People Soft and Baan join to make the top three
 Oracle has lately focused more attention on its
applications business
 JD Edwards depends more on IBM’s AS/400
 Everyone seek to fight to maintain their growth
momentum
 No one want “just ERP” – need much more advance- eg
:- SFA
Cont…
Market Snapshots
 The Future is clear:
 The ERP vendor which embraces the latest
management tools, and incorporates them in
their product would survive.
 Since ERP teaches Integration to their clients,
should themselves integrate these
Management packets in their software.
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