Have any IST students decided to take IST 246 (ERP) instead of IST 221 (now 352)? Dr. Flachsbart sent out an email today saying 256 can be taken inplace of the 221/352 class.

I'm debating it. Advanced Web Design vs ERP? What is ERP and SAP all about?

ERP software attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those departments’ particular needs.

It's stuff like peoplesoft...basically....though peoplesoft is crap

is it any fun?

I haven't taken any courses in it really...but there's money in it for sure.

I'm staying in 221/352 because it's something I'm actually interested in and believe I'll enjoy the class. And I think I have to take 246 to graduate now with the new requirements. I guess 221/352 will become one of my IST 300-level electives now.


In 141, we did about a week or 2 of SAP. I believe the figure thrown out was $250/hr for someone who went to graduate school and focused on SAP. Apparentley, there aren't that many people who know it.

I emailed Dr. Flachsbart asking him to clarify a bit. He said if you are already enrolled in 246 then that will still count as one of your core electives and you will not be required to take this new class. That is only a requirement for incoming students.

Yes, I'm the same way devil. I will really enjoy 352, but am tempted to take both if there is a good job market for SAP.

Is SAP hard? WTF is it??? Programming? Understanding some software? Databases? Can anyone get technical for me?

SAP is kinda like a database. It's not really difficult, there is just a lot there to learn (easily enough to fill an entire semester and then some)

I'm not an IST, I'm an EE, thought I'd throw this out there.

We use a program called SAP at work, it is a lot like peoplesoft except the client software is not web-based, it is mostly gui-based and some terminal based. It’s kinda neat how it works. Because it performs functions for everything from HR to accounting to inventory and so much other stuff. Although it seems kind of silly to me. This was designed a bunch of years ago and did exactly what they needed it to do and exactly the way they wanted it done. Now it is so complicated and intricate, it is difficult/impractical to change/add anything. So new tools are designed for different things and the problem it was trying to correct (lots of different packages, each to do 1 thing) is getting worse, because the old way is SAP and the new way is completely different. My $.02, if I ever find myself in the decision position for using SAP, peoplesoft, STAR, etc. I will try to avoid them or combine them all, because it is silly to have a one size fits all software package.

My biggest complaint about SAP was that it was too big and it took forever to find anything. I like how my current internship has things set up. One app for each individual thing pretty much. I know exactly where to go if I need something, I don't have to mess around in a single, bloated app for 20 minutes until I find it.

Sounds like a usibility issue.... how ironic that something that's supposed to make life easier is harder.

--sea

SAP is only hard until you get comfortable using it. Keeping everything under one app cuts down on discrepancies between "apps." Plus, there are a lot of redundances in SAP. A lot a lot a lot. So the sales and inventory people can do similar things through their different modules.

Also, SAP comes in several flavors. There's the basic package, then there's different modules you can add on, depending on what you need, and what the modules do.

Although on the minus side, SAP is German, and therefore, sexually deviant.

I am a computer scientist that is a subscriber to way of thinking that says that everything should be seperate programs that use standard ways to store and work with the data and the programs are closely integrated.

This way every application does what it does best but everything still works as a package.

For instance, the program I use to maintain my address book is not the same program that I use for email but, when I start composing an email, the email application and query the file that my address book stores data in and autocomplete the address.

Other systems I beleive should work similarly.

I think this is the perfect blend of having one program that does each task and having one program that does everything.