Compiere launches 3.0 version of ERP offering

Open-source ERP vendor Compiere released version 3.0 of its platform on Tuesday, touting a flashy new Web interface and various performance improvements.

The company, based in Redwood Shores, California, is also introducing a commercial Professional Edition of the product aimed at mid-market and larger companies. It includes the new Web interface, along with what Compiere calls “enterprise-level data security” and “premium support services.”

Other improvements include returns management tools; additional financial report templates; and assorted “usability enhancements,” according to the firm.

Compiere also provides a free Community Edition, as well as a Standard Edition, according to the company. These don’t include the new Web interface, which was built with Google’s Web Toolkit.

All three editions provide customers with access to the source code, however.

Open-source software first took hold in areas such as developer tools, said Compiere’s president and CEO, Don Klaiss. “It’s inevitable that it moves up the stack into business applications.”

Compiere also differentiates from large vendors based on price. Pricing for Standard and Professional edition subscriptions begins at $25 per user per month.

The company releases service packs every one to two months and ships major updates once or twice per year. All releases are regression-tested and supported, according to the company.

“It appears they are very ambitious…. Some of the applications they are coming out with are complicated,” said Marc Songini, an analyst with Nucleus Research in Wellesley, Massachusetts. “Returns management is not easy.”

The fact that ERP vendors like Compiere even exist suggests that “open source is here to stay,” he added.

However, Songini questioned whether vendors like Compiere can find a foothold in the largest enterprises. “The big end of the market is already heavily penetrated. I don’t think anyone is going to rip out their SAP backbone to do this,” he said.