"Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case Study4.2. Safety HazardsNatural gas is an explosive substance and the transport, storage and distribution of natural is ahuge risk. Several incidents of gas pipeline rupture and explosion have been reported in manyareas. Therefore, the safety hazards are a major concern for the gas supply companies. Supplyinggas to customers where gas pipelines are not installed require extreme safety precautions inhandling the equipments. In order to address the risks involved in the transport of gases it isimportant to employ modern technological equipments that reduce the risk of gas leakage andexplosions. Modern fire alarms and automated valves should be installed, with adequate spacing,to address this problem. 5. ResultsIt is very essential to realize that information systems play a very important part in the effectiveoperation of a business. TransGas has to employ these modern technologies not just to improvethe network infrastructure but also to improve the core functionality of its gas supply andtransport system.5 | P a g e Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case StudyTask 2: Enterprise Resource Planning and Data Warehouse1. Introduction to ERPEnterprise resource planning (ERP) are very complex information systems and are very popularin business management. The implementation of these information systems is very expensiveand there are many that need to be considered before implementing these systems in thebusiness. There are many benefits of implementing such systems but the implementation is notalways successful. Careful software selection and proper implementation procedures areessential for the successful implementation of ERP. 2. Advantages and Disadvantages of ERPThe following table list down the advantages and disadvantages of implementing ERP solutionAdvantages DisadvantagesBetter control for large organization with large High initial investmentvolume of dataData duplication is avoided Limited expert human resourcesOptimized time management Adaption to the current hardware Add value to decision making process Limitation to the customization of systemProper cost control for the company Integration with other systemsTable 13. ERP in businessesERP is a collection of software that integrates business data and functions into a single system tobe used and shared within the organization. Apart from the use in manufacturing and planningsystems, ERP has expanded to other functions like finance, production management and humanresources. The major objective of ERP is to increase the operational efficiency of theorganization. This is done by decreasing the cost and improving the business processes. ERPpaves way for efficient communication between distinct departments in an organization. 4. Implementation ProcessMany researchers have developed a framework for the implementation of ERP in businesses andin universities. A multi stage process is highlighted in the works of many researchers. Theprocess involves reviews of the literature, business blueprint and realization. The implementationrequires many consultants and sufficient amount of time for large enterprises (Aladwani, 2001,p.266)6 | P a g e Information System Strategy and Development – Assignment 1 – TRANSGAS Case Study4.1. Process PreparationUsually the current business processes need to be changed in order to implement ERP. The mainreason of the failure of an ERP is the inability to realize the changes that need to be made to thecurrent process in the business. Therefore, business processes need to be thoroughly analyzedbefore the implementation of ERP software.Decentralized organizations have differentprocesses and other business related infrastructure such as business rules and authorizationhierarchies. It is even more difficult to implement ERP in such organizations. 4.2. ConfigurationBalancing the manner in which the organization wants the system to operate is very essential toimplement ERP. The settings of the system will depend on the requirements of the businessfollowing the business procedures and strategies. The settings can be modifies accordingly. 4.3. CustomizationThe ERP systems deployed to industries is in its standard form generally used in the industry.The vendors of ERP offer the customers to customize the system according their own businessrequirements. Even after configuring the system according to the requirements of the customer,there may be several gaps in the configuration. Although customization may seem to be the same as configuration, there are a few differences.Customization is not always required and is optional whereas configuration is necessary beforethe implementation of ERP. The effect of changing the configuration of the system is predictableand is the responsibility of the vendor but the customization is not as predictable and is the coreresponsibility of the customer himself. The ERP system is only designed to implement variousconfigurations and many different configurations are allowed. However customization has some advantages in the sense that it increases the chance of theorganization to compete with companies that are using only standard ERP configurations. It alsoincreases the acceptance of user. 4.4. ExtensionsExtensions to ERP system can be made with third party software. It is important to set up theseextensions before implementing ERP for a number of reasons. Extensions offer access tospecialized data and capabilities.7 | P a g e "