Is OpenERP ready for Primetime in the US?

I have had a recent email conversation with a gentleman about OpenERP and its readiness for US-based small businesses.  It's an excellent question, and one I am currently evaluating, and have been for a month or two.

OpenERP, if you do not know, is a modular-based ERP software solution that is more of a framework than most ERP solutions I have seen.  It is built on Postgres and Python, two of my favorite things.  The website touts over 300 modules that are available to plug into your OpenERP solution.  It's feature list is large and broad, to say the least, with modules for Document Management, Wiki, Portals, HR, Projects, and more.

I have downloaded and installed OpenERP on Windows and on Linux.  There is a fat client and also a web client with equal functionality (as far as I have seen so far).  There is also a SaaS version called Odoo (http://odoo.com) that is very reasonably priced.  Although the SaaS version does not let you install all the available modules, but it does tell you why it is that way.

So, do I think it's ready for primetime in the US for small businesses?  For the most part, I would say it is.  The price tag of the software itself is unbeatable (free) and the modules and features are solid.  Other packages will do other things better, but not at the price and perhaps not as integrated.

More to come as I keep learning it and evaluating.

GP Sales Cube with Pentaho

I now have Pentaho talking with my Dynamics GP data in SQL Server 2005.  I have since been able to make a Sales Transaction cube using the Pentaho Data Integration tool along with the Schema Workbench.

The Data Integration tool is used for the ETL/Integration portion of the process.  It reads data from GP and creates dimensions and the resulting fact table.

The Schema Workbench is used to create the Analysis views that will be available in Pentaho's Mondrian Schema.  It's an XML file that lists out my dimensions I define (Time, Sales Territory, Customer Class, Item Class) and some measures.  You use this tool to publish the schema file to Pentaho so you can use the User Console to create a new Analysis View and slice and dice your data.

I have also worked a little with the Design Studio and created some xaction files that generate flash-based charts using my GP data.  The examples are quite helpful, as well as the Pentaho Wiki on Charting.  These xaction files also are accessed via the Pentaho User Console.

Next step - refining my Sales Cube and using the Community Dashboard Framework (CDF)!