The article, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software,” explains that “today, realtime information is possible, which has changed everything: How people consume information has changed, how people learn things about each other has changed, and how people stay current has changed. Most of all, our expectations around immediacy have changed."[1] Companies today have to change in order to succeed in a world that is becoming more technologically based every minute. With real-time software, such as Facebook, companies need to realize that they have the opportunity to update their information constantly. People have become to expect fast-paced technology and service. Society today lives at high speed, relying on fast-food stores for dinner and drive-through supermarkets for groceries. People are constantly using their phones and Blackberrys to keep in constant connection with friends and family or to just check the stocks. We are living in a world that focuses on realtime. With Facebook and Twitter, a person can keep the world updated on their lives by the second. What good is an ERP system that does not work in realtime? How is an ERP system that does not operate in realtime supposed to keep current in the constantly changing likes and dislikes of the consumer?
In order to have ERP systems that work in realtime, the article suggests for companies to start to move away from the data warehouses and instead retreat to the Internet. Cloud computing is allowing for tons of information to be gathered and shared to a large quantity of people. Beyond cloud computing, platforms are beginning to form. “These new cloud platforms will unleash unprecedented innovation and creativity throughout all areas of business and the web, with thousands of new apps being created that will revolutionize IT.”[2] The platforms allow all those with access to a certain program to build upon others ideas as well as their own. The article brings up the fact that if only Apple made its own apps, there would be 13 instead of 13,000. The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines a cloud platform as being a way for the consumer to “deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations.”[3] Companies do not own the cloud platforms but are able to gain knowledge and ideas from external sources working in realtime.
Without the ability to be constantly updating one’s database, resources, and knowledge, a company would not be able to compete in the world today, where all customers are focused on immediate gratification. I think it is a great idea for companies to start to use the Internet more and more frequently. Today’s society is so computer-based and Internet-dependent that many employees will be able to learn how to use an Internet-based system rather than an external database warehouse or ERP system. I think it would be beneficial, both technologically and financially, to start creating more ERP systems on the Internet.
References:
[1] Bill McColl, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software?” SOA World Magazine (2010), http://in.sys-con.com/node/1318882
[2] McColl, “Is This the End of Enterprise Software?”
[3]Peter Mell and Tim Grance, “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing” The National Institute of Standards and Technology, http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:mt0-6VKV2G0J:csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc+define+cloud+platform&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
I agree, cloud computing seems to be the next technological step for maximum efficiency in managing companies' relationships with customers. It would also serve as the logical replacement for ERP software, as companies would no longer have to purchase their own software and install it on their hardware, they could instead rely on software "up in the cloud." However, were business society to rely completely on cloud computing in its present stage there are inevitable drawbacks that must be taken into account. Michael Miller, a blogger on InformIT, points to several of the risks associated with cloud computing. The most prevalent of these risks he indicates is by far a business' resultant total reliance upon its internet connection. Cloud computing "requires a constant internet connection...a dead internet connection means no work, period." He indicates that in areas that have sporadic internet connectivity, this could be crippling for a business-even more so in an age you describe as so fast-paced where every second of downtime could translate to hundreds of lost sales.
ReplyDeleteMichael Miller, "Disadvantages of Cloud Computing," InformIT (2009), http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1324280&seqNum=2