Using Amazon Web Services

One of the first questions to be answered as we started up bravopoint was how we were going to host our own  development and test environments and how to deploy OpenBravo for our customers. There were a couple of key considerations that went in to making this decision. First, we wanted to spend as little as possible and, in particular, avoid committing to any sizable recurring costs. Second we were unclear on exactly what we were doing and how we were going to do it so we needed a solution that provided enough flexibility for us to quickly change our minds a few times. Finally we did not have the inclination or the technical knowledge to get into the game of building and managing our own server environment.

We had heard of of Amazon Web Services(AWS) and learned that OpenBravo provided an appliance that could be used to quickly create a full implementation of OpenBravo. AWS is a fairly complex environment that provides far more capability than we will ever need but, after a reasonably short period of stumbling around, we were able to do what we needed to do.

With AWS we are able to create, start and stop servers on demand and only incur costs when the servers are actually running. There are certainly other providers of hosted virtual servers but so far we have not found another service that provides the same degree of flexibility.

When it comes to deploying OpenBravo for a client we are happy to deploy onto a server that they own and support but, if they want us to deliver the platform, we will propose AWS.

We have certainly had a bit of a learning curve and a few challenges to overcome. Our first approach was to use the OpenBravo appliance but we learned that this comes without common administration tools such as sudo and FTP. We also found that the appliance creates a very large server image in AWS. Our current approach is to start with a basic Ubuntu server and then run a script to install OpenBravo and all of the necessary supporting software.

It would have been nice to be able to run OpenBravo in the AWS free tier but (in our experience anyway) the free tier does not have enough memory to do this.

We now have a customer installed and running on AWS. The customer has their own AWS account which they pay for directly. We were able to build their OpenBravo server in our AWS environment and then export it into theirs.

OpenBravo 3.0

Version 3 of OpenBravo is a significant step forward in terms of function, ease of use and appearance. Compared to the earlier version 2.5 it is a huge improvement. OpenBravo's recent "Bossie" award is recognition of a high quality solution that can meet the needs of many businesses of all types.

Openbravo Selected as InfoWorld 2011 Best of Open Source Application Award "Bossie" Fourth Time in Five Years

- Recognition confirms success of new Openbravo 3 product, and demand for Openbravo in first half of 2011 -

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sept. 12th, 2011 – Openbravo, the agile ERP company, has been named by InfoWorld as one of the ‘Best of Open Source Applications’, popularly known as the ‘Bossie’ award. InfoWorld’s Bossies honor the best open source software for business. The InfoWorld Test Center works to identify the most promising and cost-effective products available to IT organizations.

Some of the benefits of ERP

So what are the benefits to a business of using ERP. This is a big topic, much bigger than I am going to cover adequately in one blog post but this is a start and I will probably follow up with some more thoughts in the near future. The best way that I can think of to understand the benefits of ERP is to think back to a time when it did not exist.

Before ERP (BE) we lived in a world in which, different business functions within a company were performed by different pieces of software. Some of the characteristics of this world included:

• The different software applications had different standards and rules for the same data.
• The various pieces of software did not communicate with each other or share information.
• Many important business processes were not "real time", they ran in "batch" mode - daily, weekly or even monthly.
• The different software applications often ran on different technology platforms (hardware and software).

As a result of the above businesses were faced with a number of challenges that had a significant impact on how well they were able to run:

• It was impossible to obtain up to date information about the current state of the business. Consequences including making decisons based on out of date or incomplete information and staff investing time and effort into creating unofficial tools such as spreadsheets to keep track.
• It was impossible to integrate information from multiple systems to create an accurate picture of the whole business. People invested huge amounts of manual effort into trying to make this happen but the outcomes were typically too late, inaccurate and out of date.
• Exchanging information with other businesses was difficult and expensive.
• There was duplication of what should have been the same information. In reality it was usually impossible to reconcile the differences between information stored in one system with information stored in another. In addiiton to the time spent on reconciliation huge effort was spent in enterng the same information multiple times.
• Supporting the multitude of different systems and platforms was expensive and time consuming.
• People needed to be trained in using multiple systems that lokoed and behaved differently.

The benefits of ERP are really the mirror image of the above. 

• ERP provides information about the business that is timely and accurate.
• There is one version of the truth, no need to reconcile multiple sources.
• There is no duplication of effort.
• All functions in an ERP have a consistent look and feel.
• Only one technology platform to support.
• Standard methods for exchanging information with other businesses.

Coming next - some of the challenges of ERP.

What the heck is ERP anyway?

"ERP" is a commonly used acronym but I find that there is a great deal of confusion and a lack of understanding about what it means. I am not claiming to have the right or even the best answer but, based on a number of sources, here is my best shot at what "ERP" means.

Starting with a literal interpretation ERP means Enterprise Resource Planning (I believe that this term has its roots in resource planning for manufacturing); that's good to know but I don't really feel much bettered informed or confident that I understand what it really means.

Wikipedia tells us that "Enterprise Resource Planning" integrates internal and external management information across an entire organization. ERP integrates functions such as sales, service, accounting/finance, warehouse/inventory, customer relationship management, human resources, project management. The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information inside the organization and manage the connections to external parties.

