Evolution Of Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

In the not too distant past, Enterprise Resource Planning (hereinafter, “ERP”) entered the American business lexicon.  It is typically described as, “A singular, integrated information system specifically designed to serve most, or all, of the departments within one specific enterprise.”  Over time, ERP software has become more generic in nature and can be used successfully by a much larger customer base.  Now, for the most part, the modules in a typical ERP software package should be able to interact with an organization’s own software after appropriate adjustments have been made.

ERP systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application. The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders.

ERP systems can run on a variety of computer hardware and network configurations, typically employing a database as a repository for information.  The transformation of ERP into a Cloud-based model has been relatively slow, but as cloud computing makes other inroads into the enterprise environment some functionality is being moved to the Cloud.

In the early1990s, the acronym “ERP“ entered the business jargon lexicon. of Gartner Group first employed the acronym ERP as an extension of material requirements planning (MRP), later manufacturing resource planning and computer-integrated manufacturing. Without supplanting these terms, ERP came to represent a larger whole, reflecting the evolution of application integration beyond manufacturing. Not all ERP packages were developed from a manufacturing core. Vendors variously began with accounting, maintenance and human resources. By the mid”“1990s ERP systems addressed all core functions of an enterprise. Beyond corporations, governments and non”“profit organizations also began to employ ERP systems.

ERP II” was coined in the early 2000s. It describes web”“based software that allows both employees and partners (such as suppliers and customers) real”“time access to the systems. The role of ERP II expands from the resource optimization and transaction processing of traditional ERP to leveraging the information involving those resources in the enterprise’s efforts to collaborate with other enterprises, not just to conduct e-commerce buying and selling.

Compared to the first generation ERP, ERP II is said to be more flexible rather than confining the capabilities of the ERP system within the organization, it is designed to go beyond the corporate walls and interact with other systems. “Enterprise application suite” is an alternate name for such systems. ERP systems experienced rapid growth in the 1990s because the year 2000 problem and introduction of the Euro disrupted legacy systems. Many companies took this opportunity to replace such systems with ERP.

To Speak With An ERP Sytems Consultant Contact Cornerstone Consulting

Since 1983 Cornerstone Consulting has been providing cutting-edge business software systems, as well as related technical support, to small and midsized manufacturing and wholesale distribution enterprises. In 2005, Cornerstone became a SAP Partner and Reseller of the enterprise resource planning solution, SAP Business One. With the expertise of Cornerstone’s highly-skilled programming staff and SAP’s ERP system for small and midsized businesses, your enterprise can run better than ever before. If you’re an owner of a small or medium sized business and are considering installing an affordable ERP system please call Cornerstone Consulting at 813-321-1300.

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