Compare ERP: The Cloud vs On-Premise Solutions

If yours is a small business, chances are you have examined the potential of enterprise resource planning technologies, only to find that on-premise solutions require the infrastructure, hardware and licensing beyond what your cash flow can support. Interestingly enough, when you start to compare ERP today, you’ll find that not only are on-premise ERP platforms becoming much more affordable for on-premise deployments, they are also readily available in the cloud. Why should you consider each when you compare ERP software? Why not evaluate the platforms with the most potential to deliver value within your environment?

Compare ERP: On-Premise

On-premise ERP providers such as Oracle, NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics offer streamlined solutions today that can more readily fit into the small business platform. Why the recent change? These players are also developing cloud-based solutions and to effectively compete in the ERP market, they each want to be the preferred provider whether companies like yours are seeking to implement ERP in the cloud or in-house. So, when you compare ERP, examine whether or not a provider offers both deployment strategies. This can be important if you want to leverage in-house solutions in one area of your company, but take it to the cloud in another. This is another new strategy providers are making available to the small business as they seek to dominate the market.

Compare ERP: Cloud

The arrival of ERP on the cloud is a great move for the small business as it opens up a world of opportunities to leverage key capabilities in data management, without significant investments. When you compare ERP, however, remember that in the cloud, you have to consider more than just the licensing fees. Think about how you will leverage the data, how it will integrate throughout the organization, and whether or not the database will be updated and supported in real-time. These things should be a given in a cloud environment, but when you take the time to compare ERP, you quickly learn that the sheer number of vendors in this space suggests that some may offer more value than others. At that point, you have to educate yourself on what you should expect is standard and what may need to be an add-on.

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Compare ERP: Brand Matters

One of the biggest mistakes companies like yours can make is to avoid the big name brands, assuming you will spend too much money for that brand. When buying chips or ice cream, this theory may hold true. When it comes to managing your mission critical information, brand really does matter. This is not to suggest that when you compare ERP that you only compare the most expensive; but it is to suggest that when you compare ERP, that you compare proven names in the industry. The demand in cloud and premise-based ERP is rapidly rising, which means new players are entering the market every day. You don’t want to be the test platform for the new entry into the market just because their prices are low or because you know the salesman from your neighborhood. Compare ERP by paying attention to the brand, these companies put a lot of money and other resources into the value of that brand and performance truly does matter.