SparX - Solutions par eXcellence - Getting a taste of open source ERP

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Getting a taste of open source ERP

(Source - CIOL ) :ERP has evolved from being a solution for a handful of industries (manufacturing, banks, etc) to something that can be deployed for any industry. Some examples are poultry, flour mill, exports, consultancy, etc. ERP vendors have been quick in incorporating needs of new industries into their solutions.

If you are planning to implement ERP for your organization, then chances are that you're stuck in deciding which commercial ERP solutions to choose.

You may not have even thought about the various Open Source ERP solutions that are available. Many Open Source ERP solutions today provide similar levels of functionality and features as offered by their commercial counterparts.

Plus, of course, the source code is also available for those who're willing to dabble with it and further tune it to their requirements.

The biggest issue you'll face with them is of course, support. But if you're willing to take the leap, and try things yourself, then we'll take you through two popular Open Source ERP offerings.

There could be one more case for considering an Open Source ERP solution. Suppose, you were planning to implement an ERP solution, but due to the current economic slowdown have postponed its implementation, then you might as well try your hands on some of the Open Source solutions available.

ADempiere
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The good thing about this Open Source ERP solution is that it comes with a lot of support information to help you deploy it. Before implementing, you can get a feel of this product in two ways.

The first option is that you can log on to its online simulator at http://www. testadempiere. com/webui/ with 'SuperUser' as user name and 'System' as password. Here you can get acquainted with the interface of ADempiere ERP solution.

The other way is to get the ADempiere virtual appliance, and run it on a virtualiation platform like VMware player to get a taste of it. Here also, you'll get a pre-installed, ready-to-run ERP appliance up and running in a few minutes.

Open ERP
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OpenERP is an Open Source enterprise management software. Earlier it was known as TinyERP, which covered most of the enterprises needs and processes like accounting, HR, sales CRM, inventory etc.

Like Adempiere, TinyERP or Open ERP as now it is known as, is also an open source ERP solution which is available as a single file installation that includes all the requisite plug-ins or databases needed by the software. From the Open ERP site, www.openerp.com, download the stable release of TinyERP.

As of now, the present stable release is version 4.2.3.4, so you can opt for all-in-one installer by name 'tinyerp-allinone-setup-4.2.3.4.exe' (for Windows). Once you run the installation, it will automatically install PostgreSQL Server 8.2 for database and also the GTK plugins for rendering the graphical interface of the ERP software.