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Enterprise Resource Planning
Is Open Source the ERP Cure-All?
5/1/2008
Conventional and hosted applications thrive, but open source ERP is coming on strong. Here's how to choose the best type of solution for your own institution.
Campus CIOs John Bielec and Bradley Wheeler are IT experts with strikingly similar missions: They want modern enterprise applications to manage their respective universities' critical information. Ultimately, Bielec and Wheeler took divergent paths to ERP (enterprise resource planning) success. Importantly, each CIO carefully assessed campus need and the most current options available, before committing to an ERP solution or solutions. Wheeler, VP for IT and CIO of Indiana University, has focused his efforts on open source ERP. In contrast, Bielec, Drexel University (PA) CIO, is leveraging closed source ERP software, but in a hosted model.
Evolution of Options
In many ways, the evolution of the ERP market is littered with ironies. When Oracle began buying up customer relationship management (CRM) and ERP companies, some universities worried that they would be left with fewer choices and higher prices. Yet, the rise of open source-coupled with the advent and growth of software as a service (SaaS)-has created a whole range of new ERP options. In addition to Oracle, today's options include Jenzabar, Campus Management, Datatel, SunGard Higher Education, and numerous others.
For instance, 20-plus universities have joined the Kuali Foundation, a nonprofit organization driving open source ERP forward. Bigname Kuali backers include Cornell University (NY), Carnegie Mellon University (PA), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Indiana University. Additional Kuali investors and backers are to be announced May 13 during the Kuali Days VI event in Chicago, according to Wheeler. (Go here for information.)
The rise of open source ERP does not, however, spell certain doom for traditional closed source offerings. Commercial software companies from Oracle to SunGard have evolved their offerings to help universities march forward with their ERP initiatives. And SaaS providers such as RightNow Technologies have quietly carved out a niche for themselves in higher education.
Still, choosing an ERP system is no simple task. In addition to the financial and product feature considerations, another factor plays a growing role in the ERP selection process: culture. Universities that prefer established, reliable, profitable software partners continue to consolidate their ERP systems around Oracle, SAP, SunGard, and several other well-known options. On the other hand, some universities are willing to take a few risks in order to gain complete control over their ERP code. That's where open source enters the picture.
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