Columbus-7-Reasons-ERP-Cloud-A4

SEVEN REASONS TO CONSIDER ERP IN THE CLOUD

SPECIAL REPORT SERIES

ERP IN 2014 AND BEYOND

INTRODUCTION 3

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY 4

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY 6

GENERATE MEASURABLE COST SAVINGS 8

RUN A MORE EFFECTIVE AND SCALABLE IT OPERATION 10

STRENGTHEN THE INTEGRITY AND SECURITY OF YOUR ERP SOLUTION 12

ENABLE GLOBAL USER PRODUCTIVITY ON ANY DEVICE 14

ACCELERATE YOUR IMPLEMENTATION 16

YOUR BEST-PRACTICE CHECK LIST 18

CONCLUSION 20

ABOUT COLUMBUS 22Columbus RapidValue 22Columbus Care 23

CONTENTS

Business decision makers who are

choosing an ERP system also have

to decide whether to run their new

business management solution

on-premise or in the cloud Many

cloud-based ERP offerings are available today, including

public, private, hybrid, and hosted solutions What these

deployment models have in common is that the ERP

solution resides in a technology provider’s data center,

away from the customer’s business location Technology

users access the system through the internet Most

cloud service providers manage solution upgrades and

data protection for their clients

In recent years, the adoption of cloud technology has

accelerated We expect this trend to continue in 2014

and beyond More companies than ever decide to base

their new ERP deployments in the cloud or to migrate

their existing solutions to it The market for cloud-based

ERP deployments and other cloud technology

services will continue to grow How can your company

take advantage of it? What are the real benefits of

implementing ERP in the cloud?

At Columbus, we help companies in many industries

deploy their ERP systems We also assist them in making

the business case for the best implementation model

Read about some reasons why some companies deploy

business-critical technology in the cloud We hope that

our experience can help you arrive at a deployment

strategy that is efficient, reliable, and economical, and

that can meet your company’s changing needs

Introduction

3



Try Before You Buy

When businesses make large

investments, they run the risk

of making a wrong decision

The ability to try a new

technology before committing

to it greatly reduces this risk When you consider

a cloud-based solution, you can safely

evaluate it before you make an acquisition

or sign a long-term service contract For

a limited time, maybe even for a specifi c

business group or organization, you can

have your ERP solution set up in the cloud

so you can test it thoroughly The technology

partner and hosting service provider you engage

with will be able to work with you to establish the

most meaningful and practical parameters for a pilot

project

In this way, you can see how the capabilities of

the solution meet your business needs You also

can verify what the accessibility of the solution is

from a variety of locations and mobile devices You

experience fi rsthand how well the solution responds

in a realistic working environment Your ERP users

4

! Find additional information here:

