For every business, proper management of its processes can either be very costly and troublesome or (if managed well) can make for a decent competitive advantage. To increase effectiveness and automation of certain processes and, as a result, increase competitiveness, companies often use ERP (enterprise resource planning) software.

They are usually centrally-located systems in the organization and as such used to be setup internally, but with the recent outbreak of cloud-based services, more and more companies look into ERP solutions based in the cloud as opposed to desktop ones.

Although, for many companies migrating into the cloud with important data and operations, is often not an easy decision, it can be very beneficial and further increase the competitiveness gained thanks to proper business process management.

External and yet secure

ERP based in the cloud allows its users for an easier access to it compared to internal solutions. Thanks to that, more employees can be engaged in the management process as well as more data can be gathered and processed. Moreover, if the setup of the cloud and the system in it are properly secured, there’s no risk of unauthorized access and it’s much cheaper as opposed to a secure ERP infrastructure setup inside a company.

Additionally, external infrastructure protects the data in case of an outage in the company; ERPs in the cloud won’t lose data as they are usually based on a more advanced and better secured systems than the ones which would be utilized internally.

Ease of access and cooperation

For companies with subsidiaries scatted in different locations, cloud-based ERP is a huge operational advantage, allowing to easily gather and integrate data between them. Thanks to that, coordination and reporting is a lot simpler and there is no need for establishing/keeping the WAN network. This further drives the costs of the whole system setup down.

Unlike desktop solutions, the cloud-based software is a lot easier to integrate with other systems. ERPs in the cloud are often prepared to be integrated with many other systems right when they are designed and created, so they can be easily connected with many business intelligence systems.

Migrate everything

Of course the biggest benefits are visible when both the ERP software as well as infrastructure are cloud-based. This allows for a cheap and easy scalability, quick access with no VPN required, and compatibility with other systems and on different platforms, as well as quick and easy implementation and no hardware costs. Unlike desktop solutions, when using cloud, the company pays only for what it really needs and uses, so the IT costs can be much lower.

Cloud-based ERP can engage a lot more users in the business process management, because its users can be employees, clients and suppliers. Internal, desktop solutions are used by a closed circle of employees and not all of the processes can be fully automated. Cloud infrastructure allows access for all involved parties to cooperate and exchange data. And, the Metcalfe’s telecommunications law holds true for ERP’s the value of the ERP system for the company is proportional to the number of users connected to it.