Enterprise software
Encyclopedia
Enterprise software, also known as enterprise application software (EAS), is software
used in organization
s, such as in a business
or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals (for example, retail software
). Enterprise software is an integral part of a (Computer Based) Information System
.
Services provided by enterprise software are typically business-oriented tools such as online shopping and online payment processing, interactive product catalogue, automated billing systems, security, content management
, IT service management, customer relationship management
, resource planning
, business intelligence
, HR management, manufacturing, application integration
, and forms automation.
Enterprise software describes a collection of computer programs with common business applications, tools for modeling how the entire organization works, and development tools for building applications unique to the organization. The software is intended to solve an enterprise-wide problem (rather than a departmental problem) and often written using an Enterprise Software Architecture
. Enterprise level software aims to improve the enterprise's productivity and efficiency by providing business logic support functionality.
Capterra broadly defines enterprise software in the following manner:
Due to the cost of building or buying what is often non-free proprietary software
, only large enterprises attempt to implement such enterprise software that models the entire business enterprise and is the core IT
system of governing the enterprise and the core of communication within the enterprise.
As business enterprises have similar departments and systems in common, enterprise software is often available as a suite of programs that have attached enterprise development
tools to customize the programs to the specific enterprise. Generally, these tools are complex enterprise programming tools that require specialist capabilities. Thus, one often sees job listings for a programmer who is required to have specific knowledge of a particular set of enterprise tools, such as "must be an SAP developer".
Characteristics of enterprise software are performance
, scalability
, and robustness
. Enterprise software typically has interfaces to other enterprise software (for example LDAP to directory services) and is centrally managed (a single admin page for example).
that performs business functions such as order processing, procurement, production scheduling, customer information management, and accounting. It is typically hosted on servers and provides simultaneous services to a large number of users, typically over a computer network. This is in contrast to a single-user application that is executed on a user's personal computer and serves only one user at a time.
Enterprise software is often categorized by the business function that it automates - such as accounting software or sales force automation software. Similarly for industries - for example, there are enterprise systems devised for the health care
industry, or for manufacturing
enterprises.
, QAD Inc, IBM
, BMC Software
, HP Software Division, Redwood Software
, UC4 Software, JBoss
(Red Hat
), Microsoft
, Adobe Systems
, Oracle Corporation
, Inquest Technologies, CA Technologies, and ASG Software Solutions
but there are thousands of competing vendors.
with thousands of employees), very small (a sole proprietorship
), or an intermediate size. Often the term is used only to refer to very large organizations, although it has become a corporate-speak buzzword and may be heard in other uses.
Some enterprise software vendors using the latter definition develop highly complex products that are often overkill for smaller organizations, and the application of these can be a very frustrating task. Thus, sometimes "enterprise" might be used sarcastically to mean overly complex software.
The adjective "enterprisey" is sometimes used to make this sarcasm explicit. In this usage, the term "enterprisey" is intended to go beyond the concern of "overkill for smaller organizations" to imply the software is overly complex or absurdly convoluted even for large organizations and simpler solutions are available.
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
used in organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
s, such as in a business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
or government, contrary to software chosen by individuals (for example, retail software
Retail software
Retail software is computer software sold to end consumers, usually under restricted licenses. Until the emergence of the Internet, retail software represented, until the 2000s, the vast majority of all end consumer software used and was referred to as shrinkware because software almost always...
). Enterprise software is an integral part of a (Computer Based) Information System
Information system
An information system - or application landscape - is any combination of information technology and people's activities that support operations, management, and decision making. In a very broad sense, the term information system is frequently used to refer to the interaction between people,...
.
Services provided by enterprise software are typically business-oriented tools such as online shopping and online payment processing, interactive product catalogue, automated billing systems, security, content management
Enterprise content management
Enterprise Content Management is a formalized means of organizing and storing an organization's documents, and other content, that relate to the organization's processes...
, IT service management, customer relationship management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
, resource planning
Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
, business intelligence
Business intelligence
Business intelligence mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes....
