Our recent piece on “The Cloud Versus SaaS: Compiere’s Don Klaiss Weighs In” and the corresponding “Compiere Cloud Edition: The Next Disruptive Breakthrough for ERP?” in First Thing Monday drew a lot of comments and e-mail. Keep ‘em coming.
One reader emailed with four specific questions that may also be on the minds of other readers. Here are the answers:
1. Is there any feedback or statistics regarding how this kind of technology has been accepted by companies with sales of $100MM or more?
Having talked to Compiere and OpenBravo, it’s clear that most implementations are at companies under $100M. That said, Compiere is focusing on moving up-market and has successful installations at companies like Specsavers (a $1.8B UK-based retailer of eyewear), multiple implementations at a $1B retailer in Venezuela, a large European pharmaceutical company, ISO in Geneva, a recent 7,000 seat deal with a part of the French Post, and others.
2. Does the product have interoperability with existing ERP or legacy systems? (avoiding a big-bang implementation)
Compiere is modular and companies can choose which components to implement and in what order. Smaller companies typically implement a full ERP footprint. But in larger companies, Compiere often coexists with existing corporate financial systems like SAP and Oracle. This type of integration is done routinely. A number of Compiere partners have developed conversion packs to move data from legacy ERP systems.
3. What types of interfaces come with the ERP system?
There are a full set of data loaders and Java API as well as a web services layer to facilitate integration.
4. What happens to a user if the company suddenly goes out of business?
The company is venture financed by strong VC investors like NEA. And, as an open source product, users are provided with the application source code. Companies can either self-implement or get assistance from Compiere or one of the company’s partners. If they are unhappy with service from one provider, they can switch to another. They are also free to continue their subscription with Compiere and benefit from ongoing support and enhancements, or go their own separate way with the software.
Do you have any questions on open source apps?
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