Case DB Final Release
Some minutes ago I have uploaded the final release of version 1 of OSS Central’s case database. It includes some bug fixes as well as new features:
- Fixed some layout bugs in older version of Internet Explorer (5, 5.5, 6.0)
- Added listing of all cases in the database with possibility to subscribe to an RSS feed so you can keep track of newly added cases without the need to subscribe to specific searches
- Added listing of a company’s products in the company viewer – this is relevant for companies that are vendors of OS software products used in the cases listed
- Added chart visualization to the “Explore Cases” page – you can e.g. generate a pie chart for industries covered in the case database
This will be the last feature-add release for a long time as other projects will occupy a lot of my time in 2009.
For those of you interested in facts & figures:
The whole Cases @ OSS Central project is based on PHP 5, MySQL and the latest Zend Framework release. It includes 28 database tables for connecting all the different information entities, parts of them not yet used. About 170 hours have been invested so far, the biggest part (about 120) for developing the application.
In the next weeks I will concentrate on adding content in form of products and cases.
Tags: technical
New content on OSS Central
I have published some basic thoughts on open source enterprise software and things you should pay attention to when you evaluate and adopt such software.
Read it here: http://www.oss-central.com/open-source/
The content will be displayed on the oss-central.com frontpage instead of the blog posts. Just click on “Blog” in the menu to go to the posts.
Tags: content
Forrester study on OS adoption released
In November 2008 a study titled “Open Source Paves The Way For The Next Generation Of Enterprise IT” was published.
The study is based on a phone and online survey conducted by Forrester Consulting in September and October 2008, which was commissioned by Bull.
Bull is a European company and calls itself an “Architect of an Open World” ™. Their goal is to modernize information systems with open and secure solutions.
I recommend reading this study – it contains interesting results and confirms that the adoption of open source enterprise applications increases.
Here is a list of questions they have asked in the survey:
- For which of the following tasks does your organization use or plan to use open source software?
- How has open source software met your organization’s expectations in the following areas?
- Has your organization adopted or does your organization plan to adopt open source software within each of the following INFRASTRUCTURE CATEGORIES?
- Has your organization adopted or does your organization plan to adopt open source software within each of the following BUSINESS APPLICATION CATEGORIES?
- What are your organization’s biggest challenges towards adoption of open source software?
- How important is each of the following factors in your decision to use or expand the adoption of open source?
- Which of the following practices used on OS projects have you implemented within your development organization?
- Which of the following statements best describes your company’s adoption of open source software?
- How important do you feel are each of the following practices in assuring successful adoption of open source software?
Besides suggestions for IT decision makers it also features a matrix with current and trend adoption of open source by industry verticals. You get to know, for example, that the current adoption of open source ERP systems is highest in the manufacturing sector followed by financial services companies.
Make sure to grab the study – it’s free. Only registration is required.
Get it here: http://www.bull.com/p/register.php?id=172
If you have downloaded it already, read it.
Books and a Stripe
Today I made some helpful enhancements to the site in regard to content and navigation.
All books I came across that deal with open source are now available on Books @ OSS Central. It is a customized Amazon store and you will find relevant books sorted by categories over there. Currently this store is German only but if it’s possible I will implement an English one as well.
Each site of the OSS Central.. uhm… network is now displayed in a stripe bar at the top of each page. So you can easily navigate between sites.
Feel free to comment on the new features.
Open Source ERP for E-Business
In this post a research on open source enterprise resource planning systems is published which has been conducted in spring 2007. Information and results may be outdated but I hope that reading this will give you food for thought.
Abstract
Open source software (OSS) is attributed with many advantages, prominently lower costs due to lacking license fees, increased flexibility due to free availability of source code and last but not least the missing lock-in with a certain software vendor. These general advantages are valuable for small and mid-sized enterprises (SME) since these companies have limited financial resources for either purchasing and customizing commercial software packages or developing software on their own. As the OSS paradigm is not only limited to operating and office applications, but also emerges in the area of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), they have a growing relevance to business processes and the interorganizational integration of these processes. When the latter is conceived as electronic business the open nature of OSS also improves the networkability of SME, a key competitive factor for companies that are required to closely collaborate with value chain partners. In view of these developments, this paper presents a first step towards systematically analyzing the contribution of OS-ERP systems for SME. For this purpose a web content survey was conducted which led to the selection of ten systems. It reveals that not all systems meet the OS paradigm, that primarily basic operational ERP functionalities are covered and that technological support for electronic business integration needs to be enhanced.
Tags: adempiere, compiere, erp5, ofbiz, openbravo, openmfg, opentaps, sql-ledger, tinyerp, weberp
Local Pentaho Community Meeting in Leipzig
On October 16, 2008 the first Local Pentaho Community Meeting took place in Leipzig, Germany.
Read more here: http://wiki.pentaho.com/display/COM/Local+Community+Meeting+at+University+of+Leipzig+2008
Tags: community, leipzig, pentaho
Open Source ERP and their Suitability for Business Use
In this post a research on open source enterprise resource planning systems is published which has been conducted in fall 2006. Information and results may be outdated but I hope that reading this will give you food for thought.
