Tips for Moving Your ERP from On-Premises to the Cloud

You’ve Decided to Move from On-Premises to Cloud-Hosted ERP–Now What?

Adopting cloud-hosted technology is a huge business advantage and can help your organization stay relevant through the constantly changing technological revolution. Cloud-based systems offer a safer, more scalable option for businesses that accelerate your digital transformation and give you a competitive advantage.

However, once you’ve decided to move from your outdated, on-premises system to a cloud-hosted system, what comes next?

We recommend taking a strategic approach, so you can be sure you aren’t cutting corners or missing critical steps. Otherwise, you risk your timeline being extended and your budget getting overstretched.

Outlined below are a few tips to help you streamline your transition from on-prem to cloud ERP!

Gain the Support of Your C-Suite

Without the support of your executive team, you won’t be able to upgrade your ERP to the cloud. Clearly communicate to your C-Suite the exponential benefits, including:

• Quicker implementation: You can implement a cloud-based ERP system much faster than an on-premises system.
• Scalable and consolidated data: With all your ERP functions hosted online, data integration is scalable and more consolidated, giving you and your employees quick and easy access to data.
• Always accessible: There is no longer a dependency on the office to access your ERP system; instead, you and your employees can access the system from any location (office, home, shop floor, etc.).
• Top-notch security: Cloud-based ERP systems are equipped with data encryption and back-ups to safeguard your company’s information. Because everything is stored in one, secure place, you will no longer be required to maintain any documents or spreadsheets in your local database. Cloud-based systems are also equipped with a firewall that protects data that enters or leaves your system.
• Regular maintenance: Cloud-based ERP software is automatically maintained on the cloud, thus allowing your IT department to focus on more important needs.
• Real-time analytics: With cloud ERP, you can see reports and results in real-time. This ensures that your company is constantly up to date on information and allows you to optimize your business performance.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. To further encourage the support of your leadership team, we recommend also compiling concrete examples of how the new-and-improved cloud software will improve your business.

Develop a Strategy for Data Migration

Data migration is perhaps the most important and time-consuming aspect of moving your software from on-prem to the cloud. We recommend developing a robust data migration strategy to ensure migration success.

To effectively migrate your data, we suggest the following steps: reviewing your process, determining what data needs to be migrated, cleaning the data, and converting the data. When you make your plan to migrate, there should be a course of action in place that ensures data migration is accurate and complete.

Conduct Business Process Modeling

Your cloud platform should grow with your business, not hold it back. By conducting business process modeling, you can gain insight into your business’s gaps and pain points as well as visualize how the cloud technology will improve those operations.

Further, by ensuring your cloud system matches your business’s process and planned trajectory, you can maximize your upgrade!

Get Outside Help

Even some of the best plans falter; with project team members taking on multiple roles and large workloads, it can be easy for things to fall through the cracks, making it hard to keep momentum. That’s why it might help to solicit third-party help to move your software to the cloud.

A consulting firm, like Datix, can help you seamlessly move your ERP to the cloud and reap all the benefits afforded to your business by cloud-hosted systems!

Wrap Up

Cloud hosting helps manufacturers and distributors manage software platforms and provide enhanced data security. And one thing is for certain, cloud-based ERP software is here to stay!

Microsoft Azure is a robust cloud solution that’s equipped to operate at peak performance with high-end security functions. Azure is an industry leader in forward-thinking, reliable cloud hosting. Plus, it provides users with the benefits of Software as a Service (SaaS) without restriction–you don’t have to upgrade on your provider’s schedule.

Datix has over 20 years of experience working with manufacturers and distributors, and we have the expertise to meet your ERP needs. We will work with you to implement, manage, and improve your cloud ERP. And our consultants are dedicated to optimizing your software investments, ensuring you unlock their full potential from start to finish.

When you are ready to make the move away from outdated on-premises solutions and accelerate your digital transformation with cloud-based solutions, contact Datix!