Comments on: Can Open Source Make ERP Better?

By: Gicu

Gicu — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:03:34 +0000

Yes. Open source is really open, not dinosaurus, like corporate products

By: ERP Software

ERP Software — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:42:13 +0000

I’m not sure if open source could improve ERP software overall, but I’m sure that there could be some benefits to trying. If anyone tries it and finds it’s functionality has improved let us know!

By: Si Chen

Si Chen — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 18:22:19 +0000

In reply to darkduck.

@darkduck — Sorry but I disagree on that one. There are some definite advantages to open source ERP, such as:

Businesses may be willing to pay for support, but they are frequently unhappy about the “support monopoly” major vendors have. Open source can help break that monopoly and make support more affordable.

Customizations. The reality is that the commercial ERP systems don’t meet many companies’ needs out of the box. That’s why so many companies still build –and support– custom ERP from scratch. Open source ERP has made that a lot easier and cheaper.

By: darkduck

darkduck — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:06:26 +0000

Agree that there is no point to make ERP system open-source. If you have significant business, you need to rely on support which cost you money whatever is the source. Take SAP ERP, It has open code – you can read it, debug it, change it if required or copy to your own parts of code. Is there any chance big company will cancel support agreement with SAP? Nope, because they want to get updates, support, etc.
It’s like RHEL. It is open-source, but cost you money to get and support. Why do companies chose RHEL, if there are free analogues – Fedora, CentOS? Simply because they actually need _support_, not the software itself.

By: Si Chen

Si Chen — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:04:54 +0000

In reply to Jason Shortt.

I agree with you! That is definitely when open source development works best.

As for whether “ERP challenges be solved by simpler one task programs that work together” — I think the real problem is whether ERP consumers would accept a system like that, or whether they’ll continue to prefer the “monolithic system” that are standard today. There’s a certain amount of conservatism when it comes to enterprise software which unfortunately holds back innovation.

By: Si Chen

Si Chen — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:03:01 +0000

In reply to Kadri mohammed azharuddin.

You are, as we say, “preaching to the converted” on that one. We’ve certainly seen that many times with opentaps.

But my point is that through open source processes, we can make an even better kind of ERP software.

By: Jason Shortt

Jason Shortt — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:40:23 +0000

I’ve always felt that the strength of open source software was small one purpose programs written to perform a single task. ERP softwares are typically big programs that perform many tasks. Can ERP challenges be solved by simpler one task programs that work together, or is the monolithic system a side-effect of the difficult task of this software type?

By: Kadri mohammed azharuddin

Kadri mohammed azharuddin — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 10:36:02 +0000

hello,

Open source ERP really matter interms of recurring costing, and other points such as customization as per the requirement of the organization etc

Thanks
Azhar
Bista Solutions