How Cloud Technology is Impacting ERP in 2023

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real-time and mediated by software and technology. In this blog, Jim Reilly, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for The Copley Consulting Group, a Judge Consulting Company, discusses how cloud technology is impacting ERP in 2023.  

Five reasons why clients are moving to the Cloud 

Cloud is the most prevalent technology driving ERP – the functionality and change in manufacturing and the core technology. For example, Infor’s CloudSuite™ Industrial has been around for 40 years. And it continues to improve, but cloud computing is changing and driving why clients are considering upgrading some of their older technologies to the cloud. There are five key reasons why they are upgrading.  

1. Innovation 

Previously, many clients installed an ERP system and then upgraded it 5-10 years later, which was practically another reimplementation. Clients can keep pace with industry changes and best practices by moving to the cloud.  

2. Security and compliance 

Servers and hosted environments leave you open to security vulnerabilities. The cloud is secure and compliant, so clients can prevent system penetration by moving to the cloud.  

3. Performance and scalability 

The cloud accommodates an organization’s ability to scale. The company does not get any performance hits by seasonal spikes or business growth or decline.  

4. User interface, experience, and adoption 

The cloud allows clients the ability to leverage modern tools. Many organizations still utilize text-based systems and have not moved to a graphical user interface (GUI). Upgrading to the cloud ensures the latest user experience across all devices, that business intelligence is always present, and prevents the need for a separate reporting system or analytics platform. 

5. Total cost of ownership 

Aside from the cost of potential security vulnerabilities, the costs of updating hardware and training staff add up. Moving to the cloud saves money. Pricing should include three essential items:  

• Routine maintenance 
• Hardware/software upgrades 
• Comprehensive data security approach

One key advantage of a cloud provider versus an on-premises one is that the former will provide disaster recovery and data security as part of their subscription. The cloud provider will also manage the maintenance and upgrades for you instead of an on-premises deployment. These are all key advantages to consider when selecting your new ERP. 

The Risks of Using Outdated Technology 

There are many large organizations still utilizing dated, text-based systems because they work, are reliable, and because employees are comfortable using them. However, a lot of these organizations are facing an aging workforce. When new employees come into the organization, they often have difficulty adapting. Many leave because of outdated technology. An additional challenge is that of tenured employees’ resistance to change. But if organizations do not upgrade, they risk losing the expertise of their tenured and aging workforce once they retire. Eventually, organizations will have difficulty finding developers to operate their dated technology.  

Implementing and utilizing Cloud-based ERP systems 

Regardless of when you implement a new Cloud-based ERP system, you must have a team and resources available to go through the business processes and re-engineer or install a new system. It is often less about software and the application and more about the implementation. There needs to be a team to identify current issues and work to build out the business processes.  

Having the right team and consultants to perform the implementation is what makes Copley Consulting Group, a Judge Consulting Company, stand out. Copley has an experienced team that can work with your organization to identify the best model and can provide options for many different implementation styles. Copley offers a customizable approach for each industry.