Secure external access to Odoo

Tämän kirjallisuustutkimuksena toteutettavan opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tutkia kuinka Odoo-toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän (ERP) käyttöönotto toteutetaan turvallisesti ulkoisten toimijoiden kanssa. Lisäksi tavoitteena on löytää parhaita käytänteitä, miten ulkoiset käyttäjät liitetään ERP:iin vaarantamatta yrityksen ydintietoa. Työn toimeksiantaja on suomalainen teollisuusalan yritys, jolla on käytössä avoimen lähdekoodin ERP-järjestelmä Odoo. Yrityksessä on tulevaisuudessa vahva tarve laajentaa Odoon toiminnallisuuksia siten, että myös ulkoiset toimijat kuten partnerit, toimittajat sekä asiakkaat saadaan integroitua osaksi yrityksen Odoota. Teoriaosuudessa perehdytään ERP-järjestelmien tarkoitukseen, etuihin ja haittapuoliin sekä eri toimitus- sekä hankintamalleihin. Lisäksi luodaan lyhyt katsaus tietoturvaan, keskittyen etenkin sovellusten ja tietokantojen tietoturvaan. Lisäksi tarkastellaan myös ERP-tietoturvamenetelmiä. ERP:n arkkitehtuurimalli yhdessä sovellus- ja tietokantaturvamekanismien kanssa nähdään ratkaisevaksi tietoturvahaasteisiin vastaamisessa. Kolmitasoinen arkkitehtuurimalli, jota myös Odoo tukee, nähdään turvallisempana ratkaisuna kuin yksi- tai kaksitasoiset mallit. Koska yritykset toimivat tänä päivänä verkostoissa, joissa liiketoimintapartnerit ovat osa ERP-järjestelmää, tarvitaan uudenlaisia tapoja mahdollistamaan pääsy ERP:iin mutta kuitenkin samalla suojaamaan yrityksen ydindataa. Perinteiset ERP-tietoturvamekanismit eivät välttämättä enää riitä. Tarvitaan uusia ratkaisuja, joilla ERP:n turvallinen ulkoinen käyttö voidaan mahdollistaa. Nämä parhaat käytänteet ovat vasta muovautumassa.The aim of this thesis is to investigate based on the literature review that how to implement Odoo enterprise resource planning system (ERP) securely with external connectivity. Additionally, the target was to form an understanding of the best practises available to create the external connections in ERP without risking the core data of the company. The commissioner of this thesis is a manufacturing company in Finland which is using open source ERP called Odoo. In the future there is a strong need to enable connectivity also with external partners meaning that several modules from the same ERP application need to be enabled for external usage. The theory framework is introducing main purpose of ERP systems, its advantages, disadvantages, different delivery models and acquisition options. Information security on high level is introduced with focus on application, database and ERP specific security aspects. The architectural structure of ERPs, together with application and database security mechanisms, are seen crucial to respond to security challenges. The three tier architecture model, supported also by Odoo, is seen more secure than one or two tier models. As companies today are operating over the traditional company borders, secure business partner access to enterprise data is needed. Traditional security methods of ERP have to be re-considered to enable usage also with external connections to fulfil the security needs of companies. It seems that at the moment the best practise security mechanisms for web ERPs are not yet widely established

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

A Knowledge Transfer Partnership - the development of a Bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning System in the UK

Abstract. A Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) is a UK-wide programme designed to enable businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance. A KTP achieves this through the forming of a Partnership between a business and an academic institution. The aim is to enable businesses to access skills and expertise from academics and embed this knowledge in their businesses in order to develop the business. The knowledge sought is embedded into the business through a project, or projects, undertaken by a recently qualified person (known as the Associate). Part funding is provided by the government towards the Associate’s salary and towards the release of an Academic supervisor who works a half a day a week at the company. KTPs can vary in length from 6 months to three years, depending on the needs of the business and the desired outcomes. Therefore a KTP enables new capability to be embedded into the business and has benefited and continues to benefit a wide range of businesses across many sectors in the UK, including micro sized, small and large businesses across many sectors. This paper describes a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between the University of Hertfordshire and a small and medium sized enterprise (SME) based in Cambridgeshire, UK.Final Accepted Versio

The Design and Implementation of a bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) for an acoustical engineering company

This paper will describe the tasks completed so far as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between the University of Hertfordshire and Acoustical Control Engineers (ACE) a ‘small and medium sized enterprise’ (SME) based in Cambridgeshire, UK. ACE’s 25 personnel design, manufacture and install noise and vibration control systems to solve a wide range of acoustic problems. The projects undertaken include acoustic enclosures for supermarket refrigeration plant and for generators used in many situations, together with other more diverse applications such as controlling noise in the workplace and even on a luxury boat. Before the current KTP project the company used some partially computerised systems consisting of spreadsheets to perform acoustic analyses, pricing and project management functions supplemented with a paper based system to ‘fill the gaps’. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems provide an integrated database for all parts of the organisation allowing decisions to be based on a complete understanding of the organisation’s information, avoiding the problems due to duplication of data and ensuring that the consequences of decisions in one part of the organisation are reflected in the planning and control systems of the rest of the organisation. ERP systems became popular from the 1990’s mainly in relatively large organisations due to the complexity and cost of these systems. This project is unusual in that rather than adapting an off-the-shelf ERP solution to ACE’s very specific and specialised requirements we are taking an ERP development approach in an SME whose legacy systems are made up of spreadsheet and paper based systems. For the software development an Agile approach has been used. Agile involves software development methods based on iterative and incremental development. The initial attempt was to start developing the ERP from an Open Source ERP Source Code; however this effort was futile as a result of the bespoke nature of ACE’s business and product lines. Mapping ACE’s data model to the database which any existing ERP system could be adapted to, proved to be a very difficult problem. Therefore, developing the ERP from first principles was inevitable. Several of the ERP modules have been developed, user training has taken place and the core modules have been signed off. The project is due to complete in September 2014 and by this time we will have further information on how the ERP system has increased the competitiveness of the company, as well as experience of introducing an ERP into an SME. However, as would be expected the work undertaken developing the system so far has had several significant effects on ACE and acted as a catalyst for change in various parts of ACE’s business.Non peer reviewe

Review of Literature and Curricula in Smart Supply Chain & Transportation

This study provides a review of existing smart supply chain management (SCM) literature and current course offerings in order to identify unexplored implications of smart SCM. Specifically, the study focuses on curricula within the state of California to derive potential opportunities for the relevant practitioners in the Bay Area. In addition, the study further extends curriculum review to other well-recognized SCM programs around the U.S. By exploring current relevant course offerings from different academic institutions for higher education (i.e., universities), this research aims to deliver general ideas useful to knowledge practitioners in fields concerning SCM. Finally, the research illustrates a conceptual framework aimed at fostering familiarity with the necessary research topics for the evolving smart SCM

Correlating Architecture Maturity and Enterprise Systems Usage Maturity to Improve Business/IT Alignment

This paper compares concepts of maturity models in the areas of Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Systems Usage. We investigate whether these concepts correlate, overlap and explain each other. The two maturity models are applied in a case study. We conclude that although it is possible to fully relate constructs from both kinds of models, having a mature architecture function in a company does not imply a high Enterprise Systems Usage maturity