Introduction

In the 1990s many firms turned to software packages when they replaced the older, often home-built systems in their application portfolios. They chose to buy, rather than build, their new systems. Broadly, they followed the prevailing wisdom to downsize themselves so as to focus on their ‘core competencies’ and to outsource other tasks to the market. Many found no compelling logic for continued in-house development of their application software. Some, with their staffs already reorganized and reduced through reengineering, were simply no longer in a position to undertake major development tasks.

Replacement of systems had in the 1990s become a priority for many firms. These organizations felt increasingly burdened by their ‘legacy systems’. Their support staff were often committed to a maintenance task for which the costs were all too apparent and the benefits appeared to be marginal and remedial. Their home-built software also often resided on expensive mainframes widely viewed as heading rapidly toward obsolescence. Further, users found this software increasingly cumbersome to work with in comparison to their newer PC-based tools with their graphical user interfaces.

It was in this context that the 1990s gave rise to ERP (enterprise resource planning), a significant innovation in the packaged software market. The vision for ERP was first articulated by the Gartner Group (Wylie, 1990). It took an ‘enterprise-wide view’ of traditional application software, allowing for internal integration of the technical and business core, as well as external integration with business customers.