When Is It Time to Move Your ERP from On-Premises to the Cloud?
The decision to move your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from on-premises to the cloud can be challenging. There are many factors to evaluate and several deployment options to consider, including SaaS, On-Premises, or Hybrid.
Let’s review some of the factors that go into making the decision to deploy cloud services and timing the move to coincide with your business cycle and needs.
Consider your costs for infrastructure
As an IT guy, I love hardware. I enjoyed working with hard drive arrays, servers, and backup systems. But none of that is needed anymore. The care and feeding of high-availability computer infrastructure with off-site storage costs a lot of money and requires high-priced employees to run it. Cloud-based data centers handle redundancy, power, cooling, security, and high availability. Most companies can’t duplicate the same level of redundancy and security
Scalability
If you’re a growing company or if you know your company experiences seasonal fluctuations, a cloud ERP system can provide the flexibility to scale resources up or down without investing in costly hardware for the few months they are needed.
Support for remote workers
With more employees working remotely, a cloud-based ERP system can ensure secure access to the tools and data they need to work from any location.
Make better use of your IT resources
If your IT team spends too much time on ERP maintenance and updates instead of strategic initiatives, it might be time to move your infrastructure to the cloud.
Staying current
Every new release of Business Central contains new features and bug fixes. If your IT team struggles to keep your on-premises system up-to-date with the latest patches and upgrades, it may be a sign that it’s time to move to the cloud.
Data security and compliance
If your on-premises security measures are failing or you find it difficult to comply with evolving regulations, cloud providers offer robust security and compliance features at competitive rates. Moreover, cloud applications benefit from comprehensive disaster recovery solutions, which can be prohibitively expensive to implement on-premises.
Performance issues
A cloud solution might offer better performance and reliability if your current system is sluggish or experiencing frequent downtime.
End of vendor support
If your current on-premises ERP system is nearing the end of its vendor support lifecycle, it’s an excellent time to transition to a cloud-based ERP like Business Central.
Know your peak seasons
Moving your ERP to the cloud can be a months-long endeavor—plan on conducting the move during slow periods to lessen the impact on operations.
Choosing the right time to move
So, when is it time to move your ERP to the cloud?
Ultimately, it comes down to a business decision more than an IT decision. Which option makes the most sense? Conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis to compare the Total Cost of Ownership of on-premises vs. cloud ERP. This includes direct costs (hardware, software, maintenance) and indirect costs (downtime, lack of features). Determine which offers the greatest advantage, the cloud or on premises. What makes the most sense? Both decisions have a cost, and you might find that it makes the most sense to consider keeping things on premises for another cycle and re-considering in another six months to a year.
An honest evaluation of these factors can help you determine the right time to move your ERP to the cloud. Each organization is unique, so it’s important to consider your specific business needs and strategic goals.
Contact ArcherPoint to discuss your deployment options. We can help you find the best solution for your business.