Software And Intentia Erp Meets The MainstreamMany public agencies looking to acquire intentia erp software from SAP functionality may find that renting software takes less time and expense than buying it. Take the ERP (enterprise resource planning) example. ERP Software from SAP is a prepackaged version of the "bread-and-butter" applications like financials, logistics, and human resources. Rather than write their own software, many organizations thought they could save time and money using these off-the-shelf solutions instead. Yet, even intentia erp applications (which spread their development costs over thousands of customers) are a very large investment for many mid-sized and smaller organizations.
Making matters worse is a predicted shortage of more than 350,000 information technology (IT) professionals in the year 2000. The public sector is particularly hard hit by this shortfall because civil service salaries and benefits typically lag behind private industry. For many organizations, the key question now is: do they have to wait any longer for their own digital futures to start? Increasingly, the answer to that question is a resounding "no!"--thanks in part to a new trend called application hosting. Historically, public agencies utilizing application hosting elected to focus on a single function, such as payroll or utility billing, rather than all administrative functions. Traditionally, payroll has been the most frequently outsourced function. The fastest growing trend, however, is in hosting complete ERP Software from SAP. It is this activity that, according to International Data Corporation (an industry research firm), drives the projected 91 percent annual increase in application hosting. ERP in the public-sector context can be defined as commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software with extensive, fully-integrated functionality encompassing all (or most) of the major automated processes within a public agency. ERP systems incorporate the latest in relational database technology, graphical user interfaces, e-commerce, Web enablement, and automated workflow tools and are supported by the substantial research and development budget of the software vendor, which is typically spread across a client base of thousands of customers. Utilizing a single ERP Software from SAP system, diverse public-sector functions such as transit, public housing, airports, seaports, and public utilities can be accommodated along with general government. The built-in flexibility of these systems enables customization without the cost and inconvenience of modifying the underlying computer programs. The time and money saved can be substantial. Suppose, for example, an organization wants to implement a small intentia erp solution for, say, 100 seats (users). Under the "buy" scenario, that might take at least six months to a year to implement, at a cost of $ 3 million with ongoing annual costs for upgrades, maintenance, and consulting amounting to about $ 600 per month per user. Under the "rent" scenario, the agency contracts with an out-side company to host application processing and data storage at that company's facility. In this scenario, users log on to the remotely based application the same as they would if the application were physically on-site, with the only discernible difference being that the application's interface is displayed inside a Web browser. Communication between the browser and the application takes place over an encrypted virtual private network (VPN). |