At the end of the 2010s, cloud computing was certainly on the uptick. In fact, Gartner predicted recently that spending on worldwide public cloud services would grow 17.5% over the previous year.

If trends continue, the coming decade will see an influx of companies moving their on-prem solutions to the public cloud.

Is now the right time for an ERP migration that moves your legacy system to the sky?

Is 2020 the right year to start planning your ERP migration to the cloud?

Benefits of the cloud

More than just keeping up with the Joneses, an ERP migration to the cloud can provide your organization with tangible benefits.

Continuous updates

Instead of being constrained by your on-prem resources, a cloud-based ERP solution gets continuous updates that improve functionality and quickly patch newly discovered vulnerabilities.

Shift the security burden

Cybersecurity is a major hurdle for some companies as they weigh the pros and cons of moving to a cloud-based solution. While there is inherent risk built into the migration, as long as you can verify whether your provider assumes responsibility for data security and protection, a cloud system could relieve you of that burden and actually be a huge upgrade.

Enhanced recovery

Migrating your ERP to the cloud could also improve your ERP's resiliency in disaster scenarios, assuming your provider is well-equipped to handle these situations. Hybrid on-premises and cloud solutions can help you further mitigate this risk.

What's the risk of an ERP migration?

First of all, the most obvious consideration: What do you do with your hardware? Once you move your ERP to the cloud, existing on-premises tech could be a drain, unless it's thoughtfully repurposed. As we mentioned above, this is an opportunity for you to add redundancy that improves security, or for you to warehouse old data you don't need in the cloud yet, but that you're not prepared to dump

Any ERP migration carries risk with it, as well as organizational strain. Without proper technological planning and change management strategies in place, you could experience some turbulence as you switch systems, and moving to the cloud does include some added complexity.

Carefully plan out your ERP migration. One of the first things you need to consider is how you'll frame this journey.

Is this an ERP migration to the cloud or a fresh start with SaaS?

It's a migration if:

Your current users are accurately maintaining the data in your ERP, and smooth processes ensure that you're deriving the greatest value possible out of your current setup. In this case, you'll map current processes onto the new system and encourage change where it needs to occur.

Consider yourself to be starting fresh if:

You need to implement process changes that enable your users to better understand the value of updated data and proper use of the ERP. In this situation, you may need to redesign processes for the cloud-based system from scratch while generating buy-in at your organization.

If your operation is considering migrating an ERP to the cloud this year, reach out to Accent Software to find out how we can help.