OpenMaster SLM Applications Governor and ERPs

Added-value ERP management

ERPs, packaged enterprise client-server applications like SAP R/3 and Oracle Applications, deliver significant increase in the efficiency of the business organization. At  the same time, they represent a heavy investment, in purchase, consulting, and other services.

To fully realize the benefits from an ERP, you must be able to deploy it quickly and manage it effectively. This is no minor challenge. You need to:

• Maximize availability
• Master the usually complex interactions between ERP-based functions and the IT infrastructure
• Ensure your operations team have the essential skills needed to manage some very sophisticated applications
• Continue to provide all these functions as the systems evolve

Optimize ERP availability

More often than not, ERPs are used for mission-critical functions. You need to be able to detect any interruption in service and fix it within minutes. Ideally, you could detect most problems in advance and intervene before they affect users - prevention is better than cure.

OpenMaster SLM allows you to:

• Monitor ERP operation and apply corrective action directly when problems occur
• Set automatic alerts that will be triggered when operational parameters reach thresholds, so you can launch preventive maintenance before service is visibly affected

Result: maximum availability, minimum downtime.

Manage ERPs in context

ERP applications can be frighteningly complex, typically with multiple interactions between order processing, production control, logistics, accounting,... Also, they depend on the correct functioning of hundreds or thousands of infrastructure components: databases, systems, network devices, web servers.

OpenMaster SLM consolidates the management of ERP applications and the infrastructure on which they depend:

• You can manage multiple ERP instances from a single console
• The same console also monitors and controls the underlying systems, databases, networks, middleware, and internet services
• The management interface shows the interrelationships directly, so that, for example, it would be immediately obvious if order processing was stuck in a loop because a database had saturated the space available

Result: faster problem resolution, lower costs.

Knowledge is power

Using leading-edge technologies puts skills at a premium. ERP experts are hard to find, costly to train, and difficult to retain. Your core business processes depend on your ERP applications, but you have to maintain costs at a reasonable level.

OpenMaster SLM provides built-in expertise that simplifies management and reduces investment:

• Automatic discovery, preconfigured control panels, and automatic alerts shorten the learning curve
• The ability to launch corrective actions directly from the OpenMaster console reduces the need for specialist training
• The common interface for ERP, system, application , and network management helps your operations teams work effectively together

Result: proactive cooperation, cost-effective operation

Success engenders growth

Most user organizations start by applying ERPs to their core business processes and then extend them to ancillary functions. The challenge is to ensure that the IT infrastructure can continue to assure satisfactory service levels, while maintaining costs at a reasonable level.

OpenMaster SLM's integration of application, systems, and network management provides the global vision needed for reliable forward planning:

• The comprehensive operational data gathered by OpenMaster SLM, plus the extensive reporting and analysis provided by its companion software suite, OpenMaster SLA, creates a solid base for extrapolating future needs
• Close cooperation with ERP developers ensures that OpenMaster will continue to provide effective management