At its simplest, cloud computing is the act of using someone else’s computer over the internet. There are multiple versions of the cloud offered in the marketplace, however, which can make choosing the right option more difficult. Versions of cloud solutions Public cloud Private cloud Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) Platform as a service (PaaS) Software as a service (SaaS) Public cloud Shared services are available for public use, such as: Applications Storage Databases Analytics Private cloud This is a cloud infrastructure created for a single organization that utilizes advances, such as virtualization and economies of scale. In other words, one company or many divisions of a company are using one computer over the internet. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) IaaS isn’t too different from the public cloud, other than that the customer rents the processing power of the cloud, which can be scaled up or down in times of need. The customer still maintains, customizes, and updates the software. Platform as a service (PaaS) The vendor provides the computing power as well as the development environment, allowing customers to build their own software applications while sharing services. Software as a service (SaaS) The vendor supplies everything — processing power, development environment, and software. Customers run the applications over an internet browser and can feed or extract the data they need. Perhaps most importantly, SaaS is built in a multitenant architecture, which means customers are all on the same version of the software at the same time.

How significant are cloud ERP savings?

Cloud ERP providers argue the upfront savings are significant, and the real benefits of SaaS aren’t in direct cost savings, but in strategic advantages. The cloud reduces the effort needed for ongoing support, and users can devote a higher percentage of IT spending to new initiatives. For organizations to make intelligent decisions regarding the cloud, it’s important to understand the relative costs of SaaS versus on-premise systems. Running business applications in a single instance — whether it’s on-premise; with a hosting provider; or with an IaaS provider, such as Amazon — doesn’t provide the economies of scale that a multitenant solution does. A hosted-provider model may save a company the hassle of managing hardware while using IaaS for applications may allow companies to tap into shared commodity hardware. However, running all customers on one instance of software and shared hardware could mean far bigger savings.

Why is it important to invest in cloud innovation?

Cloud users spend a greater percentage of their IT budgets on new initiatives and less on ongoing support of existing systems. NetSuite found organizations across all industries currently spend about 80% of their IT budget on ongoing support leaving only about 20% for new initiatives. Cloud users, on the other hand, only allocate about 69% of their IT budget for ongoing support, leaving about 31% for deploying new systems and capabilities. Not only do cloud users spend less on IT overall, but the amount they spend is more heavily weighted toward innovation. The implications of this finding shouldn’t be underestimated. Few organizations can provide their IT department with a blank check. Yet, user demand for new systems and IT capabilities continues to increase. In addition, business leaders demand new systems, better analytics, mobile deployment and a host of capabilities to make the organization more competitive. If IT budgets are limited, where can IT leaders find resources to satisfy these demands? The IT department can become more efficient in how they support existing systems with cloud computing.

Are there cloud benefits beyond cost savings?

There are significant cost savings when an organization moves to the cloud, but there are also strategic advantages. We’ve outlined four of the strategic benefits of SaaS beyond the obvious reduction of IT infrastructure: Speed of implementation Scalability Ease of upgrades Agility and customization Speed of implementation SaaS eliminates all upfront activities for installing hardware and software, and allows customers to begin configuring and to focus on business process design immediately. In addition, the vendor assumes all responsibility for applying required patches and fixes during the course of the implementation. Scalability Resource pooling and rapid elasticity are essential characteristics of cloud computing. These allow cloud applications to scale instantly to meet both short-term and long-term increases in transaction volume, storage requirements, and network bandwidth. Few internal IT organizations can afford to maintain excess computing capacity to accommodate variability in demand, or as a contingency, for future needs. Cloud computing ensures that, from the standpoint of computing resources, the customer will never outgrow the system. Ease of upgrades With on-premise software, many problems arise from customers using different versions of operating systems, databases, and middleware. In some cases, customers have modified source code which can lead to further complications. When fixing bugs, vendors need to re-create and solve problems for each customer’s specific configuration. The best-designed SaaS applications have only one version eliminating those problems. Many SaaS providers give customers access to new features without forcing them to go through periodic version upgrades. The minimization or elimination of version upgrades makes IT personnel more productive and allows them to focus on activities that have more value to the business. The best SaaS providers push out new functionality to customers on a more frequent basis, allowing faster consumption, with little or no action required on the customer’s part. As a result, organizations upgrade their cloud-based systems more often, and rapidly adopt new features from the software provider, potentially leading to further innovation. It also mitigates the risk of the system slowly becoming obsolete due to the customer’s failure to apply version upgrades. Agility and customization With on-premise systems, organizations may need significant lead time to add a new production facility, enter a new international market, or assimilate a new acquisition. Such changes could require the addition of a new system instance or even the addition of a new data center. Fast-growing organizations could find cloud-based systems remove impediments to growth. They’re more flexible, allowing new facilities or new international territories to be added without adding new hardware or system instances. True cloud vendors provide a customization platform that allows customers and partners to extend the application on their platform as well as ensure those enhancements continue to work whenever product updates are rolled out by the vendor. This provides companies with the latest functionality without delay while also avoiding the need to constantly re-implement customizations and integrations already in place every time a new product version is released.

Article

Potential cost-saving advantages and strategic benefits of cloud-based ERP

Sept. 28, 2020 · Updated April 19, 2022 · Authored by Michael Parker, Chris Millet, Chuck Andrews

The cloud has become ubiquitous in the business computing landscape. Public, private, and hybrid clouds; software as a service (SaaS); and platform as a service (PaaS) all contribute to a confusing alphabet soup for even the most experienced industry observers.

As longstanding technology firms look for ways to break into the market and new companies emerge, it will be more confusing for technology buyers seeking a cost effective, scalable, and agile enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. This makes gaining clarity around what each service offers even more important.

Traditional vendors of IT products and services sometimes argue that systems deployed on premise are more cost-effective in the long run than their cloud-based counterparts. Licensed software may have higher acquisition costs, but they’re amortized over a fixed time period.

In contrast, SaaS subscription fees — which continue for the life of the offering — take the form of recurring per-user fees. So, would a SaaS ERP solution save money for your organization?

Below is an outline of the strategic benefits of cloud ERP solutions beyond cost savings — supported by analytics from a 2016 NetSuite survey — and recommendations on developing a road map for migration to the cloud.

What is the cloud?

At its simplest, cloud computing is the act of using someone else’s computer over the internet. There are multiple versions of the cloud offered in the marketplace, however, which can make choosing the right option more difficult.

Versions of cloud solutions

Public cloud
Private cloud
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Software as a service (SaaS)

Public cloud

Shared services are available for public use, such as:

Applications
Storage
Databases
Analytics

Potential cost-saving advantages and strategic benefits of cloud-based ERP

What is the cloud?

Versions of cloud solutions

Public cloud

Michael Parker

Chris Millet

Chuck Andrews

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)

Platform as a service (PaaS)

Software as a service (SaaS)

How significant are cloud ERP savings?

Netsuite survey details

How much was data center spending reduced for cloud users?

Do cloud users experience increases in efficiencies for IT personnel?

Did cloud users need fewer customizations?

Why is it important to invest in cloud innovation?

Are there cloud benefits beyond cost savings?

Speed of implementation

Scalability

Ease of upgrades

Agility and customization

Next steps to move towards a cloud-based ERP solution

Recommendations for moving to cloud-based ERP

Have questions? Baker Tilly can help.