Dick Kuiper, Meta Group's vice president of application delivery services, says that Web services will play an important role in inter-enterprise integration. "Multiple enterprises need a pipeline to exchange data and they need agreements about what can be exchanged," he says. "The new full-blown collaborative computing means they can pretty much work on the same data at the same time."

ERP vendors are adding browser-based interfaces in place of native clients so that users can access the system from any computer linked to the Internet. Kuiper points out that there are differences in how completely vendors have adopted the browser interface. "PeopleSoft was the first major ERP vendor to come out with no code on the client so all of [its] user interfaces are browser-based." The familiar nature of browser-based interfaces also makes it easier for new users to learn and use the system and reduces training costs.

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ERP vendors, such as Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP, are beginning to offer portal modules to provide users with a browser-accessible view that can be customized to include data and processes that are specific to certain job functions. For example, a sales person might use a portal that has been customized to provide only customer contact information, lead tracking, order history, billing information, and scheduling without providing access to manufacturing, shipping, finance, human resources, and a multitude of other information in the ERP system. Portals provide information in a clear, convenient, and secure manner.

The major ERP vendors are also providing modules that permit companies to set up and manage private exchanges or e-markets to extend their business processes to external partners. SAP recently announced that it is combining its portal and e-market subsidiaries into a single as-yet-unnamed unit because it says customers that want one or the other application usually want both. Internal and external users can use exchanges to conduct auctions, procure materials, collaborate, or manage their supply chains. Since exchanges are Web-based, anyone who registers and has the appropriate security permissions can participate.

Portals, e-markets, and other browser-based adaptations to the Internet may be having a significant effect, but they are relatively superficial when compared with the underlying shift to Internet architectures. As ERP packages become increasingly engineered around Web servers, applications servers, Web services, and other Internet standards, it's important to correlate your company's overall Internet strategy with the specific Internet tools and technologies that are offered and supported by your key ERP vendor. For example, the big ERP vendors have already introduced their own Web servers and are aggressively competing with such market-share leaders as IBM and BEA Systems.

Large enterprises are relying on information technology more than ever. By demonstrating once again their ability to adapt to new technologies and demands, ERP systems are playing a central role in that expansion.

Adrian Mello, Tech Update's e-business columnist, has covered the technology business for nearly two decades and is a former editor-in-chief of Line56, Macworld, and Upside.

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