Sme and ItEssay title: Sme and ItIntroduction:Many large companies are outsourcing business processes to medium and small size business to cut the cost at the same time they are looking for more innovative peers in the market.
In large enterprises IT is used to support the business processes but for SMEs its still in developing stage (palvia,1996) . Any business system consists of many business processes.
Business Process:According to Lewis and Nigel (2004) a business process is defined as set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. A set of processes forms a business system.
To increase the efficiency of the business processes companies prefer to computerise. To automate the Processes of company under one common software platform using the technology called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). It will help in providing solutions to problems that arise with massive companies.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) :ERP is defined as an integrated computer based system that manages all internal and external resources of organization. ERP facilitates information flow between various departments dealing with business functions with uniform system environment (Bidgoli, H., 2004)
The History of ERP Evolution: The foundation for ERP started with the concept of inventory control in the 1960s. Based on traditional inventory control concepts such as reorder point system, customized software packages were designed to suit the requirements of manufacturing companies. In the 1970s the focus shifted to material requirement planning (MRP) systems to plan and control manufacturing. These systems played an important role in translating the master production schedule required to finish items by monitoring times for assembly, the sub-assemblies, components, raw materials planning, and procurement. The system launches order to control work- in -processes and raw material inventories through proper timing of order placement (Schroeder, 2003; Shankarnarayan et al., 2000). Next version of MRP system evolved by combining the output of MRP and routing information to determine the capacity required. This is used to make sure that the MRP plans generated are valid for the capacity available. In the 1980s MRP systems further evolved into manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) system which includes components to be manufactured in-house as well as those to be procured from outside. Thus MRP – II essentially was an extension of MRP to the shop floor and distribution management.
Information systems were being developed and implemented in other functional areas, each with its own database and data architecture to enable managers to focus on its role and to improve decision making within a specific functional area – marketing, finance, and human resource. Even though such practical information systems matured in terms of functionalities over the years of testing, modification, and maintenance, these systems had also caused trouble such as data redundancy, information inconsistency and inaccuracy and high system maintenance cost. In late 1970s and early 1980s the need for enterprise wide integrated systems intensified as global Competition became unavoidable, products innovation became important factors to retain customer and quicker production and distribution became standard. (Robinson, et al 2000).
In 1981, the Microsoft Company’s Office and Office.NET team was asked to expand on existing programs designed for Windows Office, which were available to all users that wanted to use such programs. When its Office.com database and database design (and development and commercialization) for each client ended up on Office.com (the “Web”) the number of users who had Internet access increased from 3.16 billion in 1982 to 5.16 billion in 1995. However, the number of customers still in Microsoft’s Office product did not increase as fast as the data availability was needed for a customer-centric application program.
The next five years changed everything. In 1993 Microsoft started launching Office 2010, the most widely used Office product yet and most recently, with over a thousand new Windows 10 apps. At the time, many of Microsoft’s core customers (mainly office) had also installed Microsoft Office.com Office from their computers.
The business model of Microsoft Office grew to include a variety of new services designed for a wide range of applications—from web servers, to the web browser, to data centers, and even to real estate applications. The Microsoft Business Program program, in a nutshell, was the first of these new Windows operating systems. It was also the first enterprise operating system to compete with Windows XP, MS-DOS and Windows Vista. It was the first product that enabled all- or even some-one-person to manage the entire business of the computer. For businesses and for users alike, Microsoft’s first “office work” was the Word Word document format.
In 1995, a huge and global wave of Internet based applications to the web were built and spread worldwide. These applications offered many new services, including an integrated business model based on one-person management, as well as the ability to manage and manage a wide range of personal data. Microsoft developed many Office applications that provided real-time business management, business analytics, and the business of accounting and financial services. They also expanded the Windows Application Center to a wide range of enterprise Windows applications and the Microsoft Network System (MSN).
Today, Microsoft Office applications offer many useful extensions to many of the same functions as in the previous five years: The same number of accounts, as in Windows 2000, does not change the way we view the world, so we use different services and organizations to manage more and more computing work. Many new Office applications are free as well, but are available to all customers who pay for a Microsoft.com subscription.
