Sunday, January 25, 2009

Should You Use SAP R/3 Modules?

By Richard Ward

SAP can be flourished as Systeme, Andwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung in German or Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing in English. The German company based in the yr 1972 published module R/1 and module R/2 earlier. Still, with the advent of the customer server architecture the module R/3 was released by the organisation in the year 1992 and is a business management application based on this architecture. The reply to the application has been fantastic and it can be said that the R/3 module has read the global software industry by storm.

The R/3 module can be better identified as a comprehensive and integrated information system.SAP R/3 is a now being widely applied round the world and is well customizable for several corporations reckoning on their sizes of process due its ABAP/4 programing language. The R/3 architecture is a 3 tiered 1 which includes a user interface, a software application and database server and is compatible with a variety of hardware configurations. The R/3 module includes different functional modules such as financial control, human resources, materials management, sales and distribution in addition to production planning. Though each of these modules executes their services singly they are integrated together wherever applicable. This feature makes getting at the complete business activities of a organization feasible to all it workers. The module also benefits through its good to use interface and online aid functionality.

The SAP R/3 module is offered to the client with basic features turned on and a host of optional features disabled. An corporation can manipulate the software corresponding to their proper needs by modifying the settings of the database and tables in the module. However, the module with it's quality features comes with a high price tag. The cost of the R/3 module extends anyplace between US$1.5million and US$5million.

Though the functionality of the module is highly amazing implementing the R/3 module is a hard task not to observe the superior costs involved. Implementation and maintenance prices reach between US$10million to US$100million and include the service charges of the SAP consultant who assists in the operation. By And Large the implementation process asks a lot of changes within the enterprise and can be separated into 4 primary stages the project planning stage where SAP technical support organization is built and planning the SAP requirements of the company are guaranteed.

In the second stage, the blueprinting stage analysis of the price of ownership, high availability and disaster recovery demands, staffing the support corporation and training are executed. In the 3rd functional management stage the varies that the corporation need to undergo are designed and the SAP systems management and SAP computer processes are made. The phase likewise involves testing the SAP system before implementation. The supreme training stage involves some other testing operation and the cutover phase where the organisation plans the procedure of transmission from the older system to a newer one.

It is plain that the SAP R/3 module is a extremely useful and integrated system for corporations. Though the cost of the application, maintenance and implementation are high the functionality of the module overweighs the prices involved. Many companies around the universe have applied the R/3 module and benefitted tremendously. - 16738

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