The characteristics of ERP include:

• an integrated system that operates in real time.
• a common database that supportd all functions.
• a consistent look an feel that spans all modules

PC Magazine expands on the above definition:

(Enterprise Resource Planning) An integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. ERP modules may be able to interface with an organization's own software with varying degrees of effort, and, depending on the software, ERP modules may be alterable via the vendor's proprietary tools as well as proprietary or standard programming languages.

An ERP system can include software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources. The major ERP vendors are SAP, Oracle (PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards), SSA Global (Baan) and Microsoft.  (My note: there are also a number of Open Source ERP solutions such as OpenBravo which make ERP functionality available to businesses that could not afford the solutions from the major commercial vendors).

SAP (one of the largest suppliers of ERP solutions says:

ERP (enterprise resource planning) is an industry term for the broad set of activities that helps a business manage the important parts of its business. The information made available through an ERP system provides visibility for key performance indicators (KPIs) required for meeting corporate objectives. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service, and tracking orders. ERP can also include application modules for the finance and human resources aspects of a business.

My personal definition of ERP is something like:

"ERP is an integrated software solution that manages the information and workflows for all major functions of an enterprise's business. It operates in real time and presents each user with information that is up to date and consistent with all of the other data being managed"

Coming in a few days the benefits of ERP to your business. 

OpenBravo 3 almost here

OpenBravo version 3 will be fully released soon and will provide businesses seeking an ERP solution with a powerful and affordable alternative to other products. Version 3 of OpenBravo  includes a redesigned user interface that is easy to learn and use and can easily be extended to meet the specific needs of your business.

OpenBravo is a leading ERP solution that is based on the Open Source Software software model and should be given serious consideration when evaluating alternatives. An implementation of OpenBravo will provide your business with:

• Visibility into all aspects of your business’s operations e.g. costs and revenues by product line and customer, inventory, payables and receivables.
• Easy access to information that is consistent, up to date and accurate.
• A single source of information about your business - eliminating any need for reconciliation or redundant data entry.
• A first class management solution that can be accessed from any location with an Internet connection (main office, satellite office, customer’s location, your home or vehicle).
• A solution that runs well on older PCs and requires no installation of software. Openbravo will run on any device that runs a current version of a web browser - PC, Mac, Ipad or Android device.
• A powerful business solution that has a dramatically lower cost of ownership than competing products.

You can learn more about OpenBravo at www.OpenBravo.com or at www.bravopoint.com. You can access working demonstration systems through either of these web sites.

A rainy day in the cloud

It is the day after many businesses were affected by the failure of Amazon's cloud computing service which affected major companies around the world. The analysis of what happened and why and what lessons should be learned will continue for a long time yet but here are some initial thoughts and observations:

• Cloud computing is something that is here today and is being used by real businesses around the globe. This is contrary to a widely held view that it is something that we will need to woory about in the distant future.
• Cloud computing is still a work in progress. The design of Amazon's solution was supposed to protect against problems bleeding from one region or availability zone to another; ths did not work as planned.
• The Amazon outage will prompt people to re-evaluate whether cloud solutions are the right path for them.

So does this outage mean that businesses should turn away from cloud solutions? In my view the answer is "no", although it will be appropriate for business to think a little more carefuly beforecommitting to a cloud solution.

The reasons for using a cloud soution still stand:

• Speed and ease of deployment
• A great way for people in different locations to work together effectively 
• Supports having a flexible, agile workforce in which people can quickly be brought onboard and become productive
• In spite of this week's event, cloud solutions are more resilient with higher levels of availability than many businesses can afford to build for themselves
• Cloud solutions can rapidly scale (up and down) to adjust to the changing needs of your business. 
• No upfront capital costs for equipment
• No requirement for having your own technical staff
• Overall lower ongoing operating costs

Although cloud solutions will never be right for every business  the benefits can be compelling for many.

There are certainly risks but these need to be evaluated against real-world alternatives, not some hypothetical perfection that cannot be achieved in real life. The appropriate response to these risks is not knee-jerk avoidance but to properly understand them and make rational decisions about benefits, mitigation and avoidance. 

Owning your own information technology hardware and software is certainly not risk free either, some of the risks that should be contemplated include:

• financial risk - upfront investment of  large amounts of money into building your IT environment, ongoing expense to maintain it.
• staffing risk - needing to retain specialized, skilled staff and having a plan for what to do if they leave.
• obsolesence risk - your chosen solution may become obsolete and require an expensive replacement.
• physical risk, what happens if your computer equipment is lost to a leaking roof, fire, theft, vandalism, equipment failure?
• information risk - how completely and quickly can you recover your information if your computer equipment is lost or damaged?
• security risk - how well proected is your information from unauthorized access or alteration?

I am not claiming that these risks apply exclusively to one scenario and not the other. These and other risks (and benefits) need to evaluated for all potential solutions that are being considered.

Welcome to Bravopoint

Welcome to the first post on the BravoPoint blog.

BravoPoint is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and was founded because we believe that the OpenBravo ERP system will deliver great value to small and medium sized businesses of all types.

Our practice is based exclusively  on promoting, installing and supporting OpenBravo.