Informatization must do what you can

Author: Feng Qiang 2003.07.29 enterprise informatization is a hot topic of enterprises in recent years, and it is also a topic that affects enterprise management. It is undeniable that Chinese enterprises have tasted the sweetness of Informatization. The popularization of "Accounting Computerization" is a typical example. If a company does not have a computer, it may not be surprising in 1980s. Now it's just a fantasy. For an enterprise, the purchase of a computer, the laying of a network cable, access to the Internet, does not mean that the implementation of information. What is informatization? There are many definitions and I am not planning to define them here, but I believe that informatization must rely on software and hardware to continuously improve enterprise management and business processes, this reduces the production and operation costs of enterprises. It has a wide range of information technologies, such as ERP, PDM, CRM, CAD, and Cam. Small ones include Internet access, enterprise websites, OA systems, and internal BBS, even small software and small programs developed by the enterprise itself can be regarded as informationization. Because of the wide scope of informatization, enterprises often have no choice in making informatization plans. informatization construction is either a greedy image or a wrong path. As a result, the management team is not only worried about informatization, but also hurt employees. I often hear friends in enterprises comment on Informatization in this way. "if it is not informationization, it will die ". Investigate the underlying reasons, not because there is something wrong with informatization, but wrong choices in the direction and accurate assessment of the company's objective reality. For example, we all know the importance of aircraft carriers to the military power of a country's air and sea. But not all countries are going to build aircraft carriers? Of course not! First, countries that do not have a coastline or a deep-water port will not be built, and those that do not have a strong national strength will not. Now, China is mainly engaged in construction, and there is no aircraft carrier. However, similar mistakes are common in enterprise informatization. An enterprise prepares to go to ERP and enters the product selection stage. After employing a consulting consultant to investigate the situation of the enterprise and compare multiple products, the company is interested in a domestic ERP software. Suddenly I was surprised that another company in the same industry chose a well-known ERP software which ranked first in the world's software industry. the boss of the company immediately felt that the selection of domestic ERP was not at the starting line? So we made a new scheme, made a new selection, and finally selected another ERP product of the world software giant. In this way, the cost of implementation is not only about 10 times larger than the original plan, but also the huge cost of later maintenance and technical consulting for large ERP software has become a heavy burden for enterprises. This is the story of two medium-sized state-owned enterprises I have learned. Now, the two enterprises are not using ERP well. Due to insufficient investment in the future, the loss of ERP technicians, now it is basically in the embarrassing situation of being "weaned" by the management. This example tells us that in information construction, we must select "appropriate" products based on the actual situation of our enterprise, not necessarily "best" products. Because of the best products, the price is always the best, and the cost of consulting and support is also the best. When I buy a car in my life, some people buy BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and some people buy Fukang and Otto, isn't it because of different economic affordability? However, if you spend money on your own and spend money on Enterprise Informatization, you are confused. You often buy products that you cannot afford, and it is hard to succeed in informatization. Take ERP as an example. Enterprises that have chosen SAP, Oracle, and other software for successful implementation, except for the majority of large enterprises, have a common feature that their profit margins are relatively high, there are many success stories in the tobacco, petrochemical, chemical, and food industries.
Enterprises need to do what they can to implement informatization. On the one hand, the enterprise's financial resources are: whether the enterprise is ready and how much information can be controlled. It is hard to imagine that an enterprise with a weak informatization foundation can reach a high level of application in Enterprise Informatization Construction. The advocacy of information technology by the enterprise's top management and the emphasis on IT talents are the foundation for the survival of information technology in the enterprise. The implementation of mature commodity software is the work of informationization, and the development of software by yourself is also the work of informatization, which is equally important to enterprises. Although the self-developed software interface is not as luxurious as the product software, and the architecture is not as strong as the product software, if the enterprise attaches importance to and guides it, it is believed that it will be closer to the enterprise's needs. Creating a good information atmosphere for enterprises can not only cultivate and train Enterprise Informatization talents who understand both business and development, but also greatly benefit the implementation of enterprise informatization. In addition, there should be a unified plan for Self-Development of Enterprise Informatization, such as the selection of development tools and platforms, standardized material codes, supplier-specific codes, and customer codes, these tasks are very important and can only be done by enterprises. They cannot be hoped by ERP vendors or consulting companies. Enterprises should pay full attention to the latest IT technologies, but do not pursue them. It is important to choose the software and hardware that best suits them. There is a company in Shanghai who switched all of its platforms to a Chinese Linux system and office to an open office system due to the piracy of Microsoft. On the surface, it saves a lot of money than buying Microsoft software. However, due to the complexity of operations and configurations, office staff are extremely uncomfortable and work efficiency decreases sharply. In addition, many business software developed earlier cannot run on Linux, finally, Microsoft's software authorization was purchased. I am not a supporter of Microsoft, and I have installed Linux on my home machine. However, I feel that enterprise applications must be cautious and the power of habit is huge. When using a technology and application, first think about it. Are we ready? J2EE ,. net and other new technologies emerge in an endless stream. Enterprises must be cautious when selecting information products. In addition to considering the price, it is more important to consider the maintenance cost in the future and maintain the threshold for training talents. As for self-development by enterprises, we should not keep up with new technologies too much. Using a popular and stable development platform will often get twice the result with half the effort. Many enterprises have very good applications based on VFP and VB, and have achieved good benefits. They have also trained a large number of grass-roots informatization application talents, which are the mainstay of enterprise informatization. The popularity of Enterprise Informatization reflects enterprises' strong demands for informatization. Of course, IT vendors are not excluded from deliberate speculation. Enterprises always aim to make profits, and survival and development are fundamental. Like all investment, the company's investment in informatization is not for "face" or "Emperor's New Clothes", but for tangible returns. The most important thing to ensure the return of information is to do what you can. The so-called "let's get what you get" is also true. ◎ --------------------------
Feng Qiang, it maintainer and free commentator. The above remarks only represent the author's personal position!
At present, he works for Changhong multimedia Industry Co., Ltd. and is in charge of the Information Management Department of the Technical Service Center.
15 years of IT information management experience, focusing on Business Process Reconstruction and project risk assessment.