What is the impact of manpower on ERP's intervention in the software sector?

There is always a myth regarding ERP and employment. One school of thoughts advocates it as a means of securing more employment while the others believe it to be a potential factor to curtail employment.

Employment opportunities

It professionals are usually highly paid and ever in demand and of course live with the fear of either the industry winding on one fine day or the chances of themselves being sacked at any time. Now it is the question of what happens to those working in ERP software system. This principle also holds true for ERP professionals for after all ERP is more are less an IT function. Their temperament is in way different. Nevertheless the fact remains that ERP professional is still employed in large numbers throught the globe.

ERP gets constantly upgraded and hence there is no dearth in the requirement of manpower on one hand and it only exhibits an increase in demand with companies preferring Installation and post installation services from one hand. The employment opportunities for ERP professionals in the software and other sectors as well are not limited. ERP vendors are also multiplying in numbers day after day.

Dimensions of Manpower

ERP has got 2 dimensions when it comes to manpower. The first issue is that it is viewed as measures to reduce the labor force in companies.A lot of companies have done this and some of them have even reported a good success rate. The issue is that ERP affects the employment opportunities more in the software sector than in the other sector. This is evident from business case ERP.

The obvious reason is that they don't need specialized people to handle these enterprise applications as almost the whole community comprises of IT professionals specialized in some software or the other. It becomes equally easy for the company to train the entire population to handle ERP rather than retaining a chunk of labor force and asking them to specialize and work only in ERP. Being a software concern it won't be difficult for the company to train these personnel and making them to adhere to ERP software System.

On the other hand some companies see it as a measure to add value to the IT force and enhance their job responsibilities. They see ERP as a tool to improve the intellectual capital of the concern. They don't restrain to churning out labor on a mass scale. On the other hand they work towards forming a team and arranging them to (highly) specialize in enterprise resource planning. These companies go to the extent of doing away with the services of the ERP vendor, but at a later stage and shouldering the entire burden with the in-house IT staff. Many business case ERP reveal this.

It is not to be inferred from these explanations that the first step is usually taken by IT companies while the second is preferred by non IT companies. On the other hand they are purely dependent on the management of the company and factors like IT and Non IT are not necessarily detrimental but only used as a guideline.

The role of Software companies and the importance of skills

There are 2 encouraging factors with regards to the development of manpower in this area. Firstly software companies acknowledge the significant contribution of ERP and accept that it plays a crucial role in for a sizable part of the income. Secondly ERP professionals require IT skills and hence there can be no compromise of one for the other and the development and opportunity of one naturally mean the same for the other. Hence an it professional's scope never diminishes whether he works in ERP software system or not.

Conclusion

There seems to be a lot of difference and confusions in the way ERP and employment is correlated. Some even stress the need to draw a line of demarcation between the two. Whatsoever be the reasons it is not be denied that ERP has a positive influence on manpower.

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