Manufacturing Information and Database Systems Adoption and Usage Trends in Developing Countries

Abstract

Data and information has become a central productive and strategic asset, and the success of the organization depends on its ability to gather, produce, maintain, and disseminate this information for its benefit and those in its value chain. The chapter details the results from a study concerning different types of software packages used by manufacturing and engineering firms in developing countries. The participants were categorized into six industries: academic, power generation, manufacturing chemicals, manufacturing engineering, mining, and transportation. The study revealed that 97% of the companies had a software package installed for their operations. The “big six” software packages found to be in use are Syspro, Sage, SAP, ELLIPSE, Navision, and SCADA DELTA. In the manufacturing sector, Syspro has the largest market share: 86%. ELLIPSE is largely used in the mining sectors. Companies spend about $20,000 as initial investment on the software and about $2,000 annually on license fees. More than 50% of the software users are satisfied with the performance of their software packages.