How Does Cloud ERP Reduce Costs?

It’s no surprise that cloud deployments of enterprise software (like ERP or CRM) are fast becoming the choice of more and more businesses. A report on SaaS enterprise software by an independent ERP research firm Mint Jutras found that while 36% of participants surveyed currently utilized SaaS business software, 70% of them believe they will make the switch to SaaS within ten years. The cloud business is booming, particularly for those looking to implement enterprise software for the first time.

Leading ERP companies like Epicor have noticed the shift in momentum and have invested more heavily in building and promoting their cloud-hosted models. The reasons so many businesses have either switched to SaaS ERP or are choosing it as their first platform are clear. It’s faster to implement, it’s more scalable, it enables mobile solutions—the list goes on.  You’ll also hear something about Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and be told at every software demo that SaaS ERP will save your business money—but do you know just how much, and in how many departments, you could save?

It’s not just the money you could save immediately—it’s the money that’s staying in your business over its entire lifetime. Check out some of the top ways SaaS ERP can save your business money:

• As a fee you’ll be paying for as long as you’re using your ERP and CRM platform, subscription-based pricing may seem daunting. However, take the money you would spend on an on-premises implementation and spread that out over the estimated lifetime of your software. Then, add the fees that will inevitably come along when that hardware (like an on-premises server) becomes outdated and slow and you need to upgrade. You’ll probably find that the monthly cost of an on-premises instance is significantly more.
• In addition to just the cost that comes with buying the hardware required for SaaS business software, there’s also an associated hidden cost in maintaining the required servers. That’s not to mention the natural lifecycle that comes with that hardware—you’ll be on the hook for replacing it when it gets out of date.
• If your business goes through a period of shrinkage, you’ll be able to drop unnecessary users and save that money. You won’t be able to recoup the same 100% for an extra on-premises server stack. Once you’re back into the growth column, you can re-add those users easily.
• Shorter deployment times will also obviously increase the ROI of your software. Less time spent installing, integrating and testing will mean a shorter wait time before you start seeing the rewards ERP software promises. Additionally, if you feel that the software isn’t working for you, you can easily end your subscription. You won’t be left with a whole host of hardware and network space that you won’t know what to do with!
• Most SaaS ERP options will have their own support teams at the ready to help you with whatever issues and errors may arise. You won’t have to shell out the salary to pay your own dedicated support specialists or divert your current development team to those issues.

Wrap Up

The scalability of cloud software won’t just make your business more flexible in terms of implementation time, the use of an outside support network and ease of adding users. It will also give your business extra breathing room when it comes to your budget. Any kind of leeway in that area is invaluable to a company that’s looking to grow. That’s particularly why cloud-hosted ERP and CRM software is a good choice for small and midsize businesses who don’t have the budget required for a complex, on-site installation of their ERP and a server to store that system and company data.

You may just not want to tie your business down in investing in a large amount of hardware right now. You may have remote employees or be working in a shared office space that you plan to move out of as you grow. Mobile-friendly SaaS ERP like Epicor is accessible from any device that can get an internet connection—you’ll be able to have remote employees, streamline and control production and check on the health of your machinery no matter where your business is based. Whatever your reasoning, cloud-based ERP could solve a whole host of common ERP headaches and save your business some serious money while doing it.

If you’re new to the ERP world, or are running on-site ERP right now and want to make the jump to the cloud, Datix can help. We are an Epicor Platinum Partner and have helped countless clients from a wide variety of industries implement ERP both on premises and in the cloud. We can determine which hosting option is best for your business. Then, our expert consultants will be with you every step of the implementation process. Contact us and see what a difference Datix can make!

{{cta(‘770c1544-d87d-4acb-9fc4-7a25e1385094′,’justifycenter’)}}