Migrating to an ERP System

ByRoshmi Choudhury, Officer (IT)
Numaligarh Refinery Limited

Abstract

To compete in this business world, companies need better information management of thecompany’s data- a management that will help in better analysis of the processes involved.

Companies are however having a difficult time integrating and correlating data fromvarious software applications and are looking forward to a single application. This iswhere the company can employ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software.

Thispaper discusses the factors that should be considered while migrating to an ERP system.What is ERP?ERP generally refers to a software that supports a wide set of activities which helps thecompany manage its important functions like production, marketing, inventory, financeand human resource management. As such, ERP consists of a multi-module application,which allows data to flow from one module to the other.

It therefore not only integratesthe business processes, but also offers intelligent information by correlating data fromvarious modules.Catering to changing technologiesWhen deciding for an ERP solution, many factors come into play- the most important isthat the solution should serve the company for a longer term. That is to say, the solutionshould be able to adapt itself to the changing technologies like operating systems and newhardware features.

Most companies like JD Edwards, SAP, Ramco, etc offer suchupgrades, they have teams that cater to the changing needs in the software. All that isrequired is the application of a service pack.Connecting to heterogeneous environmentsIn this changing business world, companies are being bought and sold. It is likely that acompany will be sold off or may merge with some other company. It may so happen thatthese companies may be using different ERP packages. These ERP packages should nowbe able to work together.

ERP solutions like SAP have offered technologies like webenabledservices and exchanging technologies that help integrate these completelydifferent ERP environments.Minimizing supportA bulk of the IT budget in a company is spent not on new developments but on support.Having an ERP system minimizes support. At most, a two-member team is required forgenerating reports and solving minor problems that surfaces up when a lot of varied datais in the database. This way a company could spend less on support and divert the moneyin purchasing new capabilities.

Choice of the databaseThe database should be meticulously chosen because a lot depends on it. It is the choiceof the database that determines the performance of the ERP system. Server database thatruns on a multi-user platform is required for an ERP application. Server databases containmechanisms that ensure reliability and consistency of data. The primary factor thatshould be looked for is the concurrency model. The two most commonly used serverdatabases are Microsoft SQL server and Oracle. Both have their own advantages anddisadvantages.

They differ widely in terms of the concurrency model. Oracle provides amulti version read consistency with no read locks and no dirty reads. Readers do notblock writers and writers do not block readers. In Microsoft SQL server, read consistencyis not available. It requires shared read locks to avoid dirty reads, if locks are not shared,dirty reads are possible. Also readers block writers and writers’ block readers. Deadlockscan be a serious issue with Microsoft SQL server, which escalates row-level locks, totable-level locks depending on the transaction’s volume.

To the user, the applicationsimply hangs. These unpleasant deadlock situations can result in aborting one or more ofthe concurrent users. Oracle, on the other hand, does not escalate row level locking.Microsoft SQL server is easier to use, easier to manage, less complex and requires lotless tuning than Oracle and is an excellent choice on windows platform. For crossplatform support, Oracle is an excellent choice, which runs very well both on windowsand Linux platforms.

Most ERP solutions are built on both these platforms, and it is up tothe customer to decide the database of their choice.ERP system securityPerhaps the most important module in an ERP application is the security module thatcreates logins and grants select, update, insert, delete, and execute etc rights to thevarious database objects such as tables and stored procedures. Most ERP solutionsrestrict user from directly accessing tables.

The user can perform operations on a table viaa stored procedure and these stored procedures have many validation checks for the data.Also, the idea is to pass the entire logic to back-end stored procedures so that debuggingand alterations become easy for the IT team. Another feature that should be looked for inthe security module is password encryption for the user logins. Password encryptionprevents direct access to the database servers thereby preventing malicious users fromgaining access to the servers. The user can only access the server through the ERPsoftware.

Transiting from an existing ERP system to a new oneThe new ERP provider should be able to migrate the existing ERP data to its new systemwith minimal effort, that is, by using data translators, scripts and useful programmingtechniques. The data should make sense in the new ERP system. Also the ERP providershould audit the data to ensure its integrity before making the system live. If the data isnot suitable for transfer, the ERP provider should perform initialization techniques likecalculating the opening balance amount for the new system, for inventory it can calculatethe opening stock for each of the items, etc.

Will the ERP provider support customization?This is a question frequently asked. It should be noted that no two business processes arealike. An ERP solution that suffices for a company may not be the be all and end allsolution for another company. At some point of time, customization is required. Thecustomization should also remain intact for future upgrades of the software. The factorthat should be looked upon is whether the ERP provider is capable of doing this.

TheERP solution should also have builder tools for creating new forms and report writertools for generating new reports. By having this, some customization can be done at theuser end also.

References
• “SAP ERP Upgrade: Management Strategies” by Larstan Business Reports
• “Technical Comparison of Oracle 9i Database vs. SQL Server 2000: Focus onPerformance” – An Oracle White Paper