Top 5 Open Source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software Systems

Apache OFBix/opentaps Overview | Reviews | Pricing | Demo | FAQs | Selection Assistance [Restricted Access]   Compiere Overview | Reviews | Pricing | Demo | FAQs | Selection Assistance [Restricted Access]   ERP5 Overview | Reviews | Pricing | Demo | FAQs | Selection Assistance [Restricted Access]   OpenMFG Overview | Reviews | Pricing | Demo | FAQs | Selection Assistance [Restricted Access]   OpenPro Overview | Reviews | Pricing | Demo | FAQs | Selection Assistance [Restricted Access]

Open Source ERP Application Leaders by Market Segment

The below summary analysis and illustration points show how the Top 5 open source ERP systems best line up with the small business, middle market and enterprise customer market segments.

Small Business Open Source Leaders A popular small business open source solution originally known as Sequoia ERP, opentaps (which stands for Open Source Enterprise Applications Suite) was built to create an out of the box ERP and CRM solution for the Apache OFBiz project. The product suite is wide and includes financials, distribution, manufacturing and point of sale (POS). The architecture supports a service oriented architecture (SOA), is largely agnostic and supports both open source and commercial operating systems and databases. The functionality is still a bit light and the interface needs improvement, however, these issues have been recognized and we expect several improvements in the near term. OpenMFG by xTuple is the most functional open source manufacturing system we have reviewed. The product's internationalization capabilities, (such as multi-currency, multilingual translation packs and global tax structures) make it a very strong contender for multi-national companies. While this make-to-stock, make-to-order and mixed-mode manufacturing centric system was developed according to APICS standards in a generic fashion, there is no question that it best supports process flow and discrete manufacturing, which happen to be its roots and original client. The underlying technology is Linux, PostgreSQL and the Qt Framework for C++.

Middle Market Open Source Leaders Compiere is a popular middle market solution that initially gained the early market share, went through a period of dormant growth and is now back with new energy, a new business model, a new CEO (Don Klaiss), a new community focus and a much needed new motivation toward product advancement. The product has several vertical market solutions for the distribution, retail, manufacturing and professional services industries. The product suite breadth is impressive with core financials, a distribution suite, manufacturing, job cost / project accounting, e-commerce and point of sale (POS). The technology supports the typical Apache and Linux platforms, also supports the Windows operating system, however, only supports the Oracle and EnterpriseDB databases. ERP5 is the other popular middle market open source solution. The product offers all of the ERP pillars - including accounting software distribution software, MRP software, payroll software, human resources, product design management (PDM), CRM and e-commerce - and offers more software depth and functionality that we've found in other open source business systems. ERP5 also offers more vertical market solutions with aerospace, apparel, banking, health care and government or public sector being the mainstay industry solutions.

Enterprise Market Open Source Leaders OpenPro is truly an open source pioneer and has been delivering open source ERP systems since 1998. The product suite includes a strong ERP portfolio of financial accounting software, manufacturing software, distribution and supply chain software, retail POS software, CRM software, human resources and payroll software, e-commerce and fixed asset management. The company also verticalized the ERP system for not-for-profit, government and public sector, professional services management and medical management. While the products were built with PHP on the LAMP stack, the products now also support all major operating systems and SQL databases. The product is also slowly incorporating AJAX technology which should improve the user experience. OpenPro provides packaged integration to popular third party product solutions such as fax utilities (Hylafax), report writers (Jasper and Crystal), computer telephony integration (Asterisk phone system integration) and document imaging. While not verified in our review, the company claims domestic and international compliance with SOX, FASB, IASB (International Accounting Standards Board) and IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). While open source products have not yet scaled to the enterprise in a way that will challenge the commercial vendors (SAP, Oracle, Infor), OpenPro clearly shows that strides in capability, scalability and enterprise reach are continuing at an aggressive rate.

The Newest ERP Acquisition Alternative

In contrast to commercial ERP software which is generally owned and managed by a central organization for profit purposes, the term open source refers to software programs which are usually developed as a public collaboration, made freely available and delivered with the underlying source code so that the recipient may use, modify and redistribute the solution as he or she sees fit. Open source advocates argue that collaborative development by global communities with shared interests is a superior method to make software.

For the last two decades, organizations looking for ERP applications have had to either purchase commercial application software or build custom solutions themselves. Open source ERP systems now provide a third alternative. Open source ERP systems are generally developed with other open source technologies such as Apache, PHP, Mozilla Firebird and the Linux kernel and generally released under the GNU General Public License.

Critics point out that while open source may often be sufficient for platform software components (operating systems, tools, databases), this software movement has yet to work its way up the stack and finally reach credibility at the business applications level. Open source critics suggest that there are fundamental reasons why open source ERP systems have not achieved any noticeable market share relative to commercial vendors. There are several recognized barriers to open source adoption including the perception that open source licenses are viral, may contain inherent intellectual property violations for which their users are not indemnified, do not offer credible and reliable software maintenance and support which they can bet their business on, lack formal business strategy and and lack a long term roadmap. The majority of these barriers are risk-related and have significant down side impact. There are commercial business models which claim to provide a 'whole product' portfolio of support and services - including technical support, professional services, training and partner programs - to help mitigate these risks. Nonetheless, as companies get bigger they often get more cautious.

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