www.columbusglobal.com

Gain theapproval and

buy-in ofconcerned

stakeholders

Thoroughly evaluate and

test-drive an ERP solution before you

commit to it

KEYBENEFITS

participating in the test can provide feedback from

their perspective regarding solution features and

the practicality of the cloud implementation When

you make your final decision, you can do so with the

assurance and comfort resulting from hands-on

exposure and comprehensive experimentation with

the cloud-based ERP solution

Some other technologies, such as customer

relationship management (CRM) systems, are ahead

of ERP in terms of cloud deployment Today, most

companies still run their ERP solutions on-premise As

ERP in 2014 and following years moves into the cloud

more and more, the ability to experience the solutions

before purchasing them will help rule out doubts and

uncertainties for those decision-makers for whom

the cloud is a new and unknown territory

5



Cloud technology enables you

to run your new ERP solution

in an enterprise-class,

f i t - f o r - p u r p o s e

environment Good

cloud providers invest in the latest,

high-specification technology to enable

your business application to run at the

greatest speed, with fast, reliable access

from around the globe The cost of

replicating this environment in

your own operation would include

significant upfront capital and

resource commitments, plus

the costs and effort of staying

up-to-date with evolving technology,

ongoing maintenance of upgrades, and

support for changing usage scenarios

Many organizations that have been running

an on-premise ERP solution may have saved cost

through inertia Having stopped considering ERP as

a strategic technology that plays a role in moving

the business forward, they no longer

invest in their solution and the

technology that surrounds it

Often, they are behind in terms

of upgrades to newer versions

or capability enhancements This

approach may have some relatively

minor, short-term cost benefits, but it

may have damaged the competitiveness

of the business The costs of any future

upgrades will be significantly higher, and

those updates will also require more

adjustments in the software products

that integrate and interact with the

ERP system When you move ERP into

the cloud, you do not need to ever worry

about these issues Through your cloud

service provider, you can stay current with

the latest technologies, including software and

hardware upgrades You can take advantage of all the

business benefits of ERP at a controlled cost, usually

a fixed monthly fee

Take Advantage of the Most Advanced Technology

6



Keep your ERP system current

without the costs and headaches of

managing updates

Take advantage of best available

technology to elevate the strategic

value of ERP

KEY BENEFITS

7



When you make the business

case for ERP in the cloud,

you can score a strong

point with this key benefit,

especially when you need

to convince the CFO: On average, the costs of cloud

computing are far less than those of on-premise

solutions In traditional, onsite deployments,

your company incurs the significant

upfront costs of software licenses and

new or updated servers and network

equipment When you deploy in the

cloud, you do not face those expenses

Cloud ERP solutions are usually billed per

month and per user You can fully finance

your new solution through operational costs

rather than by means of upfront capital

expenditures This cost model also helps

to keep your IT budget predictable and

controlled over the timeframe of the

cloud-service agreement

Generate Measurable Cost Savings

8



Reduce the costs and resource

impact of IT support, maintenance, and ERP management

Eliminate upfront software

licensing and hardware

investments

Pay for the ERP capabilities you need, when you

need them

KEY BENEFITS

Let’s summarize the one-time and ongoing costs

savings associated with cloud computing:

| Obviously, you don’t pay software license fees

| You also do not need to purchase new servers or network infrastructure

| The physical footprint of your operation is insignificant—there is no need for rack or data center space

| Cooling and power consumption costs are less because you do not need IT hardware such as server racks

| The high flexibility of cloud services means you only pay for actual users and applications When business requirements change, you can adjust the number of users or the ERP modules and applications they work with

| You may be able to generate additional savings in operational costs because cloud-based ERP requires less support and maintenance from IT, so you can reassign IT staff to more business-critical tasks