For some customers, Office.com offered only the most convenient and easy way to manage or transfer Office.com documents. Microsoft is expanding this by implementing the Start menu for each email address in Outlook to let users switch between two services via a unique keyboard. The Microsoft Outlook service is for Outlook users only, whereas Office.net offers for people who do not have an Outlook account. This will allow Outlook users to manage all their documents in Outlook.com and work across the Internet or from their computer in the home.
In 1997 Microsoft launched Office Office Mobile, a new Office web browser for Microsoft Web Apps. The new Web browser delivers a fully customizable Outlook Web service for a wide variety of user needs, with more than 1,000 services including Outlook, Microsoft Outlook for Business and Microsoft Office. It also offers a variety of desktop and desktop web-accessible options for business professionals and casual users alike.
Since the beginning of
In 1981, the Microsoft Company’s Office and Office.NET team was asked to expand on existing programs designed for Windows Office, which were available to all users that wanted to use such programs. When its Office.com database and database design (and development and commercialization) for each client ended up on Office.com (the “Web”) the number of users who had Internet access increased from 3.16 billion in 1982 to 5.16 billion in 1995. However, the number of customers still in Microsoft’s Office product did not increase as fast as the data availability was needed for a customer-centric application program.
The next five years changed everything. In 1993 Microsoft started launching Office 2010, the most widely used Office product yet and most recently, with over a thousand new Windows 10 apps. At the time, many of Microsoft’s core customers (mainly office) had also installed Microsoft Office.com Office from their computers.
The business model of Microsoft Office grew to include a variety of new services designed for a wide range of applications—from web servers, to the web browser, to data centers, and even to real estate applications. The Microsoft Business Program program, in a nutshell, was the first of these new Windows operating systems. It was also the first enterprise operating system to compete with Windows XP, MS-DOS and Windows Vista. It was the first product that enabled all- or even some-one-person to manage the entire business of the computer. For businesses and for users alike, Microsoft’s first “office work” was the Word Word document format.
In 1995, a huge and global wave of Internet based applications to the web were built and spread worldwide. These applications offered many new services, including an integrated business model based on one-person management, as well as the ability to manage and manage a wide range of personal data. Microsoft developed many Office applications that provided real-time business management, business analytics, and the business of accounting and financial services. They also expanded the Windows Application Center to a wide range of enterprise Windows applications and the Microsoft Network System (MSN).
Today, Microsoft Office applications offer many useful extensions to many of the same functions as in the previous five years: The same number of accounts, as in Windows 2000, does not change the way we view the world, so we use different services and organizations to manage more and more computing work. Many new Office applications are free as well, but are available to all customers who pay for a Microsoft.com subscription.
For some customers, Office.com offered only the most convenient and easy way to manage or transfer Office.com documents. Microsoft is expanding this by implementing the Start menu for each email address in Outlook to let users switch between two services via a unique keyboard. The Microsoft Outlook service is for Outlook users only, whereas Office.net offers for people who do not have an Outlook account. This will allow Outlook users to manage all their documents in Outlook.com and work across the Internet or from their computer in the home.
In 1997 Microsoft launched Office Office Mobile, a new Office web browser for Microsoft Web Apps. The new Web browser delivers a fully customizable Outlook Web service for a wide variety of user needs, with more than 1,000 services including Outlook, Microsoft Outlook for Business and Microsoft Office. It also offers a variety of desktop and desktop web-accessible options for business professionals and casual users alike.
Since the beginning of
ERP system means that whatever happens in one area has a ripple effect in other areas. Understanding the implications of actions of one area, on other areas of the company, is not something that happens overnight.
ERP systems are widely adopted by large companies to support business functions and to monitor the performance. How ever the SME’s are not proactive in adopting ERP system because of cost issues, maintenance and staffing problems. Now they have an option of new technology called Software as a Service (SAAS).
What is software as a Service(SAAS).SAAS is an application software delivery which is web based. Rather than having dedicated software running on user pc, all the functions are stored on a remote computer and accessed at various location using internet. This reduces a lot maintenance and initial licensing cost. It’s like a service provided by outsider and the company pays for using the service.
Maintenance and upgrading of functionalities of application are the duties of the service provider unlike other dedicated software’s where end user of buyer is also involved. All the end user data is securely store and can be retrieved or modified by end user any time.
SAAS