What to Look for in ERP Software? Well, It’s up to You!

When considering an on-premise solution, you must examine one important key point: hardware and infrastructure. To implemented on-premise ERP solutions, you must have the hardware and infrastructure in place to support the platform. One of the key motivators for the small business to implement SaaS ERP is the fact that the supporting hardware and infrastructure costs can be avoided. Additionally, ERP platforms available in the cloud are also updated consistently, ensuring that users always have access to the latest technologies. You may not want to move your data outside of your firewall, however, or rely on the vendor to keep your platform up to date.

A key consideration here is the reality that on-premise ERP software platforms demand an internal IT team that manages and maintains the system. Such a team requires the resources and involvement of a number of employees and users to ensure the security and optimal performance of the platform. Traditionally speaking, IT managers of larger organizations preferred to keep the ERP platform in-house to maintain control and ensure optimal performance. A number of SaaS-based solution providers are suggesting that performance and control are also assured on their platforms, helping to drive the demand for this less expansive, on-demand option. Traditional on-premise ERP providers, such as NetSuite, Oracle and SAP, have recognized the demand in the SMB sector, developing their own SaaS platforms to meet this need.

To ensure optimal performance and accountability, businesses such as yours must seek out one provider that ensures interoperability, integration and service level agreements to meet expectations. For some companies, that means staying with an integrated, on-premise ERP platform, but that doesn’t have to be the rule. There are a number of key players in the market that offer robust ERP solutions – such as Oracle – that require very little IT support as all functions and technologies are support on the provider’s end.

Going Forward

With so much attention on the activities in the cloud, it leaves some wondering whether or not ERP will continue to exist outside of the SaaS environment. For those larger enterprises that are fully integrated with their on-premise ERP deployments, migrating to the cloud may not always make sense. Their environments and needs make up some of the driving forces behind companies such as SAP, NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics who continue to offer robust on-premise solutions, while they also take their offerings to the cloud.

The Features are Vast – For Both SMBs and Enterprises

Vendors offerings ERP software platforms have done well to recognize that there are different needs within the enterprise than there are in the SMB sector. While businesses of all sizes want deep integration, full visibility and the ability make strategic decisions on-the-fly, not all businesses have immediate access to all ERP systems as a result of scalability issues. Not every ERP platform can be scaled to accommodate the needs of the larger enterprise, yet the enterprise will often have the necessary financial resources to design a customized version of the ERP software platform they need.