The Evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Management of organizations needs efficient information systems to improve competitiveness by cost reduction and better logistics. It is universally recognized by large and small to medium-size enterprises (SME) that the capability of providing the right information at the right time brings tremendous rewards to organizations in a global competitive world of complex business practices. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) can be defined as a framework for organizing, defining and standardizing the business processes necessary to effectively plan and control an organization so the organization can use its internal knowledge to seek external advantage. This paper presents the growth and success of ERP adoption and development through history. The evolution of ERP systems closely followed the spectacular developments in the field of computer hardware and software systems. There is still a never-ending process on the ERP market, of reengineering and development, bringing new products and solutions. The consolidations continue to occur and the key players continue to build out their products. The next phase of ERP systems will be the merged products.