One of the most significant new technologies, enterprise resource planning (ERP), supports the management system by offering a wide range of services. The ERP system is a shared database that controls the operations of the company by integrating various applications and supporting a wide range of functions. The market for ERP services among global organizations has grown by about $10 billion in just four years. The competitive advantages that organizations obtain when integrating ERP into their management processes are the cause of this enormous growth.
The ERP system has been widely adopted across many industries over the last ten years. Since there is an increasing need for managing the shifting administrative requirements and user satisfaction with an easy way to access, monitor, and manage information. Additionally, ERP systems enable communication within a single system between various units with various demands. This will allow all users to interact and use their resources in a peaceful manner through a single connected system.
What Is ERP Architecture?
Understanding ERP architecture is crucial because it will enable you to make the most of the business’s processes. Using a useless ERP system architecture can result in data that is illegible and unstandardized. As a result, comparisons are less precise, more challenging, and time-consuming.
If a business organization uses ERP, that person should be familiar with their industry and understand how ERP will help them grow and expand their business. ERP aids in cost- and profit-cutting for the company. It also aids in the efficient use of resources by the company.
ERP Architecture Systems
The ERP system’s architecture has a big impact on how successful and long-lasting it will be for the institute. There are currently four main EPR system architectures that are well-known, and each has strengths and weaknesses of its own. The first is a scaled-up version of the client/server two-tier architecture called three tiers. Presentation, Application, and Database layers make up its three layers.
As seen in the three-tier architecture, a layer in charge of carrying out the business logic has been added, so the client is no longer directly communicating with the database.
Because the presentation layer in this architecture only handles data browsing and user-friendly interface design, the user can use less powerful machines.
But the data are retrieved and sent to the database servers in the database layer from the application layer.
The logic and business rules are also implemented at the application layer. Web-based architecture is another option; its main objective is to give remote users access to the ERP system. Similar to the three-tier architecture, the web architecture has layers for the application and database. To support device mobility through the internet, the presentation layer is divided into two components: web services and web browsers. Many institutions choose not to develop their ERP using a web-based architecture because initially, accessibility outside the company may not be necessary.
However, as the institute expands, remote access becomes necessary, and a web-enabled architecture is a remedy. An architecture that has been modified to become web-enabled due to new demands and additional requirements is known as a web-enabled architecture. This will inevitably reduce the capabilities and functionalities of remote systems.
The SOA is not based on a specific technology or networking technique, unlike the three-tier and web-based architectures.
Regardless of the networking techniques used, service-oriented architecture, or SOA, is a method for building an architecture based on the use of services. The number of services that must be provided grows as institutes expand. In that case, a single system could not handle the volume of transactions. As a result, a system is launched for each service. Organizations can easily modify and customize their ERP system thanks to SOA.
Additionally, SOA promotes the reuse of current services. It’s important to note that regular interfaces would be very expensive and labor-intensive to develop, making communication between the various systems challenging. This is why the idea to standardize messages was developed. Extensible markup language, or XML, is a way to standardize messages sent between systems in an organization’s IT environment.
As a method of electronically describing information or data, XML forbids the consistent sharing of information in order to support the SOA concept. Service-oriented architecture is more likely with XML.
Even though cloud computing is growing in popularity, it is still unclear whether a reputable institution would be willing to entrust a third party to store and manage all of its data. Cloud computing is not an exception to the need for new ways of thinking posed by emerging technologies. The difference in access between local store and web-based data in terms of speed and conservation is rapidly shrinking as internet connections become faster and more dependable, at least in the so-called first world. This new technology has emerged and is making its way into the technological arena as a result of access reliability.
It can be difficult to understand the differences between the various types of architecture in this day and age. As it is typical to combine and match them to create an architecture that is more suited, dependable, and appealing for various institutions.
Picking the right ERP architecture
Choosing the ideal architecture for an institute can be challenging because each style has advantages and disadvantages. An institution must first specify the budget and staffing requirements for running and maintaining the ERP system. These restrictions can dictate whether the architecture is two or three tiers. Although the three-tier is unquestionably scalable, dependable, and flexible, it can also be expensive and complex.
However, a reasonably sized institution should be able to afford it in this day and age. The main advantage of web-based architecture is that it can be used outside of the boundaries of the company. However, because of the internet and the increased encryption required by data leaving the company LAN, the system may operate more slowly.
With that said, this will also impact data security and could provide hackers with a security bug. This is also true of cloud computing architecture, whose vendor-controlled security discourages organizations with more sensitive data from using it.
The SOA, on the other hand, is a better option because it is more sophisticated and complex if an organization wants a system that is independent and expandable. It is also important to note that while each system’s performance will be greatly enhanced, cross-communication may suffer.
CONCLUSION
The ERP architecture system cannot be generalized because the requirements depend on the needs of the institution and the implementation process it uses. Second, because there is a high failure rate with ERP implementations, implementation processes must be used carefully. Despite this, organizations have been highly motivated to implement ERPs because of the dynamically expanding customer base and the requirement for a flexible system to accommodate this growth and suit the competitive environment. Finally, it can be inferred from this study that ERP technology will influence management systems in the future because it perfectly satisfies all organizations’ and institutions’ needs.
