The Open Source ERP in Pakistan : don’t even go there!
Posted on December 11th, 2007 in Business Tech |
There was a comment posted earlier in one of the posts to talk about open source ERP solutions for Pakistan. My take : Don’t even go there. Just forget about it. Pay the ca$h, use SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, or a locally developed bespoke solution. As it is, ERPs are prone to failure. An open source ERP implementation will fail in Pakistan today. And by ERP I don’t mean a small financials package. I mean financials, HR, manufacturing, and reporting and BI on top of that.
The thought process in a techie’s mind usually goes like this: 1. Linux is popular, 2. wont it be great if we can just download an open source solution on top of linux and implement that, it will be a great low cost solution. Let me go run to my boss and have him/her approve the “free erp” right away. Wait, stop right there. NO, it wont. It will be pain, shouting, screaming and then more pain. Save yourself, and more importantly, save others the pain and torture.
Open source is a great conversation topic, it also used to be a great research paper topic for school. The open source model for ERPs goes something like this : the company that -actually- built the solution offers implementation services for it, and provides (costly) customizations to the software. (http://www.compiere.com/)In Pakistan, this is the equivalent of a bespoke erp solution from a local software house. ERP solutions are -not- cheap and wont ever be, because the problems they solve are huge and have a wide-impact.
You can’t get away from the price tag, if you opt for the cheap way out, your ERP project will fail. Someone saying they can offer an implementation for less than SAP/Oracle/etc or Rs 600/hr should be looked on very suspiciously. Instead one should concentrate on which ERP package best fulfills your current organizational goals.
What about CRM? yes there you have a bit more choice and a slightly better track record..take a look at sugarcrm.com
Open source right now in Pakistan is about infrastructure…Operating systems, email, networks. It has not and will not make it to the enterprise applications arena in a big way soon. An open source is not free. Open source means you get the basic edition to try out free but if you want real value then you still pay for services and upgrades.
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17 Responses
Well, I agree to the general stance of the post but I specifically disagree with these statements: “Open source is a great conversation topic, it also used to be a great research paper topic for school. The open source model for ERPs goes something like this : the company that -actually- built the solution offers implementation services for it, and provides (costly) customizations to the software.”
but what about it do you disagree with?
Open source delivers compelling value in this segment. The first attraction of an open source ERP system to a business is undoubtedly its accessible and affordable curve of adoption. Customers can appraise open source ERP software for themselves, running demos on their live networks and applications in a controlled sandbox environment simply by downloading freely available software and documentation, and trying it out.
um, don’t you think a vendor that wants to sell its software, lets say Oracle or Sap Business One will demo the software to the client, even let them run a limited, supported pilot? thats how it gets sold in PK alot. The basic problem with enterprise apps is support. No one is going to put their 20 million dollars company onto an ERP that you can download and comes with no real support. (thats how open source licenses work..no support or warranty on software…)
I’ll have to disagree here with you Mohtashim. You have the FOSS model all wrong. The idea is that you work with a company that will do the changes you need in the FOSS ERP and provide you with support. The software will be for free, you will only be charged for services.
This has been the route adapted by Sun Microsystems, MySQL, RedHat etc.
What you may want to point out is the approach you take to FOSS. Enterprises should take software which comes with support. The cost of the software is not the issue. If the ERP has a strong community, it will be a strong product over time. See Linux
sun, mysql, linux, redhat. ALL are infrastructure related…with hordes of techies supporting it. CAUSE its infrastructure ie IT. an ERP guy is usually a domain expert(financials,etc) more than a techie. why should he/she care about free erp software and the need to support it.
I agree community/users makes or breaks software but thats the point..there just arent enough open source ERP users. Name me one in Pakistan. or the Middle East. Open source ERPs are just not an option for companies here…
and why would anyone in their right minds make changes in undocumented, unsupported code that comes with no warranty?! unless they are the FOSS provider themselves and know the code. better to write your own…so you can support it reliably…
btw Nash; love the bytesense (http://bytesense.biz) website. whoever made that knows a thing or two about usability! awesome!
I agree that support is a significant when choosing an ERP. I think the best way to work with FOSS is to find a commercial service provider for that ERP.
On a related note, this blog entry by Sun CEO Jonathan is very insightful about CIO and CTO buying behavior, worth a read: http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/the_internet_as_customer
I’ll our graphic designer know that you liked the site
hey thanks for the link. and ask your designer to submit this site onto epreo.com !
i am going to learn erp from skill developer.
and u confuse me, what i do
faisal, i dont understand, are you saying you are going to learn ERPs from a skilled developer? (software developer) ?
Just to share my knowledge about ERP softwares available free
TinyERP is also in the list
check out http://www.tinyerp.com
–
Farrukh Shahzad
can a web based erp soloution (SAAS) be created out of tiny erp for the construction industry in pakistan
must visit http://www.creative-pakistan.com for Pakistani Designers
These types of articles are helpful in initiating a debate which clarifies general queries. And I appreciate you for that.
I totally disagree even with the title “The open source ERP in Pakistan; don’t even go there”. I would also like to add to your definition of ERP. You said “financials, HR, manufacturing, and reporting and BI on top of that”, it also includes payroll, inventory, production planning, sales & shipment, control Panel, Workflow management and much much more.
I would like you to visit http://www.drl.com.pk . Downloaded ERPs could never be successful because the ERP is not simply a software, it is an integrated system that re-engineers your processes to give you better output, better visibility. Implementation of an ERP is a complete science within itself which demands thorough study of the industrial processes worldwide inclusive all best practices. It is less related with computer science and more with the psychological study of the potential customer and the end user.
HoneyCombERP® is a product of Agger-Drl Pvt. Ltd. which has been developed after five years constant research on Pakistan’s enterprise environment. And for sure it has got all the modules catering all the requirements of a huge enterprise. The product has been successfully implemented at six huge enterprises. Support services are very good. We provide leveled support with UAN line 24/7.
We must support the Pakistani products.
Feel free for any queries.
Best regards,
Mian Wasim
Thanks for your comments Mian Wasim, i appreciate your contributions to the discussion
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so what are those Open Source ERPs anyways?
Wanted to have a look, at least we (software engineers) can benefit from having a look inside an ERP.