Like most other business systems, enterprise resource planning software is moving to the cloud. This says a lot about cloud services because ERP systems have always been on premise, and it suffered from being costly, difficult and takes a long time to both deploy and maintain, and inflexible. It is also notorious for its outdated user interfaces. Yet, it is a vital part of operations that it mostly runs the business and is highly customized according to the needs of the company. As such, it was the last frontier of legacy systems that stayed on premise. But believe it or not, ERP systems are now on its way to the cloud as well.
In fact, more than 6 out of 10 companies surveyed by InformationWeek in their 2014 State of Cloud report said that they are using some form of a software as a service offering. So could ERP be far behind? Gartner found that it may not be so, forecasting that at least 3 out of every 10 service companies and service-oriented companies would be moving their ERP applications to the cloud by the year 2018.
And with that trend manifesting itself, vendors are not far behind.
Of course, you could expect the usual suspects: Oracle, SAP and Microsoft to be in on the action.
Oracle has been very vocal about the bullishness of the cloud and their plans in the space. It could be a good indicator that ERP is going to be its next offering. The same is true for both Microsoft and SAP.
Aside from these giant software companies, you also have NetSuite and Workday, and a host of different cloud service providers. So there really is a lot of providers to choose from when it comes to future ERP offerings.
Want to try out ERP on the cloud? Check out:
- Oracle ERP Cloud. This suite includes Oracle Financials Cloud, Oracle Project Portfolio Management Cloud, and Oracle Procurement Cloud. Ideal for companies in the following sectors: financial services, consumer goods, communications, and others.
- Epicor ERP. The cloud deployed Epicor ERP is perfect for manufacturing and retail companies and are geared towards small and medium sized enterprises. It was introduced in 2009 and counts Hibbing Fabricators, Chirch Global LLC, and Integrated Metal Solutions as customers.
- Kenandy Cloud ERP. This one is ideal for consumer products and manufacturing, this was introduced in 2012 and counts Big Heart Pet Brands and Scott Fetzer Electrical Group as customers.
- Plex Manufacturing Cloud. It is used by manufacturing companies in the automotive, aerospace and defense, food & beverage, high tech, electronics, precision metal forming, and industrial space. Customers include Firstronic LLC, Hiawatha Rubber and Avon Gear.
- QAD Cloud ERP. Ideal for manufacturing related to automotive, configured products, life sciences, consumer products, discrete products, and food & beverage products. Clients include Facet Technologies and Nexteer Automotive.
- Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Financial Management. Counts Chiquita Brands, MGM Resorts, and Cornell University as customers
Call Four Cornerstone and get in early on cloud based ERP. Better yet, ask about our Oracle consulting in Dallas and learn more about Oracle’s ERP offerings today.
Photo by Steve Jurvetson.