Abstract
Although open source systems are primarily discussed for operation systems, office applications and the like, early examples are also emerging for business applications. This field is usually referred to as enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) and has been the domain of large software manufacturers. This paper presents research in progress on the evaluation of seven open source enterprise resource planning systems. Based on an extensive web research, costs, ease of evaluation, diversity of languages and industry solutions, and support and training have been compared. The results indicate that many of these systems may be used by small and mid-sized enterprises. Support partners are available in Europe and sometimes worldwide which may accompany the implementation of the products.
Tags: compiere, erp5, openbravo, opentaps, sme, sql-ledger, tinyerp, weberp
Cases @ OSS Central launched
I am proud to announce that a new subproject of OSS Central is available to the public. Cases @ OSS Central is a collection of cases targeting the implementation of enterprise open source software.
It currently offers a list of case studies grouped by
- industry
- country
- application system category
- product
with detailed information for each case and the companies involved in the case. Both will help you to find the right software or partner for your needs.
A broad audience will benefit from Cases @ OSS Central:
- People interested in getting to know how much progress has been made in the area of OS business applications.
- People who want to know if OSS is ready for the enterprise.
- Companies who would like to get a market overview on enterprise OSS.
- Companies who would like to implement a specific OS product and need a service provider.
- Service providers who would like to market their services by adding case studies about their services.
- OS software companies who would like to market their product by adding case studies.
New cases will be added continously and a whole bunch of new features is planned for the next months. If you would like to be informed about new releases just subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog. Cases @ OSS Central also offers RSS feeds for new cases.
Tags: kickoff
Pentaho at Leipzig University
Bachelor students at Leipzig University, Germany had the chance to get in touch with the Pentaho Business Intelligence Suite. In June 2008, they could attend a one-day training covering the essential parts of the platform. The training has been prepared by a student assistant and myself with the help of a Pentaho representative in Germany. During this 8-hour course the following Pentaho modules were introduced:
- Data Integration with Kettle covering data flows, safe mode, database connections, basic steps, JavaScript steps,
- Report creation with Report Design Wizard and Report Designer,
- Data Analysis with the Analysis View Toolbar (JPivot interface) and basic MDX queries, and
- Customizing Dashboards.
With the help of Pentaho it took about 2-3 weeks full-time to prepare the course. The overall feedback of the participants was very positive. It was the first attempt to educate students with enterprise open source software. I think this is all very promising and it is clear: if open source vendors want to compete with commercial ones they have to make sure that future users and decision makers get in touch with their software as early as possible. Commercial vendors pursue this strategy with academic programs, like SAP with University Alliances and the SAS Academic Club. Let’s see what open source vendors will do.
If you are interested in educating your students with Pentaho please feel free to contact Pentaho or me. I’ll gladly share my experience and try to answer your questions.
Pentaho at Leipzig University
How to identify Open Source ERP Systems for your enterprise
Open Source (OS) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have at least one “advantage” compared to commercial solutions: only few exist so a comparison is less complex. But where should you start looking for this kind of software? The Enterprise Open Source Directory is a good starting point but you should also search on Sourceforge.
Let’s do the latter as an exercise: when using “erp” as a search term more than 300 results come up. It is necessary to restrict our search. I suggest using the following criteria:
- The software project should at least be in “beta”. States like “planning” or “alpha” should be ignored.
- I assume you are a (native?) English speaker. So all projects with a non-English language could be dropped.
- Active development is a must. Let’s also drop all projects which have not published any download in the last year.
- Projects which do not have an own homepage can be considered immature. Keep away from them.
- Exclude all projects which are not ERP systems at all. This includes, for example, translation projects, add-ons and projects with another meaning of ERP than we have in mind.
At the end your result list has been reduced dramatically. Nevertheless there are still too many projects left:
- ADempiere
- CK-ERP
- Compiere
- Dolibarr
- EdgeERP
- ERP5
- ERPel
- JFire
- Neogia
- OpenBravo
- Opentaps
- PhreeBooks Accounting
- Plazma ERP+CRM
- PostBooks
- SQL-Ledger
- thERP
- TinyERP (now called OpenERP)
- webERP
This list is not exhaustive but should provide a good starting point for your own research.
For use in the enterprise you should also consider the following:
- What are your licensing needs? You should carefully look at the kind of license under which the software is distributed. There exist about ten well known and many more not so well known OS licenses – each with different restrictions on modification and redistribution of the software.
- Is the project backed by a company? This should be favoured over community-only projects.
- Is there an active network of support partners? Is a support partner available in your country?
- Do they offer dual licensing? This is most important if you would like to modify and sell the software.
- Which functionality do you need and how does the software match your requirements?
During my research time on OS ERP systems I have asked myself the same questions. All in all I can recommend six OS ERP systems for a closer look (starting from the top):
They all have proven to be usable for the enterprise. You can read their success stories at their websites. All of them should be of use for a (wholesale) distribution company, some of them also for production companies. But this depends on your requirements in view of functionality.
Take a look and let me know your opinion about them!
Tags: adempiere, compiere, erp5, openbravo, opentaps, postbooks, selection