, HR management, manufacturing, application integration
Enterprise application integration
Enterprise Application Integration is defined as the use of software and computer systems architectural principles to integrate a set of enterprise computer applications.- Overview :...
, and forms automation.
Definitions
While there is no single, widely accepted list of enterprise software characteristics, this section is intended to summarize definitions from multiple sources.Enterprise software describes a collection of computer programs with common business applications, tools for modeling how the entire organization works, and development tools for building applications unique to the organization. The software is intended to solve an enterprise-wide problem (rather than a departmental problem) and often written using an Enterprise Software Architecture
Enterprise architecture
An enterprise architecture is a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise, which comprises enterprise components , the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them...
. Enterprise level software aims to improve the enterprise's productivity and efficiency by providing business logic support functionality.
Capterra broadly defines enterprise software in the following manner:
- "Enterprise applications are about the display, manipulation, and storage of large amounts of often complex data and the support or automation of business processes with that data." Martin FowlerMartin Fowler-Online presentations:* at RailsConf 2006* at JAOO 2006* at QCon London 2007 * at QCon London 2008 * at ThoughtWorks Quarterly Technology Briefing, October 2008...
in PoEAA - Targets any type of organization — corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, nonprofits, government agencies — but does not directly target consumers.
- Targets any industry.
- Targets both large and small organizations — from Fortune 500 to "mom and popSmall businessA small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
" businesses. - Includes function-specific (Accounting, HR, Supply Chain, etc.) and industry-specific (Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, etc.) solutions.
Due to the cost of building or buying what is often non-free proprietary software
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
, only large enterprises attempt to implement such enterprise software that models the entire business enterprise and is the core IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
system of governing the enterprise and the core of communication within the enterprise.
As business enterprises have similar departments and systems in common, enterprise software is often available as a suite of programs that have attached enterprise development
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
tools to customize the programs to the specific enterprise. Generally, these tools are complex enterprise programming tools that require specialist capabilities. Thus, one often sees job listings for a programmer who is required to have specific knowledge of a particular set of enterprise tools, such as "must be an SAP developer".
Characteristics of enterprise software are performance
Performance testing
In software engineering, performance testing is in general testing performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular workload...
, scalability
Scalability
In electronics scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process, to handle growing amount of work in a graceful manner or its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth...
, and robustness
Robustness (computer science)
In computer science, robustness is the ability of a computer system to cope with errors during execution or the ability of an algorithm to continue to operate despite abnormalities in input, calculations, etc. Formal techniques, such as fuzz testing, are essential to showing robustness since this...
. Enterprise software typically has interfaces to other enterprise software (for example LDAP to directory services) and is centrally managed (a single admin page for example).
Enterprise application software
Enterprise application software is application softwareApplication software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
that performs business functions such as order processing, procurement, production scheduling, customer information management, and accounting. It is typically hosted on servers and provides simultaneous services to a large number of users, typically over a computer network. This is in contrast to a single-user application that is executed on a user's personal computer and serves only one user at a time.
Types
- Enterprise software can be designed and implemented by an information technology (IT) group within a company.
- It may also be purchased from an independent enterprise software developer, that often installs and maintains the software for their customers. Installation, customization, and maintenance can also be outsourced to an IT consulting company.
- Another model is based on a concept called on-demand software, or Software as a ServiceSoftware as a ServiceSoftware as a service , sometimes referred to as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically accessed by users using a thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.SaaS has become a common...
(SaaS). The on-demand model of enterprise software is made possible through the widespread distribution of broadbandBroadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
access to the Internet. Software as a Service vendors maintain enterprise software on servers within their own company data center and then provide access to the software to their enterprise customers via the Internet.
Enterprise software is often categorized by the business function that it automates - such as accounting software or sales force automation software. Similarly for industries - for example, there are enterprise systems devised for the health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
industry, or for manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
enterprises.
