Every organisation has its fair share of operational roadblocks and challenges, irrespective of its nature and size. Running a business, after all, is a challenging task! Pair it with legacy systems, spreadsheets, and outdated technology, and you will be in hot waters in no time. So what can you do to streamline the operations and increase organisational efficiency? As a small or mid-sized business, you can leverage the benefits of a cloud-based ERP to solve common business problems.

What is Cloud-Based ERP?

Cloud-based ERPs are flexible business management systems that run on the vendor’s cloud. They are known as SaaS solutions. Cloud-based ERPs do not have to be deployed on-premise. These seamlessly integrate with other tools and automate workflows. You can also access real-time data. There are several benefits of cloud ERP systems because of which they are quickly becoming the backbone of small and mid-sized businesses.

Benefits of Cloud ERP System:

Cloud ERP system solutions come with myriad benefits that help an organisation prepare an agile, future-ready workforce. Here are five top benefits of a managed cloud service-

Cloud ERP system solutions

Low Investment

Cloud ERP comes with the benefit of dramatically low upfront investment. That’s because when it comes to cloud ERP (more precisely, SaaS-based ERP) it is the ERP vendor or the ERP company that provides virtual infrastructure for the ERP system to run on. The company just needs a web browser to access the cloud ERP software. In the case of on-prem ERP, on one hand, you need to pay for the ERP, and on the other hand, you need to buy high-end hardware to install and run the ERP system and to store huge enterprise data. As workload increases, this hardware cost will increase as well.

What’s more, cloud ERP eliminates the need for hiring too many expensive IT experts. Since the backend of the ERP is maintained and managed by the ERP vendor or the ERP company, there is no need for companies to hire an army of IT experts. This significantly reduces the cost of hiring human resources.

Flexibility In Scaling Up and Down

As your business grows, you need to ditch the existing system as they become redundant or upgrading them breaks the bank. However, cloud-based ERPs are easily scalable as the organization needs changes. You can simply unlock a new module or integrate the ERP with third party solutions with a few clicks. Hence the problem of outgrowing the ERP software is mitigated for good.

But the actual benefit that this flexibility provides is the fact that the company can reduce the allocation of virtual hardware during lean phase or temporarily increase computational power during high demand. So when the demand subsides, there is no fear of hardware becoming redundant – which is very much a possibility for companies using on-prem ERP.

Faster Implementation

ERP offered as SaaS is extremely easy to implement. When it comes to on-prem ERP, the ERP needs to be carefully implemented keeping the hardware requirement in mind. But when it comes to, cloud ERP, vendors can leverage templatised installation procedure powered by cloud service providers like AWS or Azure. When it comes to pure SaaS-based ERP, the only thing that needs to be done is to enter the enterprise data and configure the ERP on the basis of requirement. Everything else remains ready to be used.

Provides Real-Time Data

On-prem ERP software that needs to be accessed from the office itself can prove to be very limiting. This is the age of hybrid work and mobile workforce. Your employees should be able to easily and securely access enterprise data whenever they need. This is only possible with a cloud ERP. Such ERP systems provide real time data to all the stakeholders in the company. The work should not come to a standstill just because key people can’t access data on a real time basis.

Enhances Productivity

Thanks to the unparalleled flexibility of accessing data from anywhere and at any time with the help of cloud ERP systems – the entire company remains productive. Field visit becomes a breeze with access to crucial data on the smartphone apps of modern ERP software.

Encourages Collaboration

Communication is the key in modern organisations. However, the lack of an integrated system hinders department collaboration, including data sharing. Cloud-based ERP helps the teams communicate effectively, and employees can stay informed at all organisational levels. Thanks to the fact that such flexible ERP systems can be accessed on any browser, it becomes easy for employees to remain connected with the backend of the organisation. Legacy ERPs might fail to pass data from one department to another efficiently, but cloud ERP excels in this. It provides a single source of truth while empowering all the stakeholders to leverage this single source.

Improves Customer Satisfaction

At the end of the day, an organisation wants to make its process efficient because it wants to serve its customers in the best way possible. This is why companies that use cloud ERP stay one step ahead of its competitors that use on-prem ERP systems. Here’s just one example to prove this. The service agent of a company that uses cloud ERP can access all the data about the customer and the products he has bought during the agent’s service visit. This enables the agent to provide the best possible service.

With every important factor- employee satisfaction and agility, cost optimisation, scalability, real-time data availability, and most importantly, customer satisfaction – taken care of, cloud ERP becomes the obvious choice for small and medium-size businesses. The benefits of cloud based ERP are eventually translated into their business growth and success.

Types of Cloud ERP

When it comes to cloud ERP, there is a misconception that the data will be on the servers of the ERP company. That’s not entirely true. A cloud ERP can be –

SaaS based – which is hosted and managed entirely by either the ERP vendor or the ERP company.

Cloud based– which can be hosted on cloud platforms and managed by the company that buys the ERP software. This means that the enterprise data remains in the control of the company.

