What Are Cloud-Based Business Management Solutions?
Cloud-based ERP software is enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that runs in the cloud rather than on servers and other hardware hosted on premises. By implementing cloud-based business management solutions, you will be better able to visualize and manage all operations of your business from a single unified platform. Your company will be able to react faster to changes in the market and improve productivity.
You might be asking yourself, “what is the problem with the existing business management software solutions my company is already using?”
Table of Contents
- What is a Cloud-Based ERP Software?
- Key Takeaways
- Benefits of Cloud-Based ERP Software
- Cloud-Based ERP Software vs. On Premise Software
- Summary
- FAQ
Key Takeaways
- Cloud-based ERP software runs in the cloud instead of on servers you own and maintain, giving you a single unified view of business operations you can act on faster.
- Many companies still run inventory and CRM through spreadsheets like Excel, which creates the kind of costly data errors a cloud ERP system is designed to eliminate.
- Panorama Consulting’s annual ERP Report consistently finds efficiency and productivity gains among the most common benefits organizations report after implementation.
- Scalability is a core advantage: cloud ERP lets a company add resources for a demand spike or permanent growth without a large upfront investment in IT hardware.
- Compared to on-premise systems, cloud ERP is generally easier to manage and more secure, since the provider handles ongoing patches and updates and backs up data across multiple, geographically distributed data centers.
- Mobility means company data is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, and migrating to the cloud is typically far less disruptive than a traditional system change.
Oftentimes, companies are already using software such as Microsoft Excel to handle tasks such as inventory management and customer relationship management (CRM).
This creates many opportunities for costly errors to arise.
Fortunately, cloud-based business management solutions exist to help companies prevent data errors and use real-time information to improve their business.
Cloud-based ERP business management solutions increase the efficiency and productivity of company business operations. Panorama Consulting’s annual ERP Report consistently finds efficiency and productivity gains among the most common benefits organizations realize from these implementations.
Benefits of Cloud-Based ERP Software
By implementing and using a cloud-based ERP software solution, you can take your manufacturing business to the next level.
Access to Real-Time Data
With a cloud-based ERP software solution, data produced by the various departments of a company is continuously being collected and processed.
By having access to real-time data, you will have the capability to make business decisions more rapidly and intelligently than your competitors that do not use cloud-based ERP software as a business management solution.
Scalability of the ERP Software
Unlike with traditional ERP software that is hosted on premises, cloud-based ERP software is hosted and operated in the cloud. This means your company will not have to make a costly up front investment in IT hardware.
To handle temporary increases in demand, or permanent expansion of your company, you can simply take advantage of additional resources of the cloud. You will not have to add to, or upgrade, company IT infrastructure.
Mobility of the ERP software
Cloud-based ERP software is accessible from anywhere in the world where an Internet connection is available. Company information is always available at your fingertips.
Ease of Migration
One of the leading advantages of the cloud is how flexible it is. Easily migrate your business to the cloud and access it from anywhere. Typically, a change of management solutions can be a difficult process but with Cloud ERP migration, it is easy.
Cloud-Based ERP Software vs. On Premise Software
Compared to ERP software hosted on premise, cloud-based ERP software is:
- Easier to manage. Implementing a cloud-based ERP software business management solution does not require the purchase of IT hardware and software such as servers, networking equipment, operating systems (OSes) or databases. All IT hardware and software needed for the operation of the ERP software is managed by the provider of the cloud-based ERP software.
- More secure. The provider of the cloud-based ERP software takes care of keeping up with, and applying, security patches and updates. The ERP software will be up to date at all times, minimizing the risk of unauthorized data access.
- Increased uptime. With ERP software hosted on premise, there is always the risk of a power failure or natural disaster damaging critical IT infrastructure necessary for the ERP software to function. Cloud-based management solutions reduce the risk of downtime. Cloud-based ERP software is hosted on IT infrastructure distributed among different geographical locations to protect against natural disasters. For additional security, ERP software data is backed up regularly to multiple data centers.
Regardless of whether your ERP solution is cloud-based or hosted on premise, your company will benefit from the increased efficiency and productivity created by the implementation and use of a cloud-based business management solution.
Summary
The case for cloud-based ERP comes down to control: real-time data, patched and secured by the provider, accessible from wherever your team is working, without the up-front cost of buying and maintaining your own servers. That matters most for companies still patching together inventory and customer data in spreadsheets, where small errors compound into real financial risk.
Whether your company ultimately lands on a cloud or on-premise system, the underlying goal is the same — replacing scattered, manual processes with the visibility and productivity gains a properly implemented ERP delivers.
FAQ
What makes ERP software “cloud-based” instead of on-premise?
Cloud-based ERP software runs in the cloud rather than on servers and hardware hosted on-site. That difference lets a company visualize and manage all its operations from a single unified platform, react faster to changes in the market, and improve productivity, without owning or maintaining the underlying IT infrastructure.
Why do companies using Excel for inventory or CRM run into problems?
Manual spreadsheet-based processes create many opportunities for costly errors to arise, since there’s no built-in mechanism to catch mistakes or keep information current across the business. Cloud-based business management solutions exist specifically to help companies prevent those data errors and work from real-time information instead.
Is cloud ERP more secure than on-premise ERP?
Cloud ERP providers take care of keeping up with and applying security patches and updates, so the software stays current at all times, which minimizes the risk of unauthorized data access. Cloud-based systems also reduce downtime risk, since data is hosted across geographically distributed infrastructure and backed up regularly to multiple data centers.
How does cloud ERP handle scaling for busy seasons or company growth?
Because cloud ERP doesn’t require upfront investment in IT hardware, a company can take advantage of additional cloud resources to handle a temporary increase in demand or permanent expansion without having to add to, or upgrade, its own IT infrastructure.
What happens to uptime and data backup with a cloud ERP system?
Cloud-based ERP software is hosted on IT infrastructure distributed among different geographical locations, which protects against the risk of a single power failure or natural disaster damaging critical infrastructure. For additional security, ERP data is backed up regularly to multiple data centers, reducing the risk of downtime compared to systems hosted entirely on-premise.