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Part 4: EIS as a ServiceInternational audienceWithin the cloud computing hype, ERP SaaS is receiving more focus from ERP vendors such as ERP market leader SAP announcing SAP by Design, their new ERP SaaS solution. SaaS is a new approach to deliver software and has had proven success with CRM systems such as Salesforce.com. The appeal of SaaS is driven by amongst other things, lower Total Cost of Ownership and faster implementation periods. However, the rate at which ERP SaaS is being adopted is low in comparison to other SaaS applications such as CRM or Human Resource systems. Hence the need to establish the reasons for this low adoption. Consequently the purpose of this research was to determine barriers that affect the adoption of ERP SaaS in South Africa. Using interviews and qualitative data analysis, this study developed a model that explains the factors that affect the adoption of ERP SaaS. Network limitations, customisation, security and cost concerns were raised as dominant factors affecting the adoption of ERP SaaS. The research concludes by suggesting that over time the adoption of ERP SaaS should increase as the technology matures

Executive SummaryThe increase in adoption of business process management (BPM) and service oriented architecture (SOA) has created a high demand for qualified professionals with a plethora of skills. However, despite the growing amount of literature available on the topics of BPM and SOA, little research has been conducted around developing a detailed list of competencies required for SOA and BPM professionals. According to Gartner's 2011 predictions, by 2014 there will be a growing emphasis on process-related skills and competencies to create competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the required competencies of the business process analyst. The new business process analyst role is seen as indispensable to the success of BPM and SOA projects. This qualitative research used data collected through semi-structured interviews and through subsequent thematic analysis; a business process analyst competency framework emerged. The findings show that the business analyst competencies form a foundation for the business process analyst role. Even more than the business analyst role, the business process analyst requires strong interpersonal competencies and strengths as well as both left brain (statistical) and right brain (emotional) thinking. Business and organisational knowledge is seen as important while technical competencies were considered the least important. Although this research is positioned in South Africa, where the availability of skills is a major challenge facing the establishment of the business process analyst role, the resultant framework should be useful for any information systems educators designing curriculum for this new role and for organisations hoping to employ these professionals.

Purpose -The purpose of this research is to address increasing levels of web misuse, high internet costs and decisions regarding restricting web access, this research set out to identify factors that contribute to positive web use or reduce web misuse in the work environment. Design/methodology/approach -The theory of planned behaviour has been used in previous research to investigate factors that contribute to web abuse in the workplace. These factors, potential demographic factors that could impact web abuse as well as factors that make the advantages of the web possible were surveyed amongst information technology (IT) professionals in the Western Cape IT sector in 2004. The 94 responses were then analysed quantitatively. Findings -Results showed that higher levels of web access increased perceptions of information literacy and information access. None of the subjective norm or attitudinal antecedents showed significant support for reducing web abuse. Interestingly, close managerial supervision displayed significance by increasing web abuse. Demographic factors of firm size, number of years internet use, age and profession showed significance in predicting web abuse. Research limitations/implications -Attitudinal factors such as playfulness, self-efficacy and internet addiction were not included in this study and could be useful in future research. Many factors followed the expected trends but failed to show significance, a larger and more diverse sample size could have improved the results. Originality/value -The research findings are of interest to practitioners trying to manage web abuse and are also relevant in the context of high cost internet access and low bandwidth prevalent in many developing countries.

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Abstract. This interpretive research study explores intention to adopt SaaS ERP software within South African SMEs. Semi-structured interviews with participants from different industry sectors were performed and seven multidimensional factors emerged explaining the current reluctance to adoption. While, improved IT reliability and perceived cost reduction were seem as benefits they were dominated by other reasons. Reluctance to adopt was attributed to systems performance and availability risk; sunk cost and satisfaction with existing systems; data security risk; loss of control and lack of vendor trust; and finally functionality fit and customization limitations. The findings provide new insights into the slow SaaS ERP adoption in South Africa and provide empirically supported data to guide future research efforts. Findings can be used by SaaS vendors to address perceived shortcomings of SaaS ERP software.

Healthcare studies in the information and communication technology for development (ICT4D) domain have attempted to understand how technology can be used to support healthcare organisations in developing countries; organisations whose performance is negatively impacted by resource constraints. Current studiespredominantly informed by positivist and interpretivist paradigmsproduce analyses and prescriptions designed without an in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanisms influencing performance. The result is limited ability to explain how organisational performance is enabled by ICT.Critical realism as a philosophy of science provides a deeper ontological and broader epistemological approach that makes it possible to theorise the micro-level mechanisms that hold potential for explaining observed outcomes. The study reported here, informed by the critical realism paradigm, uses interviews, observation and organisational data collected from a single case study to identify the resource optimisation micro-level generative mechanisms that have improved emergency medical services. The study integrates the technological affordances lens to explain ICTenabled organisational performance. Additionally, the paper proposes and tests an understanding of the Bygstad, Munkvold, and Volkoff stepwise framework as a methodology for doing critical realist research using affordances.

Previous studies have estimated the failure rate of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementations to be between 40 to 60%. This high failure rate also extends to ERP adoption by Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. The failure rate is concerning since SMEs contribute to the development of many nations. It is known that the quality of a business case has a profound effect on the outcome of an investment. Hence, stronger business cases would increase the success of IT implementations. Yet, there is a lack of research or guidance for SME on preparing business cases. As a first step in addressing this concern, this study aimed to integrate various business case elements from the academic literature, distilling a set of considerations which SMEs adopting ERP systems can use to develop realistic business cases. The study uses a general inductive approach to analyse the academic literature as a secondary data source. The review looks at the broad area of IT business cases reviewing in more detail ERP business cases at one side of the spectrum and SME IT business cases on the other extreme. The final result is a description and a summary of categorised business case considerations for SMEs adopting an ERP system. The practical contribution of the paper is that SMEs adopting ERP systems may use the proposed framework to build realistic business cases, thereby increasing their chances of implementing ERP systems successfully. Secondly, the study lays a foundation for further research on business case considerations for SMEs adopting ERP systems and the subsequent confirmation of the proposed framework to support the development of better business cases.