10 Tips to Uplift Your ERP to the Cloud

Are you considering cloud-based ERP systems for manufacturing?

Moving your enterprise software to the cloud with an ERP system can provide a cost-effective and high-performing alternative to on-premise solutions, with reduced effort and risk. Cloud-based ERP solutions for manufacturing are secure and reliable, delivering all the necessary capabilities for manufacturers to enhance response time, comply with regulations, enhance customer satisfaction, provide predictable expenses and drive measurable performance.

Cloud-based systems for manufacturing are easy to deploy, integrate and upgrade, eliminating the need for additional investment in IT infrastructure and staff. If your business anticipates rapid growth, has limited IT infrastructure, seasonal spikes, or multiple locations, moving your manufacturing business to the cloud can be especially beneficial. You will be able to free up existing IT resources to focus on other business initiatives.

A cost-benefit analysis can determine whether a cloud-based ERP system for manufacturing is right for your business. Often, a guided analysis can identify hidden costs that can be easily eliminated by implementing a cloud-based ERP solution.

Strategic’s ten key considerations for your cloud-based ERP strategy:

1. Time to migrate or upgrade:
   When your system is at the point in the ERP life cycle where you’re considering an upgrade or migration, it’s a great time to rethink your ERP strategy and consider moving to the cloud.

2. Industry-specific requirements:
   Recently, ERP cloud adoption has picked up considerably in life sciences and other sectors that require strong compliance capabilities. Be careful though — not all cloud-based ERP solutions provide compliance capabilities. QAD Adaptive ERP does offer a single tenant, private cloud solution that is unique in the industry.

3. Infrastructure tradeoffs:
   By limiting the need for extensive IT infrastructure, cloud-based ERP systems can help reduce network costs. Considerations include compliance, security and ensuring adequate bandwidth and Internet access.

4. Know your clouds:
   The two major types of clouds are: private, for the exclusive use of an organization, which is typically single tenant; and public, multi-tenant. Companies can only maintain change control of their cloud environment in a private, single tenant cloud environment.

5. Consider a hybrid approach:
   Another option is for companies to consider a hybrid deployment, in which a combination of on premise and cloud-based ERP is used. According to a recent study, 93% of enterprises currently use cloud-based solutions, and use of hybrid cloud systems increased from 19% to 57% in one year.

6. Cost considerations:
   One reason cloud ERP is an economical solution for small-and-medium-size businesses or start-up companies is relatively low initial entry cost. Implementation, consulting and overall total cost of ownership (TCO) are all more attractive with cloud-based ERP solutions.

7. Accessibility needs:
   Cloud-based ERP systems provide tremendous flexibility in terms of enabling user access anytime, anywhere and usually on any device in most cases.

8. IT resources:
   Even with all the right skill-sets, on premise ERP requires far more resources than a cloud deployment. For many, the convenience of cloud deployment helps the IT team extend their reach and capability.

9. Scalability:
   The rapid and near-limitless scalability provided by cloud ERP systems is unfeasible with on-premises ERP.  Cloud ERP is also less expensive to implement across multiple locations because configuration can be done remotely.

10. Disaster recovery:
    Cloud ERP services are designed with disaster recovery in mind and offer built in disaster prevention and recovery solutions to avoid single points of failure. Should the unthinkable happen, your ERP can automatically shift to backup data and operations can continue.

If you are considering moving your ERP system to the cloud, contact Strategic today to learn more about how we can help. Our team of experts can assess your specific needs and requirements and recommend the best solution for your business.