JP/17/VISHNU

Surprisingly affordable solutions from Oracle

Vishnu K. Mahmud Contributor/vmahmud@yahoo.com

Most business schools will tell you that people, not cash, is a company's most valuable asset. Yet it is surprising that many corporations today continue to run with poorly selected, trained and motivated employees. An unfortunate encounter between an inadequately equipped staff member and client could quickly spread like wildfire, causing other potential customers to lose confidence in a product or service.

With technology continually shrinking our planet, one should remember that profits and revenue alone do not truly measure a company's success. "Human capital development is a fundamental component for any organization that wants to be ready for the era of globalization," says Adi J Rusli, Managing Director for Oracle Indonesia. "In order to sustain or be a leader in this kind of environment, you need to build or create strong leaders."

Building a good business means training, managing and providing tools for employees. However, the corporate processes and procedures involved are sometimes bureaucratic nightmares, such as expense claims reimbursement or scheduling weekly rosters. Why fill in a form in triplicate only to have it sent around the office for approval when you can use a computer for instantaneous authorization instead?

In actuality, these simple manual paper systems provide the company with a snapshot of its human resources. Are we short on staff for a particular day? Who is properly trained for a specific procedure? How can we ensure that our people can continue to advance within the company? This gets more difficult as your business (and number of employees) grows.

There are many IT solutions that can assist companies in managing their employees efficiently, which could result in significant cost savings in time and money. These enterprise resource planning (ERP) level solutions are no longer just for huge multinationals but also for Indonesian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). IT companies today are specifically targeting this fast-growing segment, including Oracle.

Think of the word Oracle and the words "database company", "powerful servers" and "expensive" usually comes to mind. However, the world's No. 2 software maker no longer focuses on its databases, but the solutions attached to it.

Rusli points to PT Federal International Finance (FIF), a part of Astra Financial Services, which is using Oracle technology to promote fast business growth. With a workforce in the thousands and offices scattered around the country, FIF needed an IT system that would help the company effectively manage and build up its human capital.

Oracle's Human Resources Management System (HRMS) was selected as it automates many employee administration processes. It allows staff members to use "self service" via a web browser for updating their information and submit claims while linked to the company's accounting system.

The centralized data is accurate and reliable compared to its previous system of double entries and typos. It also allows rapid turn-around times for obtaining approvals and information as well as gathering the latest HR data for corporate reports. A one week approval process was slashed to just hours.

HRMS is just one part of Oracle's e-Business Suite solution, which also offers financial, inventory management, purchasing and sales and service to name a few. "The strongest value proposition of Oracle products is its flexibilities," says Rusli.

He notes that Oracle's robust solutions can be re-configured to suite the client's requirements, and none of the costly and lengthy customization that requires program re-coding. It even has iLearning capabilities, which is more efficient compared to sending people from the various provinces to Jakarta for training.

But what about price?

"If you look at the trend within the IT Industry, software prices every year are falling," explains Rusli. "I would say we are actually affordable as we offer a number of flexible licensing models for the customer."

He also noted that Oracle e-Business Suite Special Edition, a solution designed specifically for SMEs, is reasonably priced. A smaller brother of e-Business Suite, this solution also streamlines business processes and is easy to implement and expand.

It also has many industrial best practices that can be configured for a variety of small and medium-sized companies, allowing them to focus on their products and customers using proven business methods.

Small and medium businesses continue to grow, with some analysts claiming they are the backbone of the Indonesian economy. However, as competition begins to intensify from China in the world market, local SMEs should consider innovative methods of making their enterprises more efficient.

And in this era of globalization, you can never rest on your laurels, or antiquated business processes, for long.