Cloud computing (“the cloud”) is one of the leading technology topics in the world. Cloud computing uses the internet to provide shared computing resources and storage of records or documents. The term covers everything from emailing or photo sharing on a commercial service like Google to hosting the entire computing infrastructure of a global corporation from remote data centers.
The Cloud is particularly valuable to small and medium-size businesses (SMB’s) because it provides access to full function applications at a reasonable price, without substantial operating expenditure for hardware and software.
Cloud ERP, enterprise resource planning, enables a company’s accounting, operations management and reporting to run the cloud.
The Benefits
You would of heard the saying “anytime, anywhere, on any device”, this is the heart of Cloud ERP. It has been proven to reduce costs in many ways because it:
- Avoids upfront costs for all computing infrastructure such as hardware and data servers
- Reduces IT support services because IT is in the cloud
- Eliminates paying upfront for application software licenses
- Shrinks the cost of maintaining and supporting those applications since the cloud vendor handles the updates and upgrades.
The most important benefits of Cloud ERP go beyond cost-savings and include:
- Paying only for the computing resources needed
- A fixed monthly rate so companies can use their cash on other business initiatives
- Taking advantage of Cloud ERP applications faster since installation of hardware and software on servers or user devices is not required
- The ability to adjust the amount of cloud service as a company’s computing or storage needs fluctuate
- Enjoying the confidence that the data has been backed up and there is a disaster recovery plan
- Avoiding attacks on the company’s server because the data in not stored locally, but in the cloud
- Accessing the system from anywhere makes it easy for a company to expand geographically since the internet is everywhere and there is no need to implement hardware and software at remote locations.
Security
Security is the number-one concern for SMBs considering using the public cloud for ERP.
It’s only natural to wonder how safe your data will be in the hands of a third-party provider, or how you will get your data back from that third party if and when a contract is terminated. It is good business sense to have these concerns, you can be assured that reputable cloud ERP providers:
- “Bet their business” on providing secure cloud ERP solutions to hundreds or thousands of customers; a major outage or breach can put them out of business
- Have intentionally built redundancy, security and data protection into their cloud ERP solution
- Typically have stronger virtual and physical security measures in place than the average SMB and participate in SAS 70 Type II audits to validate these measures
- Can hire specialised IT staff with in-depth security expertise because they can spread their skills over many paying customers.
To select the best solution for your business, the first step is to have a discussion and assessment of what your business needs. We are ready to discuss this with you, get in touch with the Helm team and we will make a time to investigate what is best going to serve your business.