A Newbie's Guide to Getting Cloud Connected

So it's time to dump your current business system (or systems) and find a solution that is a better fit for your business. Maybe you have been using Quickbooks and its time to move on to a more robust system. Or heck, maybe you haven't been using any system at all and you've finally reached the full potential that Excel can offer. Whatever the driving force, you've undoubtedly been inundated with cloud this and cloud that the moment you typed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) into Google. There are no shortage of ERP and Business Whitepapers, Webinars and Evangelist touting the benefits of cloud products. So much so that it can sometimes be overwhelming if you are a small to medium sized business looking for a solution.

It doesn't help matters that there are a ton of acronyms that get thrown around when dealing with software vendors. You're going to hear SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, IOT, IIOT and maybe even some acronyms that are completely made up. These are all real and legitimate things. However, a lot of times these get thrown around to obfuscate the fact that the solution isn't really a cloud solution, but rather can be "accessed" through "the cloud".

So what does it mean to run a true cloud application?

If you take away all the technical jargon what it really means is running an application that is intuitive, simple and easy to access both from the standpoint of those using the system and those administering the system. True cloud should be as simple as opening a web browser and typing in an address and you're off to the races.

Hypothetically speaking (well, actually literally), any legacy application can be accesses remotely using any number of infrastructures an access methods. You can setup your business system at a data center and use Citrix or published apps to allow users to log into the system from any computer. This usually requires come sort of client installed locally, or at best logging onto a website or using Microsoft terminal services. Maybe you have to also connect to a VPN and/or supply credentials multiple times. All of that is technically cloud since it's a hosted solution and is what often get's passed off as "private cloud". Does it work? Yes. Does it sound easy? No.

Think about the apps you use in your everyday personal life. Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Tumblr and even Tinder (well, maybe not Tinder ˉ\_(ツ)_/ˉ). You most likely even do your banking, credit card management and even your taxes on a phone app. Years ago I used to download and install tax software to prepare my taxes and every year I had to mess with updating my local install which all just added to what's already a painful process. But the last few years I've been able to do my taxes right on my phone. Solutions aimed at consumers have been able to switch from legacy to modern day cloud technology faster than most ERP companies because they are generally smaller and more targeted applications. At the end of the day what we are all looking for are solutions that are easy to use and give us the results we want.

If you take only one thing away from this article, it's just be aware of what it really means to be a cloud solution. And make sure to always ask your software vendor if their solution was born in the cloud or if it was converted to the cloud. Because chances are if it wasn't born in the cloud then it's still got some code buried in the ground.

It would be great if selecting a new ERP system was as easy as swiping right, but unfortunately the world of some business software providers isn't quite there yet.

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About the author:

David Dozer is an ERP professional that has worked in different facets of the industry ranging from IT Management, Quality Assurance, Accounting, Consulting Services and ERP Product Management. Currently, David is a Senior Business Consultant at Algorithm Inc.

See other articles:

Three Types of Business Systems Users

The Psychology of an ERP Implementation

Technical vs Human: The Bane of ERP Selection

Workflow: It's a real thing... no, really!