I have been using ERPNext for myself for some time. Apart from hosted service offered by erpnext.com, I am yet to come across any service which looks convincing enough.
Do you think there is enough interest in the community for another hosted service option? And does the ERPNext license allow something like that? Please note that there is no intention of white labelling, just an alternate service option.
Other than the obvious challenges of building a reliable and scalable service, what particular challenges do you foresee in building and running of a service like that?
why do you need another hosted service? If you see any issue with erpnext.com, perhaps you should bring it to their notice to resolve. Having said that, erpnext is opensource, so there isn’t any licensing attached to the product. You could install it in-house or in a cloud server. When you do it on cloud, you are essentially hosting it as a service.
The main roadblock is you would not find any traction within the community or foundation unless you contribute with the quality and frequency that the team behind erpnext.com has contributed.
If you want to run your own service, that would be the place to start.
There is no issue with erpnext.com. I was just wondering if there is a
market for another option which may offer things like monthly fees, more
flexible user limits, cheaper price etc. Will there be a significant number
of people who would be willing to try a service like that?
I have ERPNext deployed in containers in a flexible way, autoscaling,
automated backups, separate containers for db, redis etc. I just wanted to
see if a business can be built around the work I have already done.
I am not an expert but it looks like you are inventing/assuming the problems and trying to fix them rather than fixing the known problems with the product. As felix mentioned, the best way is to contribute, build credibility and start your own service around ERPNext.
Build a name in the community first by helping others and contributing. Then there is a chance of getting traction because of your name. But without a name, you won’t get traction.
Chances of building a successful ENaaS business without contributing are small, mainly because you’re not going to be able to provide support and fix issues without contributing.
Just rough back-of-the-envelope math suggests erpnext.com is not all that profitable. Of course I don’t have access to their finances, but common sense assumptions along with publicly known facts go a long way.
The profitability of ERPNext.com is related to how they price and what they offer in return. It is a very good option for entry level or even 10-20 users. But you are of course free to start your own service and might be interesting for a lot of your potential customers.
on the region
target group
language of support
data regulation & privacy concerns
customer proximity
Whether you do it via cloud or via containerised service for “bring your own device”, it is a matter of delivery. It is profitable if people are willing to pay for what you offer.
Being free and open u are free to start your SAAS…However, in my view it is taking a view ride based on 8 years of development in Mumbai and other contributors
