Introduction Architecture of ERP System

The Prospects of ERP Systems on Quality of Education and Research in Higher Education and Research Institutions of Pakistan Najia Saher 1 , Dost Muhammad Khan 2 , Faisal Shahzad 3 , Nawaz Mohamudally 4 1 Lecturer, Department of Computer Science IT, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, PAKISTAN 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science IT, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, PAKISTAN PhD Student, School of Innovative Technologies Engineering, University of Technology Mauritius UTM, MAURITIUS 3 Lecturer, Department of Computer Science IT, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, PAKISTAN 4 Associate Professor, Consultancy Technology Transfer Centre, Manager, University of Technology, MAURITIUS Abstract It has been challenging for the educational and research institutions like universities and colleges to succeed in their core missions. The universities are facing the reduction in funds from traditional sources which has trimmed their revenues. The competition for private funding including grants, endowments and alumni donations is growing. The escalating student populations are creating physical space and service challenges. The Government regulations create pressure on the institutions to operate with a high degree of transparency, which intensifies the need to report, document and track financial, demographic, and educational information. These myriad of challenges can be addressed by better utilizing the current technology. The higher education and research institutions should be powered with IT that aligns with their requirements, supports for change and improve in the human resource management system. The institutions need to operate more efficiently and integrate processes, from business services to academic affairs and student care, while collaborating externally with government agencies and other service providers. The most of the teaching institutions in Pakistan are still using fragmented, nonintegrated and disjointed business systems, which are resultantly inefficient, outdated, and expensive. These systems are not helpful at all in decision making. The implementation of ERP system is, therefore, the best solution to envelop these bottlenecks. This paper is a case study which shows the effects of using ERP systems as an innovative learning and networked curriculum in a public sector university of Pakistan. This case study aims at emphasizing the importance of data integration and migration explaining in detail the architecture of ERP. The Campus Management Solution CMS is the name given to the ERP implementation in The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan IUB. This case study thoroughly examines the core concepts of implementing ERP along with its consequences. Keywords: ERP, SAP, Client-Server architecture, HEC, IUB

1. Introduction

Prior to the concept of ERP systems, each department has its own computer system. The problem was integration of data from different departments. For example, the Human Resource computer system manages only employee information while the payroll of the employee is calculated and stored in the finance department. The data was migrated and transferred from one department to another department. The migration of data is an important activity so many decisions i.e. identify the data to be migrated, timing of data migartion and creating of data templates, have to be made before migartion or transfer. The following are the advantages of ERP systems: a Combines the data of formerly separate applications. b It keeps the data in synchronization across the enterprise. c It simplifies the computer infrastructure within a large organization. d It standardizes and reduced the number of software specialties required within larger organizations. e Improvement in curriculum. f Improves student learning and the research capabilities of faculty as well. On the other hand ERP systems have disadvantage like: a Limited customization of software. b ERP systems can be expensive ans sometime too complex measured against the needs of the enterprise. c The cost of switching is high and reduce its effectivess due to resistance in sharing senstive internal information between departments [1][2][3][4][12][13][14]. The rest of paper is organized as: section 2 deals with the architecture of ERP system, section 3 is about the methodology; a case study, the implementation of ERP system with the name of the Campus Management Solution CMS in The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan IUB. Section 4 presents the results and discussion and the conclusion is drawn in section 5.

2. Architecture of ERP System

The Information age is revolutionized due to advent of Internet and Integrated Enterprise Resource Planning ERP systems during the past decade. The e-biz phenomenon has changed the way of traditional business process. Now business is round the clock. On the other hand this new paradigm has increase the volume of data. The new business process becomes very complex, volatile and spread across the world, as compared to the pre-e-biz era. ERP system is to integrate all departments and functions across the enterprise onto single computer systems. ERP system is like a three-tier client-server architecture, consists of operating system, application and database. This architecture provides scalability and customization ability. Data entered into one module is immediately reflected in all other modules, allowing users to access and make quick decisions [6][7][10][11][17]. The architecture of ERP system is illustrated in figure 1. Figure 1 The Architecture of ERP System The data is stored in a unified database for various modules. The users can access data from different places and also accommodate the growth of the data.

3. Methodology: A Case Study