Critical Evaluation on ERP Applications for Defence Sector of Sri Lanka

The modern world has seen Information Technology being used in most of the business areas. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are typically the largest, most complex, and most challenging information systems implemented by firms, representing a significant departure from the individual and departmental information systems prevalent in the past by integrating the key functions and assisting better and timely decision making. While many private organizations have successfully taken advantage of these new technologies to develop enterprise-wide information systems that reduce costs and improve performance, however public sectors in most of the developing countries still lags far behind when compared with developed countries. Defence organizations of Sri Lanka, which is one of the largest components of government of Sri Lanka with an annual budget around 200 billion Sri Lankan Rupees, still relies on manual procedures and methods that are error prone and redundant and do not provide the enterprise visibility necessary to make sound management decisions. Selecting the most suitable ERP product is crucial for the success of ERP implementation. In this study Open Source ERP systems and proprietary ERP systems are critically evaluated in order to determine the best applicability for the defence sector in developing countries. Transformation of defence organisations in to business entities is the way forward considering the Sri Lankan post war scenario, while achieving to be digital organizations from paper based with emphasis on appropriate product, technology, affordability, flexibility and long term sustainability with the importance multi-disciplinary approach and it will give the necessary efficiency and effectiveness in overall aspects.