9



Because your hosting partner assumes

most of the day-to-day tasks of

running your solution in the cloud,

you can offload many tasks from your

IT department The IT team no longer

needs to perform a multitude of jobs that range from

changing backup tapes to implementing patches

to rolling out software updates Your cloud partner

will also monitor several performance indicators to

ensure that your ERP system runs at an optimal level

Taking these time-consuming tasks away from your

IT department enables it to focus on the more

strategic aspects of technology operation where

it can drive real business benefits

Run a More Effective and Scalable IT Operation

10



Access ERP and technology

expertise as the business

requires it

Outsource busywork and

use your IT group for more valuable

tasks

KEY BENEFITS

At the same time, you can extend your company’s IT

resources by accessing your cloud service provider’s

capabilities for certain tasks and functions Your

provider’s staff should include highly qualified IT

experts who can work effectively with a number

of the company’s customers These professionals

would have deep knowledge of applications

and environments that it would not be cost- or

resource-effective for you to support and staff In

engaging with your cloud service provider, you can

pay for the specific skills that you need, when you

want them At the same time that you gain access to

advanced technical expertise and skills, you can ease

the task load and reduce the resource impact on your

internal IT staff

11



Many business leaders

experience a level

of discomfort with

moving ERP solutions

to the cloud They fear

that one of their most valuable assets,

business data, may become compromised

and accessible to unauthorized

persons through the web They

are also often concerned about

connectivity, wondering about

the consequences if the

company cannot access the

solution because of internet

connectivity problems

We have good news The security,

availability, and integrity of

cloud-based ERP and other

applications has made huge

advances in recent times, and we

can expect even more improvements

in this area as technology providers

refine their offerings in 2014 Reputable

cloud providers will generally have far greater

security expertise than you can afford

to maintain in-house They understand

companies’ security concerns and have

the insight and resources to address them

Business continuity, data protection, and

disaster recovery are at the core of cloud

Strengthen the Integrity and Security of Your ERP Solution

12



Benefit from unprecedentedly high

integrity and availability of your data, ERP system,

and applications

Draw on your cloud provider’s expertise and

infrastructure to enhance your

business viability

KEY BENEFITS

providers’ business model They can work with you

to make recommendations and strategize the best

way to protect your data against any security threat

or viability challenge They will be able to reduce your

risk exposure from software-related liabilities such

as viruses, phishing, or unauthorized access by using

such tools as automated security packet sniffers

or sophisticated firewalls In addition, they also can

safeguard the physical environment of your data and

applications by using biometric control systems, CCTV

cameras, and many other resources and technologies

Our experience and industry statistics show that the

availability of ERP systems in the cloud is strongly

increased compared to that of on-premise solutions

Stringent industry standards continue to improve the

reliability and availability of cloud-based technology

A credible, capable cloud service provider will be able

to guarantee you an extremely high percentage of

solution uptime, so you can do business without

interruption

13



Taking your ERP solution to the

cloud can help you transcend some

of the limitations and challenges

that can accompany on-premise

implementations When you run

operations in several sites and want to deploy

an ERP system for the entire company, the

complexity of on-premise implementation

increases significantly You need to ensure

that employees at all sites can easily access

the solution and work effectively with it,

so the IT department or hired consultants

need to create and maintain a reliable, fast

communications infrastructure Your company

thereby incurs increased costs and resource

overhead As the business grows and changes, you

will also need to plan to scale the communication

technology the ERP system requires

Enable Global User Productivity

14



Enable ERP users to be productive at any location,

using any connected device

Benefit from superior

communications technologies without

acquiring them at great cost

Provide an excellent user

experience with consistent ERP performance

KEY BENEFITS

When you deploy your ERP solution in the cloud, these

concerns fall aside All of your ERP users can access

the system through the internet, from any location in

the world That ability, in turn, can greatly help user

adoption of the solution Your cloud service provider

already owns all the infrastructural resources needed

to make sure the ERP system runs at optimal levels of

performance and reliability

There are other advantages when you take ERP

to the cloud, depending on the capabilities of your

specific ERP solution Your employees can use their

preferred, internet-connected hardware when they

access the ERP system—desktop computers, laptops,

tablets, and other mobile devices What’s more, cloud

technology makes it very easy to connect the ERP

system with the collaboration and social-media tools

your company uses, resulting in potential increases in

employee productivity

15



Accelerate Your Implementation

Any ERP implementation, no matter

whether it is on-premise or in the

cloud, is going to take time and

needs very careful planning and

project management Where the

cloud can help is with the IT infrastructure Because

there are no additional hardware requirements,

you can save time that you would otherwise spend

by procuring and installing servers and network

equipment, and by managing any associated

issues These implementation benefi ts may

well compound if your roll-out involves multiple

regions, subsidiaries, and locations Once your

system is up and running, you will again benefi t

from largely care-free, fast upgrades and the

ability to easily add more users as the business

grows

16



Easily connect other business

groups, subsidiaries, and locations to the

ERP system

Makeyour ERP

implementationrapid and

predictable

KEYBENEFITS

You might also want to be aware of the different

cloud deployment models most commonly practiced

Depending on your business model and requirements,

each of them has its advantages in making your

implementation fast and painless Your technology

partner can help you make a wise choice among these

options:

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): Multiple

organizations share hardware resources Customers

typically enter into a rental or subscription agreement,

and may rely on shared or separate instances of their

software applications Most of the businesses using

this cloud deployment model are smaller companies

Hosted ERP: Customers run their cloud ERP

solutions on dedicated server and network hardware

and typically use separate instances of their

applications Many larger businesses prefer this

model

Hybrid ERP: Businesses maintain on-premise

software and integrate it with a number of

cloud-based services Hybrid ERP provides a level

of flexibility and control that some companies find

valuable In this type of deployment, they can easily

migrate from one solution delivery model to the other

as their business needs require, without losing data

or functionality

17



□ Review your cloud service provider’s uptime service-level commitment

□ Check on applicable ratings and certifications for your service provider and data center

