Scalability, flexibility and security are now tested, proven and operational in a Cloud deployment. There are many advantages in moving from a legacy system of a closed ERP or client-server, into a Hybrid Private cloud, where discrete functions or processes are Cloud enabled, and other more sensitive processes and data are kept within the firm and not presented directly to a Cloud user.
Benefits of the Cloud approach include the following.
Services are provided on a pay-as-you-go, subscription basis. This means that the implementation of ERP system based on a Cloud platform could reduce the enormous amount of initial capital investment in the ERP system.
A legacy system which is migrated in whole or in part to a Cloud platform enables the firm to avoid timely, costly and aggravating new version installations, maintenance, software updates or server configurations.
The Web enabled software and module, must be coded to Cloud programming standards using Web Services based code and modern coding standards such as Java, .Net, C#, HTML 5 etc. this will entail effort including design, UI needs, documentation, system requirements, integration with back-office ERP modules, testing and analysis of data integrity.
Cloud platform standards and secure gateways are available or ready to allow easy interoperability between remote and local systems. These standars allow firms to integrate silos of information into large ‘data warehouses’.
Reliability, failover and redundancy within Cloud solutions ensures constant system availability, access and data backup and recovery. This feature is a significant benefit and much cheaper than doing it in house.
By removing IT overheads, constant maintenance, and endless cycles of software and hardware versions and upgrades, companies will save money and be able to turn their efforts and budgets to focus on business goals and profit.
These advantages of moving an ERP to the cloud, do not obscure the details needed in planning what to Cloudify, how and why. However, with proper analysis, strategies and choices, firms will see a large return on their ERP-Cloud investment, including more productivity, a clearer Sales-Customer Relation Management process, and more topline revenue growth as tools, information and distributed computing empower the workforce to not only better serve clients, but sell more.
