What is Cloud ERP? Benefits & Best Practices

Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is a web-based system where server components are hosted in a remote data centre, accessible via the internet, allowing real time visibility and access to data from anywhere.

Cloud ERP eliminates the need to purchase or manage server hardware, and provides automatic updates, improved security, and scalable licensing across multiple devices.

Choosing between cloud ERP solutions and on-premises ERP systems isn't just about the price tag, but understanding the total cost of ownership and the value of freeing your team from complex IT management.

On-premises ERP initially appears cheaper but becomes more expensive when considering total costs. Cloud ERP also has lower upfront costs, while on-premises requires purchasing hardware upfront.

When factoring in ongoing costs like IT personnel, managing backups and data storage, security updates and protocols, and system maintenance, cloud ERP becomes more cost-effective.

The cloud subscription model provides greater control by allowing you to pay for exactly what you need, with the ability to scale licenses up or down as your business changes.

Cloud ERP deployment is simpler compared to on-premises ERP systems. The software can be more easily deployed using a standard pro forma system that is configured for your individual requirements.

SaaS ERP removes the burden of ongoing maintenance, as the service provider manages:

• Backups
• Software updates
• Disaster recovery
• System maintenance

This reduces the IT department workload and provides a more professionally managed system, allowing you to focus on your business processes rather than technical infrastructure.

Effective planning and budgeting isn't just about numbers—it's about giving you the insights to make smarter, financially sound, strategic business decisions. Cloud ERP systems allow you to:

• Streamline operations by grouping jobs into a single project schedule
• Oversee job status across various stages of the production workflow
• Analyse planned vs. actual production costs
• Track financial status of projects in real time
• Use data to stay ahead of delays or cost problems

Cloud ERP helps you understand project costs, track financial performance, and identify potential challenges early, enabling more strategic financial management.

Cloud ERP provides a comprehensive financial management system that goes beyond traditional accounting software. By integrating finances across business functions, it enables actions like checking a customer's payment status before making a sale.

The system covers core financial modules from accounts payable and receivable, general ledger to managing payroll and assets, as well as managing the cost of goods sold.

By breaking down departmental barriers and providing real-time financial tracking, ERP helps you make more informed business decisions.

Cloud ERP's CRM module helps you track leads from initial contact through to delivery, providing a comprehensive view of your sales pipeline. 

By tracking lead status, product type, and conversion likelihood, the system enables you to define an accurate pipeline and understand your potential future revenue.

The module allows tracking from lead to quote, to order, to delivery, giving your sales teams the data to make informed decisions about potential customers and sales opportunities.

SaaS ERP solutions transform inventory management by providing real-time visibility across multiple locations. The system enables you to track inventory levels, conduct mobile stock takes, and view real-time inventory data.

From sending pricing requests to raising purchase orders and receipting goods, the ERP system supports your entire procurement process by providing multiple inventory strategies. It tracks how many items are in stock and how many have been promised to other orders, providing instant decision insights such as pull from stock, sell purchase to order, and make to stock.

This approach enables more informed and decisions about delivery planning, order management and stock control.

Cloud ERP means businesses don't need to invest in expensive hardware or infrastructure that has to be installed locally. The subscription-based model allows you to pay for only what you need, with the flexibility to scale licenses up or down as your situation changes.

By shifting IT responsibilities to the cloud provider, you can reduce ongoing expenses related to maintenance, backups, security, and system updates. This frees up finance teams and human resources transforming IT from a capital expense to an operational expense, providing more predictable and manageable technology costs.

Cloud ERP enables faster implementation by allowing remote training and configuration across multiple sites. Businesses can quickly deploy a standardised system tailored to their specific needs, reducing the traditional barriers of ERP adoption.

This approach reduces the complexity and time associated with ERP system deployments, allowing you to get up and running more efficiently.

Cloud ERP allows access from anywhere with internet connectivity, enabling users to retrieve and enter data from any device. The system provides real-time information across different locations, ensuring that you can access the right data at the right time, regardless of where your team members are working.

By eliminating geographical barriers, ERP supports a distributed workforce, allowing teams to work off the same data and make informed decisions quickly and efficiently.

Cloud ERP transforms data protection by shifting security management from businesses to specialised providers. Instead of struggling to maintain your security infrastructure, cloud ERP provides a professional, hardened environment that reduces the risk of data breaches.

By centralising data protection, ERP helps you meet increasingly stringent compliance requirements without requiring extensive in-house technical expertise. Data is backed up, protected, and recoverable, giving you peace of mind in an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Cloud ERP automates software updates and system upgrades, removing the burden from the business. When a new release comes out, it is pushed out automatically, eliminating the need for you to manually update systems.

The cloud provider handles all aspects of maintenance, from back ups, to updating and testing software to ensure changes don't break existing functionality.

Cloud ERP allows you to scale up and down easily, giving you the flexibility to add or remove licenses as your operational needs change, ensuring you’re always paying for the right type and number of resources.

ERP solutions transform technology infrastructure from a rigid, fixed cost to a resource that can adapt in real-time to your business’s changing needs.

The future of SaaS ERP, and Enterprise Resource Planning software more broadly, is about seamlessly integrating AI, providing real-time insights, and giving businesses the agility to respond quickly to global changes. The key trends in cloud ERP are:

• More applications moving to the cloud. Even traditionally non-cloud systems, like engineering software (3D CAD), are transitioning
• Increasing pressure on remaining on-premises software to move to cloud based ERP system to keep up with rapid development. 

AI can highlight trends difficult for humans to identify, providing insights like:

1. Detecting changes in customer ordering patterns
2. Identifying shifts in supplier spending
3. Predicting potential material price changes