Now, when it comes to the second type of ERP, it can be further divided into three groups –

Public Cloud

When the ERP system is hosted on a cloud platform where the infrastructure is being shared by multiple users from different companies – it means that the ERP system is hosted on a public cloud. This is how SaaS based ERPs work as well. Ofcourse, the enterprise data in the ERP remains secured and accessible to only that company which owns the data. The benefit of using public cloud is that the responsibility of configuring and maintaining such infrastructure is of the cloud service provider (or the ERP vendor, in case the cloud service is offered by the vendor). Also, public cloud infrastructure is more affordable than its private counterpart.

Private Cloud

When an ERP system is hosted in a cloud infrastructure which is not used by other tenants and which usually remains in the control of the company that uses the ERP – it means that it is hosted in a private cloud. In simple words, when companies virtualise their IT infrastructure using the servers that THEY own and manage – it becomes a private cloud. These servers are configured in such a way that they can be used as IaaS – Infrastructure as a service.

The benefit of using private cloud-based ERP is the fact that the entire infrastructure remains in the control of the company. It can be configured more flexibly. And the data remains more secure.

Hybrid Cloud

As the name suggests, a hybrid cloud is a blend of public and private clouds. It is recommended for companies that want to ‘test the waters’ before committing to an entire cloud based ERP. Also, companies that want to remain in control of their data but still want to take advantage of the cloud opt for the hybrid approach.

Each of the above types has their own set of benefits of cloud based ERP.

Why Should You Move From On-Premise to the Cloud?

On-premise ERP solutions are troublesome! First and foremost, the customer needs to spend money and resources on maintaining the servers, other hardware and software. These on-site systems also require significant space and dedicated personnel to implement and keep them running. Since most companies heavily customise them to their unique needs, upgrades become an arduous task. Integrations and customisations have to be tested every time they are rolled out, which can disrupt the workflow.

However, cloud-based ERPs have a better and more efficient approach. They have a low setup cost, are more flexible and can be easily scaled per the business needs. Moving from an on-premise system to a cloud-based software offers lower upfront costs and faster implementation. It also cuts down physical staff and resource usage. Companies become more agile and can focus on growth without worrying about bugs, upgrades and system faults.

What is Odoo Cloud ERP?

Odoo is an on-demand open ERP founded in 2005. It has risen to prominence as more companies turn to Odoo for its endless, flexible functionalities. In October 2022, it launched its 12th version. It is a comprehensive business management tool providing multiple functionalities to the users. One of its hosting options is hosting on the cloud as SaaS. It allows you to access the Odoo ERP database on the cloud.

sales process, but you can manage the purchasing yourself. Other big ERP software companies will force you to use both the sales and purchasing module. But with Odoo, you can start with a Sales app, and use the purchasing app only when you need it.

What we like the most is the fact that Odoo has its own website builder and a 360 degree suite of ecommerce solutions. This is a great advantage for businesses that want to sell their products online and take their omnichannel game to a new level.

You May Also Like to Read: ERP Software Trends 2023

Why you Should Move to the Cloud with Odoo:

You can host your Odoo database on click with a few clicks. Expert implementation partners such as Silver Touch Technologies help you move from your old systems to the cloud with Odoo in no time, so your growth never stops. Odoo releases new versions often, and if you have installed the system on-premise, you will have to spend hundreds of bucks on data migration. However, if you are an Odoo SAAS customer, you will enjoy free hosting, and the upgrade process is simpler than others.

As we said, the features of Odoo come in the form of apps. And the best part is, with Odoo apps, you can manage every aspect of the business you can think of. Here are the most helpful and most popular apps that you can find inside Odoo ERP –

Sales Oriented Apps

Odoo offers a suite of 5 sales oriented apps to automate your entire sales process. From the traditional ERP functionalities, like automating the invoice generation, keeping track of A/R invoices, automating the entire sales process – from lead generation to delivery – everything is handled by Odoo. How many ERPs have you seen that support subscription handling natively? Odoo can do that as well!

CRM App

As part of its sales suite, Odoo has a best in class CRM application that ensures unparalleled record keeping pertaining to customer data. Odoo CRM automates promotion and keeps logs of the promotional activities. Most importantly, it acts as a single source of truth for customer data across all the departments in the company.

Finance Apps

With a host of finance-related apps, Odoo ERP smoothly handles and automates the accounting process. Since finance apps are connected with the sales app, the finance apps can ingest data from the sales process and automatically input requisite information in the general ledger. Odoo can natively keep track of all your expenses – not just on an overall level, but on a team level as well.

Inventory Management

You have heard about just-in-time purchasing. Odoo executes just-in-time purchasing with finesse thanks to its automated replenishment algorithm. Keep track of your inventory and drill down to the level of shelf with Odoo’s cutting-edge inventory management software.

Service Apps

Odoo does not ignore field sales agents. From planning and appointment management to agile project management – Odoo ensures that field agents can work smarter – not harder.

Say goodbye to complex ERP software of yesteryears, say hello to Odoo ERP!

Conclusion

Although Odoo Cloud ERP is a relatively new software solution compared to others in the market, it is equipped with functionalities ideal for small and medium-sized organisations. Are you still finding the best Odoo Cloud ERP implementation partner? Your search is over at Silver Touch Technologies Ltd, a certified Odoo implementation partner. Equipped with several years of industry experience, we have established ourselves as the best in the ERP business. Now it is your turn to leverage Odoo cloud ERP and Silver Touch’s expertise for your company. Contact us today to learn more!

Cloud Based ERP Software: FAQs