Would You Benefit From a Cloud Solution or Cloud ERP?

Have You Outgrown Your On-Premise ERP?

Technological advancement occurs so quickly now. It’s imperative for businesses to remain competitive and current. As a result, many businesses have outgrown what their current solution can provide today.

Understand software delivery model options

It is important to determine early what the best delivery model is to best meet your business performance requirements. As you consider a new financial management solution, you will run into the different software delivery model options available.

• On-Premise Solutions

The traditional model for accounting solutions are on-premise solutions, which is what most businesses have had in use for decades. Businesses license the software and run they system on their own internal servers. Capital and operating expenses to deploy, operate, support, customize, integrate, and upgrade are considerations when looking at on-premise solutions. On-premise solutions are still solid, viable solutions, especially for organizations with a trusted IT infrastructure, investment capital, and technical support expertise. Sage 300 (Accpac) is an example of an on-premise solution.

• Hosted Solutions (Single Tenant)

Hosted solutions outsource the software solution in a remote environment at data center. The hosting service provides the expert support and services, eliminating the responsibility of maintaining the internal hardware infrastructure and dependency on IT support. Upfront large investment capital requirements are minimized with hosting solutions. Businesses typically have a unique instance on a dedicated server (single tenant). Users access the system over the internet, seeing the screens being generated at the hosting provider.

Equation Technologies provides cloud hosting services for Sage 300. Equation’s hosted solution provides complete control of your data even after your cloud subscription ends. Users have 24/7/365 connectivity support with high security, data protection, and routine scheduled backups. Standard Sage 300 upgrade services are included along all of the IT infrastructure maintenance of OS patches, product updates, hot fixes, and enhancements.

• Cloud Solutions (Multi-Tenant)

Often referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud-based solutions were built for the internet age. SaaS solutions are always “on” and delivered via a web browser. Cloud solutions are multi-tenant which means an organization only has access to their own data, but everything works from a a single set of resources (shared system), application infrastructure, and database. The provider provides upgrades at no additional cost, typically quarterly and without impact to the business.

Five Questions To Ask If a Cloud Solution Is Right For You?

A SaaS solution may be the right fit if you need a flexible and agile financial management system that is relatively easy to implement, configure, and update. But to evaluate even further, ask yourself the following five questions.

1. Do I have staff working remotely?

“Anytime, anywhere” accessibility is a key benefit of moving to the cloud. Finance teams can work from anywhere at any time. The accounting solution is accessed through a secure web browser and an internet connection.

2. Does the business need to accelerate business processes, but not increase headcount or IT budget?

Deliver more ROI with SaaS financial management. Obtain considerable financial advantages by avoiding the capital investments and operating expenses associated with an on-premise solution. Time savings and process efficiencies delivered by cloud-based solutions will drive higher ROI. Cloud-based financial systems accelerate financial processes with extensive automation and integration capabilities. Rid your finance team of error-prone manual data entry, wasteful paper-based processes, and cumbersome spreadsheet maintenance.

3. Does my current accounting solution integrate with other applications?

Cloud-based accounting solutions provide pre-built integration framework via APIs and web services. These built-in integrations include connectors to external applications such as Salesforce.com which means savings from costly custom programming and upgrade maintenance.

4. How do my managers access relevant KPIs?

Does the finance department spend hours sending outdated reports or preparing detailed Excel spreadsheets for each department on a regular basis? Cloud-based financials have real-time dashboards that can be accessed by management teams so that all stakeholders can see pertinent key performance indicators that apply to their own specific departments. Staff can view dashboards, enter/approve expenses, create purchase orders, all without visibility or access to core financial data.

5. Does my organization struggle with inefficient financial processes?

Cloud-based systems specialize in providing organization-wide operational efficiencies. A modern cloud solution will streamline multi-entity consolidations, reduce close processing requirements, incorporate purchasing workflows, and provide budgeting dashboards for managers to increase operational alignment across the organization’s departments. Single-user systems like Quickbooks trap valuable financial information in silos. These operation efficiencies will free the finance team from duplicate, time-consuming efforts and allow them to concentrate on deeper financial analysis.

When you are ready to migrate to cloud hosting services or evaluate a new financial management solution, we hope you will consider Equation Technologies' Cloud Hosting Services or Sage Intacct. We can get you signed up for a demo, provide product information specific to your industry, help you get a 30-day free trial, or simply discuss the pros and cons of either option. 

If you would like more information or assistance migrating from Sage 300 to Sage Intacct, contact Equation Technologies. Using our custom migration utility will result in faster, more accurate, and less expensive Sage Intacct implementations.