Understanding Linux ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the most talked about topic in many business organizations these days. The reason behind is the number of benefits ERP offers to these organizations. A number of companies are now looking out for ways to build Linux ERP systems, on top of Linux operating system.

There are always some controversies over building ERP on Linux systems. Linux users mostly believe in buying and downloading different software packages for various reasons. For them, integrated ERP is not a popular choice. This conflict is more noticeable in small to medium scale business organizations.

Different people have different views on building ERP on Linux systems. ERP on Linux systems are getting built on the Linux operating system. But the ratio is quite far off from the norms. Industry watchers say that ERP on Linux is under a decision making process by the technology decision makers. This is because they are looking out for ways to reduce the overall cost of ERP implementation and to avoid vendor lock-ins.

Though ERP on Linux topic is still controversial, AMR research reports indicate that though slowly, the deployment of ERP on Linux has grown by 9 percent from the year 2003 to year 2004. This contributes only 1 percent growth of ERP in the market. But gradually it is expected that this percentage will grow.

The reason why the topic of ERP on Linux is so controversial is because often Linux system is infiltrated in to the enterprise at department level web servers. So its harder to push Linux from web server environment to application server environment, when there is a question to build ERP on Linux.

However there are certain tips to implement ERP on Linux operating systems. Lets examine some of these.

Plan the ERP implementation:

It is important to plan for the ERP implementation since ERP will affect every part of the organization. Thus, an organization is first required to make a thorough analysis of the problem in their system. Then it is important to accommodate overall participation and feedback analysis before arriving at any conclusions to buy an ERP product.

Choose that ERP product that meets all the goals chosen to meet ERP implementation in the enterprise. This also provides all the tools and processes that accomplish the task to gain success.

Whether host model for ERP or not:

It is important to decide whether the company prefers host model of the ERP or not. If the company prefers host model, then the company must find out whether the Application Service Provider is offering cookie cutter solutions or customized solutions for ERP.

Like wise, it is important to choose ERP package of industry standards and even after implementation of ERP, the organization must pay attention on the quality of service which the ERP provides to the organization.

Experts say that will take time for Linux ERP systems to take over the market. New companies, government bodies, mid market and small companies are likely to deploy ERP on Linux in the coming years. So go ahead and decide with confidence.