Why Choose Cloud ERP?
Today, there are few—if any—businesses that are managing their operations with manual, spreadsheet-based processes. Many embraced technology years ago, becoming more efficient and profitable as a result. Unfortunately, their once-new and sophisticated technology is fast-becoming obsolete in today’s global and digital economy.
This is where a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution comes into play. As an intuitive, innovative, and integrated business management tool, a cloud ERP solution brings an organization’s data, departments (e.g., sales, financials, CRM, human resources, etc.), and critical third-party applications onto a single, centralized platform. A cloud ERP solution provides a 360° view of a business while also standardizing business processes, increasing business-wide collaboration, and promoting strategic, data-driven decisions.
And choosing a cloud ERP solution means businesses can easily and effectively adapt to future business growth.
How is Cloud ERP Different Than On-Premises ERP?
There are a few distinct differences between a cloud ERP and an on-premises ERP solution, and they hinge on one important factor: how you implement the solution.
An on-premises ERP solution is installed on a company’s physical servers, and the servers are stored in its own facility. The company’s IT team shoulders the responsibility for implementing, deploying, and maintaining the software, which includes loading the software on employees’ devices, ensuring updates happen regularly, and keeping the entire network secure. In terms of cost, the initial investment includes buying the hardware and the software license as well as paying for an expensive but knowledgeable IT staff. Additional long-term costs include paying to replace aging or failing hardware.
In comparison, a cloud ERP solution is accessed via the internet with the IT infrastructure located in virtual servers. Because users connect to the ERP solution using any web-enabled device, they have unfettered, any time access to their critical business data from any location. Additionally, the cloud ERP vendor maintains the servers in its datacenters, providing automatic software update, hardware upgrade, and enterprise-level data security services as part of their subscription fee.
Finding the Cloud ERP Solution That Fits Your Organization
Understanding the differences between cloud and on-premises ERP solutions will help you in your search for the right ERP solution. But recognize that this project isn’t a one-person endeavor. Finding the right ERP solution requires the assembling of a project team made up of strong representatives from all areas of the business—including finance, sales, customer service, production, IT, and more—who will fill certain roles.
For example, the project team requires an Executive Sponsor (who provides the vision, motivation, and conflict resolution), a Project Leader (who communicates project status to the Executive Sponsor, coordinates resources, creates the project plan, holds meetings, measures progress, and identifies problems), and User Community Task Team Members (who will complete specific ERP implementation tasks and report to the executive team).
Once your team is built, its initial job will be to communicate the ERP implementation plan to the organization at large with the goal of unifying every team member around the idea before the implementation commences. One way to ensure robust organizational support is to encourage team members to share which features they’d most like to see in the new ERP solution. As end users, they know what will—or will not—help make their jobs easier.
From here, the project team is ready to choose the right ERP solution.