Geoff, Thank you for your enquiry. I hope I can answer your questions to your satisfaction.
I have some knowledge of, and direct interest, in both Open Source business models, and ERP system planning and integration. ERP systems are increasingly used in large modern enterprises, and I anticipate that this will increasingly become an issue in small and medium enterprises. It is certainly a very current issue in the medium sized enterprise with which I am affiliated. It is my intention to explore the status of the open source ERP marketplace to attempt to gauge application of Open Source ERP to Small and Medium sized enterprises. This includes a review of the academic literature surrounding this subject area, specifically in relation to Open source ERP. This is not a specific area which has been high on the formal agenda. It is the intention to look briefly at the level of capability of the offerings in the market, and to compare how these might need specific business needs. In addition it is my desire to seek, from a knowledgeable community, the perception of how Open Source solutions in this area compare with proprietary solutions. If the data set allows it, I intend to compare opinions of those who use, or are familiar with, both open source and proprietary systems with those who may be aligned closely (for example as a developer) of a specific system, as well as attempt to identify a range of specific trends which may exist purely as a result of the licensing model. Clearly this is a complex area, where an individuals requirement may be met in a number of ways, by a range of solutions. The necessary confidence in taking on such an installation, will depend on a range of factors across cost (in cash terms), support, fit to the business, having certain internal capability and resources, as well as the ease with which a solution might be customised. I do not wish to prejudice the outcome, by speculating on what one might expect to find. It is my intention to sample predominantly in Open Source ERP affiliated communities, as these people are most likely to have experience of both sides of the coin, as it were. I have contacted each user community relating to the Open Source ERP projects listed in my survey. Only time will tell how they will support this. It is not my intention for this to be about your ERP, but about the perception of the application of Open Source ERP's in general. At this time I would consider the potential user base to be essentially uninformed. Open Source is often presented with challenges in marketing, that exceed the ability of the solution. I hope that increased attention to the possibilities of Open Source ERP will elevate it into wider use. Clearly any individual piece of research will likely form only a small and insignificant step in the journey. However, that is not a good reason for not putting your shoes on. I cannot promise to you that I will achieve anything, nor that I will be able to deduce anything truly significant, but I wish to investigate, and report honestly on my findings. I have designed the questions to be both simple, and (hopefully) quick to answer, but will allow me to directly compare the perception of relative strengths and weaknesses in proprietary and Open Source licensing, in this particular subject area. This piece of work is being undertaken as part of Higher Degree programme, and will form a part of my dissertation submitted for consideration to the business department of The University of Liverpool, in the UK. _______________________________________________ Tinyerp-users mailing list http://tiny.be/mailman/listinfo/tinyerp-users
