The information of a company always has to be protected and an ERP system should not be the exception, that is why it is important to know what the security of the ERP and restrictions of a system is like. At first glance, it can be said that it must provide the highest possible security and confidence that business information is well protected and safeguarded. Even more so given the level of detail of the information, the scope of control of the system, the delicacy of the processes it handles, and especially the modules or applications where money is involved.
Essential aspects of ERP security
Single server and restricted access
The information of the system must be concentrated in a single server, with its respective access restriction to it and have only specialized personnel for the use of the equipment. It is also important to have access to the server restricted through the company network, that only certain users or personnel from the systems area have access to it.
Limited number of users
Leaving aside the hardware aspect and focusing more on the ERP system aspect, it should only have a certain number of users to manage it. Each user of the system must have a password to access it.
Another consideration for the security of the system is that it allows knowing which users made which movements, when they did it and from which terminal they were made. Some systems record this information in the same system database, others use so-called log files in which the aforementioned data is recorded.
Configuration and parameter modules
There are systems that integrate configuration and parameter modules in order to finish some aspects of the system such as: what should be its behavior, what should and should not allow, what default values to take for certain calculations or operations, what formats for printing of invoices or tickets to use, how many decimals to handle in sales or numerical calculations, which applications will handle a specific customer and others.
Data validation
Another important aspect of any system is the validation of the data before being saved or affected in a database. Every system, regardless of the turn it is, must carry out these validations to avoid saving junk data and instruct the user to enter the correct data in the critical and necessary fields. This allows not to enter a number where a letter should go or vice versa, not to leave blank spaces in data that are required, etc.
Correct handling of the company’s business rules
A very specific aspect within the security of an ERP system is the correct handling of the company’s business rules. All ERP must have them well validated and they must cover the entire wide range of possibilities and rules, since the correct decision-making of the managers or senior executives of the organization will depend on this. It is essential to pay special attention not to leave gaps or possible paths that may cause the possibility that a user may commit a fraud or illegal act to the company in the company.
Data protection and back up
Within the security of a system we can also find the point regarding data protection. There are systems that use data encryption as a tool to protect a huge volume of information with the fewest possible complications and making it possible to recover it at any time.
As an additional precautionary measure, it is recommended that every ERP system have a tool that performs backups or backups of the system’s operating database. The objective is to avoid the possibility of information loss either due to a failure in the electrical installation, damage to the hard disk or the server, or due to an attempt to violate the integrity of both the database and the information of the system itself.
Regarding the restrictions of a software system, all systems always handle restrictions to certain sections. However, being an ERP these limitations are taken to a higher level.
Restrictions of an ERP system
- There will always be a user who has access to the entire system, in this case, it corresponds to the System Administrator. There will be users who only have access to certain applications or system modules.
- There are systems whose modules or applications are so broad that they handle different processes. Likewise, you can also define the limit of use for different users , where they only have access to certain processes contained within a module or application, as well as the actions allowed within it. For example: there will be cases where users can only consult information, others where they can insert and modify and still others where they can only generate reports.
- There are also systems that are managed by affiliate companies. In these cases, users can also be configured for a specific company as well as the type of access they will have within the system. It is possible to configure that a user has the ability to authorize certain movements within the system, that he can only see information from the branch to which he belongs, or only from the stores he manages, etc.
- There are configurations where users can only see managerial summaries, that is, where information from different areas of the system is concentrated and synthesized.
- Users may also need to change their password from time to time , for security reasons, in order to prevent someone else from using a colleague’s username.
The combinations of constraints in a system and their configurations that can be made are very extensive and varied. The degree of security, control and restriction of users as well as the correct validation of the business rules provided by an ERP are very important aspects to consider when deciding to implement this system. If you are uncertain about the security of your ERP implementation, we recommend doing an ERP security assessment. It is free, simple and fast.
While organizations receive the security and confidence that everything is running smoothly, software provider companies benefit from having a high quality, safe and stable product.
