Enterprise software is an important computer application useful to businesses. It makes business operations easy by making them efficient. The functions it performs include like data management, data transformation, resource planning, etc.
This article discusses about the different types of enterprise software, their role and their applications.
Accounting – Enterprise software ensures effective functioning of financial department. It mainly deals with accounts of the organization. It helps businesses in online accounting, comprehensive reporting and analysis update financial information of the business, ensures accountability and compliance, eliminates potential errors. It finds applications in banks, account departments of all the organizations, government and private sectors, etc.
Business intelligence – It is a set of theories, methodologies, architecture and technologies that transform the raw data into useful information. It takes the responsibility of handling large amount of information that helps in identifying and developing new opportunities. Business intelligence provides historical, current and predictive views of business operations. Functions include online analytical processing, data mining, complex event processing, business performance management, etc.
Content management system – Enterprise software is useful in content management for business’ websites. It has two elements namely management application and delivery application. Enterprise software ensures that all can search data by using simple words. It includes web based publishing, format management, indexing, search and retrieval.
In case of web publishing, enterprise software creates, manages and makes content available on the website. It helps businesses interact with users.
In case of component content management, it involves creation of documents from component parts. For example, XML enables users to assemble individual component into a single document. It ensures that content is consistent across the entire document.
Enterprise content management involves organization of documents, contacts, records pertaining to single institution, etc.
Master data management – It comprises a set of processes that control the master data of an organization. It may be non-transactional or reference data. It has applications in different fields like government, banking, retail, insurance, healthcare and telecommunications.
- Government – Creates a single window for citizens to improve services.
- Banking – Provides better customer service and reduces cost through operational efficiency.
- Retail – Helps understand customer relationship and introduction of new products into the market.
- Insurance – It helps companies to make policies more beneficial to customers.
- Health care – It confines all the information related to patients to a single document for making it easily available.
- Telecommunications – It has all the information pertaining to customers, service locations, billing system, etc.
Enterprise resource planning – It involves integration of all the departments and their functions into a single system. Integration into a single database contributes to efficient communication and information sharing.
It includes financial accounting (general ledger, assets, payable and receivables), management accounting (budget, cost management), human resource (recruiting, training, payroll, retirement), manufacturing (engineering, work orders, quality control), customer relation management (sales marketing, service, customer contact, call center support)
Enterprise asset management – It helps in improving the efficiency of the operations like cost reduction, management of capital expenditures. It includes:
- Fixed assets management – Accounting process pertaining to track fixed assets.
- IT asset management – A set of business practices that support life cycle management and useful in decision making.
- Digital asset management – It is a form of electronic media that includes digital assets.
Enterprise software has a wide range of diversity that ensures its efficiency. It operates in a particular manner according to the requirement.