□ If you can, arrange for a data center tour for yourself and concerned business stakeholders

□ Include multisite and global growth considerations in your implementation planning

□ Take advantage of cloud-enabled mobile ERP capabilities

□ Work with your partner to determine the best cloud deployment model for your business

□ Learn from the cloud experience of your peers in other organizations

Your Best-Practice Check List:

□ Before committing to a purchase, perform a cloud-based ERP pilot project

□ Involve key business stakeholders and influential users in the cloud pilot

□ Take the cloud vs on-premise decision as an opportunity to lift the strategic value of ERP

□ Review your cloud provider’s service commitments for software and hardware enhancements

□ In comparing on-premise to cloud-based ERP, consider all one-time and ongoing costs and savings

□ Project costs and savings through the contract term with your cloud service provider

□ Assess the impact of cloud ERP on the productivity and resource-efficiency of your IT team

□ Verify which IT skills and expertise you can access through your cloud service provider

18



19



In 2014, many enterprises and smaller

businesses will move their ERP systems and

other business-critical applications into the

cloud ERP implementation in the cloud may

not be the best option for all companies, but

it is definitely worth your consideration If you are

newly implementing an ERP solution, we recommend

that you review cloud deployment options and

evaluate whether the cloud is a good fit, given your

organization’s business model and expectations

for growth If you already run your ERP system

on-premise, it’s worth thinking about the possible

savings, efficiencies, and flexibility you might achieve

as you offload most of the ERP administration to a

trusted provider Your technology partner can help

you determine whether a cloud deployment makes

good sense for your business, help you assess any

financial and operational advantages, and plan for the

implementation that best fits your business

ConclusionYou may also find the other papers in our

“ERP in 2014 and Beyond” series helpful:

| Seven Ways To Avoid ERP Implementation Failure

| Seven Ways That Business Process Management Can Improve Your ERP Implementation

| Seven Ways To Optimize Your Existing ERP Solution

| Seven Ways To Help Data Migration During Implementation

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21



Columbus is an industry-based consultancy and

award-winning technology developer focused on the

manufacturing, food processing, and retail industries

We are the preferred consultancy for ambitious

companies wanting to streamline business processes,

improve operational efficiencies, reduce costs, and

improve visibility into their businesses

Our approach to solving our clients’ issues can

best be described as proactive We challenge our

clients’ traditional ways of thinking, help them see

new opportunities for improvements, and take

responsibility to drive change in their organizations

We’ve delivered these business benefits for over 25

years to many of the leading companies worldwide

About ColumbusColumbus is a long-time developer of award-winning

industry software and has recently become well

known for developing Columbus RapidValue

RapidValue is a business process management tool

that drives increased client value for ERP solutions

It delivers a shorter implementation with more

predictable results by incorporating hundreds of best

industry practices accumulated through in over 6,000

Columbus implementations This allows Columbus to

focus on streamlining the processes that make our

clients unique

Companies all over the world are investing in

RapidValue and enjoy the benefits of shorter times to

value, quicker and less risky implementations, and the

industry leadership and knowledge acquired from the

thousands of Columbus deployments that preceded

theirs

Columbus RapidValue

22



ColumbusCare is unique to Columbus—it is how

we take care of our clients, 24/7 worldwide

With ColumbusCare, you get a well-trained team

dedicated to improve your system’s efficiency,

cost-effectiveness and risk resistance Whether

you’re looking for enterprise-level support, upgrade

options, or system enhancements, ColumbusCare

provides flexible service levels to meet the needs of

your business

ColumbusCare

23



SPECIAL REPORT SERIES:ERP IN 2014 AND BEYOND

’Columbus’ is a part of the registered trademark ‘Columbus IT’

Seven Ways To Avoid ERP

Implementation Failure

Seven ReasonsTo Consider ERP

In The Cloud

Seven Ways To Help Data

Migration During Implementation

Seven WaysTo Optimize

Your Existing ERP Solution

Seven Ways That Business Process Management Can Improve Your ERP Implementation

Columbus-7-Reasons-ERP-Cloud-A4

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