Packaged Software Suites

by Paul Harmon

Packaged software suites -- also known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) suites and sometimes as customer relationship management (CRM) suites -- are sold by vendors such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and many others. The software became popular in the 1990s for four reasons. First, companies were in the process of moving from mainframes to client-server environments, and an easy way to move was simply to buy a SAP suite, which was based on a simple client-server architecture. Second, many companies were trying to unify their global operations in the mid-1990s, and SAP modules provided support for a wide variety of languages. Installing a SAP application provides a single application that can be tailored for international use. Third, for a while, packaged suites were seen as a kind of instant business process redesign. In keeping with Michael Hammer's maxim that companies should throw out the old processes and install completely new ones, many companies moved from mainframe accounting programs to SAP accounting modules, modifying their accounting processes accordingly. Then there was Y2K. Companies that weren't sure of their own applications could obtain rapid Y2K certification simply by opting for the appropriate ERP applications that were guaranteed Y2K-compliant.