hi all,thanks for this very interesting topic.i stay in hamburg,germany and plan on enrolling for SAP[ERP]financials and controlling by sept.the language of study would be german at a cost of 11000 euros for a duration of 8mths.my question is,does it really matter what the language of study is?Is SAP the same everywhere considering that i plan to move on the UK later.Am i gonna have a problem learning SAP in one language and using it in nother?i´ll appreciate a response.thanks.

Hi Gohamburg, dont think it would be an issue since it is simply a different language and same functionality. The only drawback might be features supported within a country's locale and not within another but i guess since you understand both languages you can navigate your way around. I would advice just doing the English version since you are moving to the UK, solves all the language wahala ( just my opinion sha, aint no SAP expert o).

Meanwhile while at the discussion of ERP, it seems SAP is growing here in naija, we shouldnt all forget that there are other ERP systems such as ORACLE, SAGE and Microsoft DYNAMICS AX. I am currently a Microsoft Certified Business Specialist (Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009) (Installation and Configuration), i would like to know the prospects within the country with regards to what company may have implemented the system. I wont try to argue about SAP and Dynamics here (though by the time i analyse both, one would understand why i chose Dynamics over SAP), pls if anyone has information on this trend of ERP implementation do let me know. Cheers.

To all those asking for information and links - stop being lazy and use the internet - between Wikipedia and Google you can get a wealth of information. It kills me that people prefer to ask on a forum rather than use an online search engine.

But I digress, My 2 kobo's worth…

ERP in Nigeria SHOULD be booming, but due to the lack of underlying network infrastructure - ERP relies heavily on a client-server-datacenter mechanism  - (apart from banks - and that market is saturated!) - the market is still in its infancy. There is no need to even go towards BI - Business Intelligence - if you don’t have a decent datacenter and ERP system in place, western companies are still trying to figure out BI and what it stands for!

Advice to all those in the WEST who want to test the waters in Nigeria? Go visit the place - take a 2 week vacation, cold call businesses, ask for an impromptu meeting with the IT managers etc. You will be amazed at what you can get hold of.

Opensource is the way forward - SAP, Dynamics et al is way too expensive for African (OpenBravo, Compiere to name a few), but it doesn’t let the resellers and CTO overcharge so it probably wont take off in Nigeria as it should….

Hi Akenzua_II,
There is one thing you forgot to mention: Things change. Is it when people now start thinking of implementing that we then start to learn these things. The ERP space is gonna grow at some point 5-10yrs time within this country and most people are already organising for it. You say it is too expensive yet some companies implement it and resources are picking up.
With regards BI, have you thought about learning about it your own sef and stop the thinking that the western world hasnt figured it out yet, (lol, and they developed the technology and even the word, ). What about figuring it out first and then learn to provide a service to people that have data just lying around someplace and trying to make meaning of them.
Truth of the matter is that it aint expensive, we just are too ignorant (myself included) to know what to invest on and concentrate on. When Oracle came out, no one gave it a thought to learn it until having OCA and OCP was making big bucks did we bother. ERP is almost the same way , no one is glancing there until when big bucks are rolling in and it wud be too late. There are companies implementing it already, i was so surprised to learn that a Construction company with 20 sites use SAP for its infrastructure.
With regards Open source, well well, u got a point there but there is one thing that hangs open source when it comes to business proposals and that is "Who in the world do i hold responsible if something goes wrong, ". Businesses want someone to blame and open source cant be blamed if something goes wrong. I am an open source person, but i keep my "Open source"-ness apart when it comes to making big bucks.
Cheers.

Mr Spacely,

I normally refrain from replying to posters as I enjoy lurking but I will bite for now,

My post was really to the posters asking about ERP in Naija (assumption: they are NOT in Naija) hence my reply that it is in its infancy - but Infants grow! just as in your post, you implied that it will balloon in 5 - 10 years time.

To stretch my words and imply some major assumptions about me is uncalled for (ref: the parts about figuring out BI etc)

SAP et al is still expensive compared to what local software companies can deliver (IN THE AFRICAN MARKET), just because I can buy a BMW doesn't mean it isn't expensive compared to a VW. It's all about ROI and TCO - why is a construct company using SAP when it needs can be met by a simpler and cheaper implementation? Granted I know nothing of the company of which you speak and their process for procurement so I am speculating.

