In our current utilization of the Access-based ERP system, we have stretched it to its limits. For example, we are using it for quite a bit of analytical work such as average sold and purchase price calculations, customers sales history, cash flow reporting, product sales activity, etc. With 15 years of sales history, this queries are a little bit too much for MS Access and its Simple JET-Engine architecture.
Some may then ask: What is the point of building the MS-Access ERP system and only to begin migration of it in 1/2 year? Isn't it a complete waste of time and money? Since a lot of business folks would like to compare software development with car manufacturing(1), I would use the car analogy too: It is not a complete waste of money to buy a car for 1/2 year only to dump it for another car. What is the ROI? Blah, blah, blah ... ...
This is a classic pitch from ERP software vendors to make you buy their ERP. Why waste time developing your software when you can simply by a COTS products. Yes, they love their TLA just to look smart.
No doubt some business should buy off-the shelve software to use it to solve well defined problems such as tax returns, restaurant POS/order entry/reservation management, but since a lot of business have this expectation, of it being this in-all, be-all system, well all information and all business process in to their ERP system, is your business a "off-the-shelve" business?
To be fair to the business folks, their expectation is probably inflated by the rogue vendors, salesman and all these marketing BS trying to prey on the unsuspecting folks.
Since I love the car analogy, let's go back to it with a software development-twist:
Buyer: I need a car.
Salesman: It is your lucky day, the new Prius just came in! It just won the "Best Resale Value" award from Kelley Blue Book's, it was named one of Forbes "Tougheset Cars on the Road", blah blah blah ... (and the list goes on)
Buyer: This must be a great car with all these recognitions
Salesman: Best of all it is a Hybrid, using Green Technologies and all. You know, some the planet, save some trees. (What the hell is green technology?)
Buyer: Wow! I can really help the world with this car.
Salesman: It has great on mileage too! That means this car will saving YOU money at the gas pump.
Buyer: Wow, I am really saving money buying this car.
No problem with the story? Here is where the analogy breaks down. We never know what the buyer wants to do with the car!
In the software world, many buyers probably never driven a car before, have only seen piece of the car (think just the dashboard, the steering wheel, engine) but never seen the car as a whole. They have read some fancy, vague, sales pitches in article in the latest magazine of how great a car is, for example:
- "A car can take you from point A to point B very fast!" - buyer thinks he could use it to go from America to China really fast.
- "Save you money going to and from work!" - buyer walks 5 minutes to work, but since he doesn't really know what a car is, he really think it will save him money.
- "Revolutionize the way you travel" - now he thinks he can go to all these exotic countries he saw on the Travel Channel.
But you might think, the car buyer is being really stupid. How can he not know about what a car is. This comparison is complete bogus and unsound. If that is what you are thinking, here is a question for you: What is an ERP system?
This post started off with the intention to write about our effort in business transformation. It went complete off tangent into a rambling. Oh well, I probably have ADD. That's the beauty about blogs right?
(1) Disclaimer: I have not read the book. I have only derived some basic understanding of the book from a blog post by Jeff Atwood
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