Openbravo ERP enters US

Openbravo has released the next generation of its open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), marking the provider's official entry into the US market, writes Information Week.

Version 3 of Openbravo's Web-based platform includes an overhauled user interface and 'workspaces' - which the company compares with iGoogle and Netvibes - that integrate data from sources such as CRM, content management, and business intelligence systems.

The company is also pushing its philosophy of 'agile ERP', in hopes of striking of a chord with SMEs looking for fast deployments they can build on over time, rather than an all-in, long-term project.

According to ITBusinessEdge, the trouble many companies have with packaged ERP applications comes down to two issues: cost and complexity.

Openbravo wants to take on both of those issues with the release of v 3 of its namesake ERP software, an open source suite of applications based on a modular architecture, that Openbravo CEO Paolo Juvara says makes the overall environment simpler to manage than traditional commercial ERP applications.

Based in Spain, Openbravo is opening its first US office in San Francisco as part of an ongoing global expansion.

"While Openbravo boasts nearly two million downloads, perhaps more noteworthy is that Openbravo now has about 2 800 active deployments in North America alone, a doubling of the active base in just 12 months," says Eric Kraieski, an executive with Transitional Data Services, the Openbravo partner of the year in North America, says PRNewswire.com.