Making sense of the business software acronyms
If you are new to technology, you would need to know some of the business software acronyms that are frequently used. What do they stand for? What do they mean anyway? And how does it affect my business? Here’s the key to some of these terms.
CAD/CAM (Computer-aided design/Computer-aided manufacturing):
Systems that use specialized software and/or input devices to enable architectural, electrical or mechanical design using the computer. The designer can use two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics to create designs in CAD/CAM systems. CAM also allows for controlling the manufacturing of goods using the computer.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
CRM refers to the processes or strategies that a company uses to make its business more customer-centric, and thereby, increase profitability and revenue. CRM software is designed to support the processes—it enables employees of different departments to enter information pertaining to customers, interactions and transactions; and then access and analyze this information to provide better services or for targeted marketing.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
ERP refers to systems or processes that enable enterprises to integrate planning, manufacturing, sales and marketing, distribution, financial and other functions, so that the enterprise’s resources can be optimized. This helps enterprises to optimize their business processes and become more efficient.
Hosted Solution
A solution that is installed and run at a service provider’s server, and access to the solution is provided to enterprises, usually over the Internet. Since the service provider hosts the solution, enterprises that use the application do not need to invest in buying, maintaining, or updating the software; they needn’t spend on the hardware required to run the solution either. However, they have to pay the service provider a fee for using the application. In effect, enterprises pay for the solution as a service, rather than as software. The term “software as a service” (SaaS) is increasingly being used to describe this model of software deployment.
SCM (Supply Chain Management)
SCM refers to the management of a set of interconnected businesses or organizations that work together to provide requisite goods and services to end customers. It seeks to optimize all processes and systems that deal with the movement and storage of goods and services from the point of origin to the point of consumption.