Making the Leap: Moving Your Business to the Cloud

Your on-premises technology is working fine, so don’t touch it, right? This approach may be fine for now; however, the world has gone and is going digital. Moving forward with a digital strategy is prudent if you want to stay ahead of your competitors and to meet the demands of an increasingly digital-first economy.

For businesses of all sizes, but particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), digital technology has been paramount to navigating the pandemic and thriving on the other side of it.

More and more businesses have already chosen to adopt a cloud-based system, with Gartner Research suggesting that trend will continue, with 85% of organisations will have a cloud-first strategy by 2025.

For many looking at buying a financial and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for the first time, choosing a cloud-based system over an on-premises version makes sense due to the solutions generally having lower upfront costs and capital expenditure, faster deployment, and easier administration.

For those already with a local system, it is about weighing up your businesses requirements and growth projections to the advantages of an online computing framework and drawbacks of their on-premise one. There is no simple right or wrong answer to this question, which is why in-depth research is vital and an external consultation could be of use.

Here are some common questions you should consider before deciding whether a cloud-based solution would work for you:

Can I afford the additional capital expenditure, customisation costs, and ongoing maintenance costs required for an on-premises solution?

While on-premises and cloud-based system costs converge over time, upfront costs for on-premises deployments are higher and are generally considered capital expenditure. On-premises systems can be customized at additional costs to meet your exact needs; though generally you are responsible for their maintenance and future changes.

Can I access my data and my applications when I need them?

Reputable cloud providers offer system availability of 99% or higher and 24/7 support which means you can access and analyse your financial and customer data at virtually any time, and get support when you need it.

Will my data be safe?

Reputable cloud vendors have strict standards in place to keep your data safe by implementing a zero-trust security model or comparable and by continuously investing in the technology and personnel to proactively protect your data at-rest and in-transit.

The decision to stay on-premises or move to a cloud-hosted or a cloud-native system completely depends on the needs of your business.

On-premises financial and ERP systems offer advantages in customization and in control, making them particularly well-suited for organizations with custom requirements and strict privacy controls. However, they are generally more expensive upfront and resource intensive to maintain and change when compared with cloud-based offerings.

When it comes to choosing a cloud-based financial and ERP system, there are options for businesses of all sizes Cloud-hosted financial and ERP solutions combine the customizability of an on-premises offerings with the 24/7 access, higher security, and lower maintenance of public cloud.

Want help making the best choice for your business? Contact us on 0330 043 0140 or email us at info@alphalogics.co.uk to organise a meeting, or consultation.