This paper and presentation will provide details of the beginnings of an attempt to move an ERP system from the Unix and NT environment onto the MPE/iX environment on an HP3000 918/DX in support of CSY's developer's program initiated late last year. The lack of support for ancillary tools and unacceptable performance are the major obstacles to be overcome.
The midrange market deserves the performance and reliability of the best of the midrange computers.
While there are numerous older Manufacturing Software solutions available on the HP3000, there have been no new ones made available from the top tier of ERP suppliers. Rumors of attempts to port SAP to the HP3000 have persisted for years, but that project was abandoned long ago. The ASK Group tried and failed to move MANMAN/X (which they had purchased from Baan and renamed) to MPE very early in the game. Both of these projects were attempted about five years ago and some recent improvements in MPE have made the task worth trying again.
The HP3000's ease of use fits the attitude of simplicity important to the quick success of the implementation of any ERP package. If the hundreds of legacy HP3000 MRP users could slowly migrate to a new client server ERP system on the same platform, savings in hardware, infrastructure, training and conversion costs could be realized.
Although PeopleSoft recently added support for the IBM AS/400, the larger, more complicated players in the ERP arena (SAP and Baan) probably don't have time to add many more platforms to their already lengthy lists. Besides, they've got their hands full with larger companies migrating from packages that are obsolete, poorly integrated and lack Y2K compliance (unlike most HP3000 manufacturing and financial applications).
The less complex nature of the second tier ERP packages (JDE, Symix, QAD, Glovia (MDIS), MK, Industrial and Financial Systems (IFS), Pivotpoint, Tetra, Fourth Shift, etc) is well suited to the class of machines represented by the HP3000, the IBM AS/400 and the DEC Vax. So if porting a large, integrated system of programs and file structures to the HP3000 Server Family has never been easier, why aren't there more examples of success? The native packages like MANMAN that were developed on MPE with IMAGE are humming along smoothly; why don't newer systems show up on the MPE platform from dozens of the "open" ERP vendors?
Maturity and flexibility, plus the depth of knowledge of the experienced technical and user base, give the HP3000 some clear advantages as both the Database Server and the Applications Server portions of the three-tier architecture prevalent in today's ERP market. The fact that the HP3000 has been around for 25 years and maintains the highest overall rating among its users attests to the robust nature of its performance and strength. Its operating system's tendency to stay up while others crash is the main reason its system managers and operators love the HP3000.
One obstacle to the availability of more comprehensive client/server, object oriented systems has been the reluctance of ERP vendors to use or adapt to Hewlett Packard's proprietary IMAGE/SQL Database, which is the secret behind many of the HP3000's success stories. Since most of the ERP providers seem to be using Oracle tools, the health and growth of that particular RBMS on MPE/iX is of the utmost importance.
Our project to convert IFS Applications is just beginning as the submission deadline for this paper and presentation is nearing, so the final resolution and details of challenges and opportunities are unavailable at this time. Handouts of presentation slides, containing details of progress as of late July, will be available at the HP World 98 presentation.