It’s true that cloud-based ERP systems have major advantages. They can get you out of the IT business. Especially for start-ups, paying for a system with the software-as-a-service (SAAS) model can be cost effective when you compare it to paying salaries for an in-house IT Team and costs for hardware, servers, utilities, and backups. Moreover, a true Cloud system (multi-tenant and not hosted) makes upgrades minimally disruptive and basically routine as they take place in the background with no direct costs like the traditional upgrade model.
When to Be Wary
On the other hand, oftentimes, true Cloud products haven’t grown up yet. They deliver fundamental functionality and some bright-and-shiny modern features, but still can’t compete with some tried-and-true on-premise solutions, which are actually just as “modern” or even more so.
One area where this is especially true is in project accounting, job costing, and government compliance. Cloud products tend to lack the depth of capability required for these functions. Seldom can Cloud solutions effectively deliver sophisticated allocations, complex job cost accounting (e.g. costing on the task level, etc.), truly flexible reporting, and indirect rate management for Cost Reimbursement government contracts.
What Really Counts
The desire for a “modern solution” can blind people to recognizing a system that efficiently performs the critical functions they need. The answer is to realize, whereas there are compelling reasons to consider a cloud-based system, at the end of the day what counts is implementing a solution that truly streamlines your business.
and other cloud-based products are still relatively new to the market. Or, they are in a suite of products that may not have flexibility to integrate with critical third-party enhancements. If your core business is project-based—professional services, research, engineering, construction, make-to-order manufacturing, etc.—or you are in the , consider this: We have seen traditional on-premise systems like blow the emerging cloud or suite products out of the water… or should I say, out of the sky!
The Best of Both Worlds
What’s more, if it’s the IT business you want to get out of, an on-premise system like Dynamics SL can be hosted in the Cloud to ensure you gain the essential Cloud advantages.
At Synergy Business Solutions, we help companies make the ERP system comparisons necessary to make the right choice. As a reseller of both on-premise (Dynamics SL and ) and cloud (Dynamics 365) solutions, we are happy to . There is a time to be wary of the Cloud option and we help you discern when that time is and why long-standing modern on-premise systems often give you what you really need with or without hosting cloud technology.
