The digital world is moving at a faster pace than ever, and cloud ERP offers more features and flexibility than traditional on-premise ERP systems.

Customers today expect products and services to be delivered, updated, and improved quickly and continuously. Businesses often need to collaborate with partners such as suppliers and vendors, distributors and retailers, service providers, outsourcing firms and regulatory bodies, among others. Cloud ERP helps them to adapt and continue to manage internal processes and communication with business networks worldwide.

An ERP system is a software platform that integrates various business functions, such as accounting, inventory, sales, human resources, and customer service, into a single system—however, some may suit your business better than others.

Consider whether the solution addresses specific issues for your industry—a manufacturing company will have different requirements from a retail business. Look for an ERP solution that has industry-specific functionality and best practices built-in, or that can be easily customized to fit your needs.

You’ll then need to think about roles and responsibilities within your company: your ERP system should provide role-based access and user interfaces, depending on their role and level of access (dashboards and reports for managers, financial statements for accountants, etc.).

If you work with third-party vendors or partners, you may need to use other software applications to complement your ERP system and enhance its functionality. It should be able to integrate seamlessly with these external applications, either through native connectors, APIs, or middleware.

There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to ERP systems, but if you consider these factors, as well as Cloud ERP pricing, reliability, scalability, security, and support of the ERP solution, you should be able to find one that fits your business needs.

Organisations that have chosen to use a web ERP may face a few challenges initially, particularly if they have been using on-premise ERP systems. Migration can take time, and key stakeholders in IT and administrative teams might be resistant to change because of less control over processes, maintenance, and infrastructure. Some companies might be reluctant to shift to web ERP because their cyber security, customer data, and regulatory compliance. However, many cloud providers comply with these rules (e.g. HIPAA and GDPR) and keep data where it needs to be so on-premise ERP is not necessarily the only option available.

Typically, the size and type of a business dictates the choice between cloud erp vs traditional ERP. For example, a relatively new small business that doesn't have many well-defined business processes or sophisticated IT can implement a cloud ERP solution quickly and easily. However, an older, larger business may need a customisable solution that takes longer to implement.