Less Buzz, More Answers: Cloud ERP Migration Top 5 FAQs Explained
In today’s uncertain economic landscape, it’s vitally important to invest in agile planning processes and tools to increase forecast frequency and planning accuracy. One of the easiest ways to increase your organization’s agility is by transitioning your data to the cloud.
There’s no doubt that cloud ERPs have had a profound impact on businesses, transforming the way organizations operate, innovate, and deliver value. But the constant noise around the topic – from cost benefit analyses to sales pitches to technical overviews – has led to information overload. “Cloud transition” is starting to feel like just another corporate buzzword.
With so much information to sift through, it’s hard to know where to start. Hopefully, we can help you cut through the buzz and get solid answers to your cloud questions.
Get Answers to Your Cloud Transition Questions
What does ‘transitioning to the cloud’ mean?
Simply put, ‘transitioning to the cloud’ means making the move from on-premises ERPs to a cloud-based ERP.
On-premises, or “on-prem,” solutions are exactly what they sound like, software that is installed on physical servers at your location. On-prem ERPs are hosted and maintained by your IT department and typically can only be accessed via an in-office network connection or VPN remote connection.
SaaS is the cloud equivalent; you get the same ERP software, but it is hosted by SaaS providers on cloud servers and can be accessed from anywhere via web browser. Cloud ERPs are ideal for companies pursuing a remote work model, as your employees can access the software from anywhere without the extra step of logging in through a VPN.
Why would you want to move from on-prem to the cloud?
On-prem ERPs typically have a high initial cost as you must purchase sufficient hardware to meet your team’s data storage and processing needs. The ongoing cost of an on-prem software solution is roughly equivalent to one IT employee’s annual salary.
By moving from an on-premises to a cloud-based ERP, your IT team is freed from the maintenance and support of the software, saving precious time and resources; there are no upfront costs associated with hardware and installation, giving cloud solutions a low initial cost. As a monthly subscription, however, the long-term costs can eventually surpass the price of an on-prem installation. Organizations must weigh this long-term cost against the time and effort involved in maintaining an on-prem equivalent.
On-Prem to the Cloud with Jet Analytics
Download NowDoes putting your data in the cloud put it at risk?
Both deployment options have their merits and security challenges. Cloud ERP offers specialized expertise, frequent updates, and scalable resources, while on-premises ERP offers control, data location control, and customization. Ultimately, the security of either solution depends on proper implementation, maintenance, and alignment with an organization’s specific needs and expertise. Regardless of the chosen model, it’s crucial that you invest in systems and tools that offer robust security measures and regular risk assessments.
Seek a trusted software partner, like insightsoftware, that will place a high priority on ensuring the security of your systems and data. You need systems and tools that employ a comprehensive documented security program, designed with a multi-layered defensive approach. This means that even in the event of a failure in one security control, customer data remains uncompromised due to the redundancy of protective measures in place. Your provider should also operate within a framework of compliance with industry standards and best practices, across software development, infrastructure operation, administration, and the delivery of cloud services.
Will transitioning to the cloud disrupt my business?
While cloud migration includes many benefits, the hurdles of implementing a new ERP system can make it a daunting task to consider. Installing new technology, migrating legacy data, and training employees are challenges that take valuable time away from revenue-generating activity. It’s inevitable that large scale organization-wide changes, like ERP migration, will initially reduce productivity. But with the right tools in place there are ways to mitigate the negative impact.
A cloud-based reporting tool, insightsoftware’s Jet solution, significantly lessens productivity disruption for finance teams during ERP cloud migration. Accessibility through web browsers eliminates software installation complexities, allowing team members to swiftly adapt to the new reporting environment. Seek a tool with intuitive interface and familiar functionalities to reduce the learning curve, enabling finance professionals to generate reports and perform analyses without extensive retraining. Real-time collaboration features are essential, as they facilitate efficient teamwork, ensuring smoother workflows even when team members work remotely.
Most importantly, you need a tool with seamless data integration capabilities to streamline the incorporation of data from both legacy systems and the new cloud-based ERP. This minimizes errors resulting from manual data transfers and maintains the accuracy of financial insights.
Simplify Your Cloud Migration with Jet
With Jet solutions, finance professionals can smoothly migrate from on-prem to the cloud, ensuring minimum disruption and maximum efficiency. This comprehensive business intelligence and data warehousing platform empowers finance teams with intuitive, familiar tools that work across multiple Microsoft Dynamics ERPs, setting them up for long-term migration success.
Jet Analytics Cloud can help seamlessly transition your finance operations to the cloud, while maintaining efficiency and unlocking the power of agile finance. Additionally, as one of insightsoftware’s unified, modular applications, Jet Reports allows you to select the capabilities you need across budgeting and planning, controllership, and reporting. Get more done with less risk by bringing all your insightsoftware applications together in one place.
Jet makes your cloud transition easier by:
- Providing report portability. Gain instant access to your reports on the web or from a mobile device. With complete report management, report automation, and a collaboration and publishing platform, you never have to second guess if you or your team are looking at the right information.
- Eliminating the roadblocks of switching to the cloud. You don’t want your BAU reporting tasks to slip while employees adjust to their changed working environment. By connecting to both current and legacy systems, your team can report across both instances, via an intuitive interface they know and love. Jet streamlines your reporting and keeps the wheels spinning during migration, so you don’t have to miss a beat when it comes time for month-end close.
- Removing the need to migrate legacy data. Porting information can be a painful and expensive process. By housing it within a data warehouse, it effectively eliminates the need to validate and migrate your legacy data, while still giving you the flexibility to draw accurate data from multiple locations.
It can be challenging for organizations to adopt new processes and cloud migration is no exception. But by leveraging the right technology, you can greatly reduce the time and effort involved. Jet Reports and Jet Analytics make transitioning to the cloud easier and less expensive by streamlining reporting, saving time, and creating a single location to access all your mission-critical data. To learn more about Jet cloud solutions, or to get your migration from on-prem to cloud started, schedule a demo today.
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