Cloud ERP Implementations: Are you Setting the Right Goals?

Just a short while ago, most businesses feared the cloud. Concerns grew surrounding security and data exposure because people couldn’t fathom the idea of having someone else control the servers where sensitive information was stored. But then the early adopters started evangelizing the benefits they were seeing from moving to the cloud. There were cost savings, productivity increases and ironically, an increase in security. These benefits, and more, carry over to a cloud-based ERP solution as well. However, just because someone else sees something as a benefit doesn’t mean it will automatically equate to a successful implementation on your part. In order to ensure success in the cloud, you have to set the right goals for your project.

Reduce IT responsibilities

Most technologies have become so complex that they require experts to appropriately manage and secure them. As a result, IT staffs require more highly specialized personnel resources than ever before. Not only do these positions eat into a large portion of the IT budget, but they can be hard roles to fill. Handing off the management of certain responsibilities not only saves money, but it puts the work in the hands of experienced experts who can focus on a narrow set of skills rather than someone who juggles multiple duties.

Not only are cost savings a result of achieving this goal through personnel, but also via infrastructure costs. Without the need to host your ERP solution on-site, you won’t have to audit and upgrade your existing network and server resources to meet implementation demands.

Unite multiple locations

It isn’t uncommon for a business to have multiple locations that span a country or even an ocean. Add to this the fact that more businesses are allowing workers to telecommute and you can see why you need an ERP solution that can be accessed from multiple locations. Not only does this allow your remote workers to access the same data that people who report to the office have, but it will increase your ability to share information across departments and locations as well.

Provide better security

When you are forced to add another layer of technology to your existing infrastructure you weaken your overall security. New enterprise applications, such as ERP software, provide attackers with added vulnerabilities to exploit. They also cause a domino effect for many pre-existing security rules. For example, firewall rules or email filters may need to be changed so that the ERP solution can communicate with other technologies and people. These changes may affect something else, and if that is overlooked you could be opening a door for attackers to come in and steal sensitive data.

Cloud-based ERP solutions are not a panacea, and their implementation takes just as much planning as does an on-premise offering. However, if you know what goals you want to achieve and a cloud-based option is what will get you there then it is definitely something you should consider. While there are some amazing benefits to a cloud-based ERP implementation, they aren’t for every company. Take the time to sit down with an expert who can go over all of the benefits, and drawbacks, to your company moving to the cloud.