Hello!
This forum is getting very interesting. I'm working with a local dealer. My contact is getting in touch with Autodesk. He think maybe he can adquiere a license for me so I can work around FMD. This dealer is not into FM, but I think there is always a posibilty of a new sale. What I dont like is to feel compromised on doing an adquisition in the future.
About SAP/ERP
For the big enterprise, SAP (DB managemnet and fierest Oraccle Competitor) offeres tons of financial solutions.Contract management, tracking of internal transactions between units and departments, etc. These ERP (Enteprise Resources Planning) tools is a business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning, manufacturing, sales, and marketing. As the ERP methodology has become more popular, software applications have emerged to help business managers implement ERP in business activities such as inventory control, order tracking, customer service, finance and human resources. The thing is that all the operations of the enterprise are made under a roof, in a facility. So space data is a most. ERP tools are including some space tables to relate properties with buildings, rooms, departments and personel alocation, asset management,etc. very similar to CAFM. But in depth, ERP is not CAFM so the best practice is to integrate your current FM system with the new ERP so ERP can obtain all space information from CAFM. This can gets as comlpex as you like because now everything wil be measured, more than ever, in dollars and cents. Is very hard for me to get a view in where both systems overlaps. This friday I will have a Meeting with the SAP ERP people to debate if ERP should replace CAFM, and of course I'm against that. I will let you know!
Facility Center was pregrine flag ship CAFM software. Then it passed to Tririga wish has a join venture with Autodesk for the Hospitality Iindustry( I dont have the details about this). I have a feeling about something happening between Tririga and Autodesk in the future, but I will keep that for me.