Many companies are still very cautious when it comes to moving their business-critical ERP applications – sometimes referred to as the company’s “heart and lungs” – into the cloud. Finally, these core applications cover all business processes.
Standardization vs. Customization
Before entering the cloud, it is important to examine whether the need for cloud computing really exists, which business model is the right one for the company, and what is expected in the long term.
Certificates create trust
It is the cost aspect in particular, which is an important factor in the demand for on-demand models and changes the landscape of business solutions. Many have the hopes that the powerful ERP applications will be significantly more cost-efficient after the migration to the cloud and can significantly reduce the costs for infrastructure, updates, system maintenance and IT staff.
Clear conceptions protect against cloudbreak
Multi-tenant solutions, for example, allow multiple clients to focus on one common system. Only one instance runs on the server, but it can be used by a variety of companies and is easily scalable.
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"In selecting the ERP operating model, you should not only be guided by cost considerations. It is important that every customer weighs for themselves how much standard they want to use," explains Markus Gallenberger, Business Development Director of UNIT4 Software Code>
"Fast-growing medium-sized companies, for example, from the service sector, who have a heterogeneous IT landscape, have a high degree of standardization because of the fact that the complete ERP functionality from the cloud is often the right way to harmonize their solutions The on-demand model is a good solution for a company whose subsidiary is to be quickly connected to the ERP system used in headquarters, "added Gallenberger.
All customers who access a multimanded application in the cloud use the same product version, which allows modifications only to a limited extent. "If a company is flexible enough to adapt to future requirements, then only those modules in the public cloud should be operated, which make little adjustments." For all other modules, a private cloud is the right choice, "Markus Gallenberger explains Code>
Those who opt for services from the cloud should proceed with the necessary peace and start successively in the cloud. Without a doubt, integrated cloud and software as-a-service solutions (SaaS) entail the risk of creating an unstructured, unstable and insecure data environment.
Certifications such as ISOStandard 27001 and SSAE16 Type II are a good guide to how reliable a cloud service provider is. It is important to be able to demonstrate this certification in all areas: for the design, operation and maintenance of an ITSecurity management system.
The ISO standard should also cover equipment and workflows in the data center as well as the management of teammates. Under these circumstances, cloud providers can run ERP systems on a security level that many companies can not compete with.
In order to assess the cloud offer of a service provider, it is advisable to analyze the processes in your own IT: How are company-critical applications depicted in the system, and how do they contribute to the success of the business? If these questions are resolved, IT executives can decide which parts of the enterprise applications are well served in the cloud.
Whether in the cloud or on-premise, the system should be so flexible that it can represent new business processes at any time, "Markus Gallenberger advises." It is therefore unlikely that cloud-based on-demand services will deliver the classic ERP Systems in the short term. But it is also certain: meaningful additions and extensions from the cloud can provide more flexibility and agility.
The future is likely to shape hybrid approaches. They offer technological independence and a high degree of flexibility, for example, if demand increases unpredictably or when a higher availability is required.
Another option is outsourcing: the operation in the cloud does not have to be permanent. Companies should keep a path back to the Private Cloud or On-Premise, if IT policies or new business processes require it.
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