1. David Caruso, director of enterprise applications research for AMR Research Inc, explains that although pundits, vendors, and buyers alike freQuently .......... the concept, ERP backbone is likely one of the most misunderstood terms in the software industry.

2. In general, people view ERP backbone in one of two ways: in terms of the applications included in the suite, or as the system's underlying architecture or .......... ; both views have merit, but current development activity indicates a trend toward the latter model as the dominant theme over the long term.

3. During the past several years, many buyers have made system selections to reduce overall systems ownership costs: they standardize on a single technical platform to ease the maintenance .......... and reduce required modifications.

4. Typically, these systems will form a shared services model that a corporation will deploy consistently across the organization, but beyond the shared services, many site-specific requirements become evident as CIOs analyze the unique requirements of manufacturing plants and the .......... of their information system needs.

5. Most organizations would prefer to purchase all business applications from a single provider, but the .......... of the matter is that many of them must look beyond the offerings of ERP vendors.

6. Frequently, global organizations must integrate successful plant-level ERP systems, localized applications such as payroll systems .......... to a country's specific legal requirements, and complex problem-solving systems such as advanced planning systems.

7. Also, additional third-party applications for specialized needs such as transportation, distribution, and scheduling are common; integrating applications in this way, of course, is called building a 'best-of-.......... ' solution.

8. As an alternative to the single vendor, some companies will consider their business application requirements on a .......... basis.

9. In any case, the .......... theme is to select the strongest application or best functional fit for how a business manager might want to run a given business function or process.

10. For IT managers, the quest for the best solution is analogous to a search for the Holy .......... .