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ERP

ERP is far from dead. In fact, the promise of an ERP system that works is still enticing. Benefits include the ability to share data, cut transaction costs and reduce cycle times. These advantages make ERP well worth the pain and frustration of implementation.

A recent study by analysts at IDC shows that true believers are still out there. They predict that the ERP market will expand at a compounded annual growth rate of 11 percent, to reach almost $25 billion by 2004. Several factors can make implementing ERP less traumatic. Experience is one. Vendors and consultants are less likely to over-promise when estimating how long it will take to get the system up and running. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Enterprise application-integration tools are better tuned to work on ERP systems. And the use of Java to hide proprietary interfaces is a big time-saver. It still isn't easy, but implementing ERP is not the torture it once was.

And that's good, because with the growth of e-commerce, ERP becomes even more important. The idea is to extend the benefits of ERP to external as well as internal applications. Giving your customers access to corporate data via portals is one example. Another is adding a CRM (customer relationship management) system that gathers valuable data that can then be fed back into various internal departments. As the headaches associated with implementing ERP lessen, the ways in which these systems can serve as the plumbing for e-commerce will increase.