Should companies use Cloud ERP?

Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been on the rise following the increasing number of cloud users a few years ago and it is predicted to increase in popularity in the next few years. The presence of Software as a Service (SaaS) also increases ERP choices. The market report estimates that the SaaS market will reach a market size of $186 billion in 2024, with a growth of 20% year-on-year.

Many companies have integrated their business into cloud-based ERP applications which of course can support new business models that can be tailored to consumer demand. However, many companies that have shifted their business to the cloud have not been fully convinced by the storage method and cloud application in maintaining and storing their data. 

General applications such as e-mail systems are usually entrusted to well-known public clouds such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, just to name a few. However, for jobs that are quite critical such as ERP applications often remain on-premise data centre facility. 

But this view is gradually changing. The IT teams are beginning to be aware of the high-security standards provided by these cloud technology giants and have begun to believe in the cloud. The cloud also provides a better level of monitoring, management and uptime compared to on-promise systems. In fact, cloud ERP is considered capable of providing faster data for business owners. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology which are embedded in the application can provide insights into businesses. Not only it can quickly analyse current trends but it is also able to provide a picture of the future and how the company can keep up with the changes. 

Does my company need Cloud ERP?

Investment in cloud ERP is considered quite crucial and important for businesses because of its ability to simplify business processes. ERP systems are able to simplify operational activities that can take a lot of time. 

The complicated task that is usually charged to human power can be replaced by a system that can be solved automatically. With this, employees can focus more on working in their respective divisions without having to often interfere with other teams regarding technical issues. 

Many have thought that implementing Cloud ERP would be a huge investment. The fact of the matter is, it is the opposite. If a company uses Cloud ERP, operational costs can be reduced since Cloud ERP is able to predict and anticipate any damages and interferences quickly and reliably. Moreover, the costs that companies pay are only the services that they use.

When is the right time to start using Cloud ERP?

All businesses have diverse characters and challenges. Measuring whether or not you need to start considering the use of Cloud ERP can be seen from:

• Employees start spending a lot of time doing work that should have been replaced by the system (example, looking for trends)
• Accessing complicated data 
• Unable to monitor inventory whenever needed
• Using multiple applications that are not integrated with each other 
• A requirement to be able to connect to third parties such as clients and vendors spread across various regions
• Data security in the company

If the business process mentioned above starts to burden you, it is necessary to consider the use of Cloud ERP. In short, switching to Cloud ERP to help reduce complexity is the main goal to meet business needs more quickly and efficiently.