Opensource is here to stay and now is the time to push for it. The argument about "Who in the world do i hold responsible if something goes wrong, " doesn't hold because due to the nature of it - you have access to the source code - and therefore can get someone qualified to modify it to your needs - rather than pay some organisation extensive license fees and maintenance contracts - and so called 'upgrade' fees for bloated features,

In fact, you can go one step further, and OFFER A MAINTENACE CONTRACT for opensource software and guarantee the software you have implemented for Joe Blogs and Co.

I never implied that one shouldn't learn it, nor did I imply that it has no place in the African marketplace, please read my post carefully before replying as I really have no time for petty arguments.

Akenzua II, you are right. ERP in Nigeria should be booming. And it is picking up in reality. Serious businesses with an eye on the bottom-line realize there is always a need for an ERP system in place. But what you miss is that there are ERP solutions targeted as at small and growing businesses as well –Any self-respecting ERP software provider has some offering or the other for that market niche. You don't necessarily have to be a multinational or a bank to implement an ERP solution anymore. I appreciate the fact that it does not come cheap really, but the point is with proper planning and financing, smaller and growing businesses too can run their ERP systems. They should view it as an investment which will bring in the returns.

Business Intelligence is like painting on a building, the icing on the cake. Get the foundation firm and structure in place first before you even go that route. Most Western companies have demand for BI because they had since sorted out the challenges of fundamental business processes which most Nigerian businesses still grapple with. For us here, BI is for the not-too-distant future. Learn it now if you want, though, it will come in handy.

Cheers.

Accospace - I totally agree with you, small and growing business will benefit greatly from ERP systems - but how do they get these tremendously beneficial systems? What if they cannot get access to credit facilities - hence my answer to these is they don’t have to. Open source is the answer (I know I sound like a broken record),

It is free, the best open source programs have a HUGE online community to assist the novice, no need to pay extortionate fees (or train in London) to learn how to implement and maintain it, with active forums just like NairaLand, it can be used by schools, universities, computer training schools etc to train would-be developers - it is so simple and effective it strikes fear in all major software distributors (Google Microsoft's 'free' software to African Governments) who have made their money in the west from overpriced licensing (I am a software developer so I know how much development goes into these programs - a huge % of the cost stems from overzealous marketing campaigns, hence the need to claw it back from customers)

By all means learn ERP, Learn BI and all other variants - but don’t depend on going down the route of SAP or Dynamic IF you cannot afford it - hell, even if you can afford it - why pay for something when you can get it for free? The limit is only your intelligence - look at the support PHP and MySQL have and their dominance of the market - they are Open Source as well - it beats me as it is the best solution for cash strapped and developing economies.

Good site to start - http://sourceforge.net/

Disclaimer: I am a director for an Open Source Solutions Company in Europe, and I have sat down with major companies board members and try to convince them of the benefit of Open Source to their departments - all I can say is ignorance is not limited to the uneducated - but the credit crunch is making them think again and now they are thinking about it,

Akenzua, very well said. I am not averse to Open Source. You argue that business owners can always get access to the source code, and can always get qualified hands to modify it to their needs. I think from an economic point of view that makes sense, as long as the qualified hands remain visible in the picture to adapt the software to customers’ requirements and provide the less-expensive maintenance support, etc , because Spacely was right when he said businesses need someone else to heap the blame on when things go awry. And things do.

We both know the risks Open Source are easily exposed to(liability for intellectual property infringement, no guarantee of quality or fitness, etc). What SAP, for example, brings to bear is the 37 years of tried and tested expertise and global best practices in various industries and the big players can afford it and are comfortable with that. The attractive smaller and middle market is open playground to all comers – SAP and its competitors, Open source vendors too.

I can consider tested and reliable open-source solutions as dictated by opportunities out there. We might even do business one of these days (lol), who knows?

Cheers.

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Thanks

, edited

ok. my previous post got deleted.

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