Developers
Major organizations in the enterprise software field include SAPSAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
, QAD Inc, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, BMC Software
BMC Software
BMC Software, Inc. is a multinational corporation specializing in Business Service Management software, with record annual revenue in fiscal 2009 of $1.87 billion...
, HP Software Division, Redwood Software
Redwood Software
Redwood Software, Inc. is a multinational corporation that specializes in enterprise and business process automation solutions, job scheduling software, report management software, and report distribution software...
, UC4 Software, JBoss
JBoss
JBoss Application Server is an open-source Java EE-based application server. An important distinction for this class of software is that it not only implements a server that runs on Java, but it actually implements the Java EE part of Java...
(Red Hat
Red Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
), Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
, Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
, Inquest Technologies, CA Technologies, and ASG Software Solutions
ASG Software Solutions
ASG Software Solutions is a privately held computer software company that develops and sells enterprise software to international clients. Founded in 1986 by Arthur L. Allen , ASG’s headquarters is located in Naples, Florida . The company also maintains offices worldwide...
but there are thousands of competing vendors.
Criticism
The word enterprise can have various connotations. Sometimes the term is used merely as a synonym for organization, whether it be very large (e.g., a corporationCorporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
with thousands of employees), very small (a sole proprietorship
Sole proprietorship
A sole proprietorship, also known as the sole trader or simply a proprietorship, is a type of business entity that is owned and run by one individual and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business. The owner receives all profits and has unlimited responsibility for...
), or an intermediate size. Often the term is used only to refer to very large organizations, although it has become a corporate-speak buzzword and may be heard in other uses.
Some enterprise software vendors using the latter definition develop highly complex products that are often overkill for smaller organizations, and the application of these can be a very frustrating task. Thus, sometimes "enterprise" might be used sarcastically to mean overly complex software.
The adjective "enterprisey" is sometimes used to make this sarcasm explicit. In this usage, the term "enterprisey" is intended to go beyond the concern of "overkill for smaller organizations" to imply the software is overly complex or absurdly convoluted even for large organizations and simpler solutions are available.
See also
- Integrated business planningIntegrated business planningIntegrated business planning refers to the technologies, applications and processes of connecting the planning function across the enterprise to improve organizational alignment and financial performance...
- Operational risk managementOperational risk managementThe term Operational Risk Management is defined as a continual cyclic process which includes risk assessment, risk decision making, and implementation of risk controls, which results in acceptance, mitigation, or avoidance of risk...
- Management information systemManagement information systemA management information system provides information needed to manage organizations efficiently and effectively. Management information systems involve three primary resources: people, technology, and information. Management information systems are distinct from other information systems in that...
- Strategic information systemStrategic information systemThe concept of Strategic Information Systems or "SIS" was first introduced into the field of information systems in 1982-83 by Dr. Charles Wiseman, President of a newly formed consultancy called "Competitive Applications," The concept of Strategic Information Systems or "SIS" was first introduced...
- Information technology managementInformation technology managementIT management is the discipline whereby all of the technology resources of a firm are managed in accordance with its needs and priorities. These resources may include tangible investments like computer hardware, software, data, networks and data centre facilities, as well as the staffs who are...
- ERP System Selection MethodologyERP System Selection MethodologyAn ERP system selection methodology is a formal process for selecting an enterprise resource planning system. Existing methodologies include:* SpecIT Independent Vendor Selection Management* Kuiper's funnel method* Dobrin's 3D decision support tool...
- Enterprise architectureEnterprise architectureAn enterprise architecture is a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise, which comprises enterprise components , the externally visible properties of those components, and the relationships between them...
- Enterprise forms automationEnterprise forms automationEnterprise Forms Automation is a company-wide computer system or set of systems for managing, distributing, completing and processing paper-based forms, applications, surveys, contracts and other documents...
- Business informaticsBusiness informaticsBusiness informatics or organizational informatics is a discipline combining information technology , informatics and management concepts. The BI discipline was created in Germany, from the concept of "Wirtschaftsinformatik"...