An ERP software enables a company to:

Automate and integrate the majority of its business functions,

• Share common data and practices across the entire enterprise

• Generate and access information in a realtime environment. Consider the definition

A typical ES should support the managers of each hierarchical level with the following capabilities.

• Drill down

• Critical success factors

• Analytics

• Exception reporting

• Navigation of information

It is to build and develop all sorts of analytical tools, methods, and algorithms on the ERP infrastructure in an integrated manner and make them available for all managerial levels of the company to gain new and vital insights on each business functions. It is an essential approach to make sound and rational decisions on operations and strategies.

While all three share the common purpose, their slight differences among them. Some are listed as follows: 

• Business analytics address the companywide needs for data and decision analysis while decision support systems focus on the specific decisions and the analytical and informational expectations and requirements of decision makers.

• Business intelligence deals with satisfying the enterprise-wide demand for data and information in any content and format, anytime and any place by using data warehouses and data marts.

• The existence of ERP is a prerequisite for business intelligence, business analytics, and decision support systems.

• The business intelligence is vital for successful and sustainable applications business analytics and decision support systems.

• The business analytics applications resemble data-oriented decision support systems, one of the major class of decision support systems.

Descriptive analytics, sometimes called “reporting analytics” deals with the current status of the company based on the key performance indicators, i.e.,

To reveal the risks and opportunities a company can face in the future.

classification, clustering, and association along with artificial intelligence techniques such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, and genetic programming.

To provide a feasible solution or a recommendation that shows how to achieve the best performance.

The methods and algorithms of some disciplines such as operations research, management science, and optimization 

1. Define or identify the problem or the opportunity

2. Built an appropriate representation of the problem, that is, a model

3. Search for best or better feasible solutions to the problem by using the model

4. Choose a superior solution to the problem. 

• Computational support

• Modeling support

• Communication and collaboration support

• Data support

• Analytical support

• Cognitive support

• Knowledge support

• Mobile support

Confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Preventing unauthorized manipulation of information and ensuring its accuracy and consistency throughout the process.

Preventing unauthorized people, assets or systems from being accessed to information. As an example, in case of unauthorized people access to a mental healthcare report system, the privacy of patients will be harmed.

Instant power cuts which can interrupt operations and cause damage to hardware. 

An illegal and unethical action which takes benefit from the vulnerability of computers and the Internet.

It is the most common method used by hackers to defacement. By the use of this method, hackers can gain administrative privileges on databases of websites. As a result of this, they can easily manipulate the records in databases and context of the website as they want.

A software that hinders effective use of computers and its resources and thus may harm hardware

It is the process of transforming plain text to the ciphertext by using algorithms or keys. Encrypted data cannot be read or converted by anyone except the sender and the intended receiver.