Best Cloud ERP Software Of 2024 – Benefits and How to Choose the Best One

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has quickly gone from on-premise environments to the cloud being the most popular option. Being on the cloud means your ERP will be hosted online – meaning greater accessibility and reach to your team. Amy Nichol Smith, tech expert and writer, and Kelly Main, marketing editor and writer, wrote an article on Forbes highlighting this years best cloud ERP software on the market and how they can benefit your business almost immediately.

The Best 7 Cloud ERP Software of 2024

  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central: Best overall
  • SAP Business One Professional: Best for customization
  • SYSPRO: Best for manufacturing businesses
  • QT9: Best for real-time reporting
  • Epicor Prophet 21 ERP: Best for distributors
  • Oracle NetSuite OneWorld: Best for global companies
  • Acumatica: Best for easy pricing

 

Benefits of Choosing a Cloud ERP

There are many benefits of choosing to move to a cloud ERP over traditional on-premise applications. For one, the ease of accessibility with cloud-based ERPs is a great advantage for on the go employees or those who work remotely. Additional benefits, according to the Forbes article, include:

  • Low upfront investment: With the platform and data hosted on the provider’s servers, you don’t need to purchase hardware for the software
  • Less expensive: Paying a monthly per-user fee may be much easier on budgets of small enterprises, so it can be affordable to use cloud ERP software.
  • No maintenance: You won’t need your IT department to dedicate resources to updating or maintaining your software because the provider should handle it for you.
  • Consolidated data: All the data you need to see across departments should sync seamlessly, so you can see real-time analytics on financials, materials, processes, time restraints, expected availability of goods and other important data.
  • Fewer integrations: Most cloud ERP software is fairly complete, so you shouldn’t need to subscribe to multiple SaaS to handle business operations.
  • Mobile access: You can access your platform wherever you are from a tablet, smartphone or laptop, making it much easier and faster to work with clients, provide quotes and log orders without having to rekey information back at the office.
  • Highly scalable: Cloud ERP software typically charges companies a monthly fee based on how many users they have, so it’s much easier to scale the software with your company.
  • Easy to get started: Rather than creating a business operations solution piecemeal, as many startups do in the beginning, small businesses can take advantage of the low cost of entry of cloud ERP software to get started with ERP from the get-go.
  • Reduce paper trails: You can track purchase orders, invoices and receipts all from a single cloud ERP app, so you don’t have to input data later.

 

How To Choose the Best Cloud ERP Software

Not all ERP software are the same, and not all will have the bells and whistles needed for your business, industry and/or product. Some offer better customizations, others offer more real-time reporting, and of course some will be better for your budget than others. Below are what Forbes advisors suggest as must-have features and the key factors for a cloud ERP.

  • Real-time analytics: One of the most useful features of cloud ERP software is the real-time reporting most include. You can view your data in different ways using many variables to help you make informed business decisions.
  • Automatic syncing: The main benefit of cloud ERP software is the ability to use it anywhere you are (as long as you have an internet connection), so automatic syncing of data is also important for every user. This helps ensure you have accurate information every time you use the app.
  • Inventory management: Almost all cloud ERP software includes inventory management, but some get granular and include kitting and bills of materials, which is vital for manufacturing and distribution companies.
  • Accounting: The majority of cloud ERP software centers its platform on the financial side of things. You can expect basic accounting features (general ledger, accounts receivable and payable, reconciliations, etc.), but some get more advanced. Most also include the ability to issue quotes, invoices and accept payments and pay bills (and payroll).
  • Automation: The best cloud ERP software includes automated workflows, so you can set up actions based on triggers to run payroll, create invoices or send reports, for example, automatically. This is a big part of how cloud ERP software is used to increase a company’s productivity.
  • Integrations: Many small and midsize enterprises still rely on other apps to help manage their businesses, so it’s important to find out which apps a cloud ERP software supports.
  • Supply chain management: There are a variety of features you can find within supply chain management, including purchase and work orders, order transfers and demand and supply planning.
  • CRM: Even if it’s basic CRM features, most cloud ERP software include ways for you to manage contacts, see client profiles and take notes within them.

In addition to ERP cloud features, consider also the following: Cloud ERP Software Specialization, Ease of Use and Implementation, Support, Price, and Integrations.

 

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Increasing Max Child Elements for Web Service Node

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When using a Web Service node in IPA that retrieves XML data, you may encounter the “innerElementCountThreshold” error if the XML returns too many records for IPA to handle it.  You can increase this threshold by updating the Grid properties.

Open the Landmark Grid and navigate to the Configuration Manager (gear symbol) > Grid Configuration > Grid Properties > Node Properties > Generic JVM Commands

Select the Landmark application property under “Any Host”.

Append the command -Dorg.apache.cxf.stax.maxChildElements=500000.  You can set it to more records than 500000, but be mindful of system performance.

Click Update Property, and then Save the configuration.  Reboot the server for the changes to take effect.

Staying cyber secure amongst the cyber chaos

Cybersecurity is paramount for organizations in every industry as your organizational data is of key importance to the success of your business. Editorial assistant and tech writer Melissa Evatt shares and article on ERP Today about the importance of keeping your cyber security plans up to date within your organization. With cyber attacks becoming more frequent and sophisticated, it is important for organizations to stay protected from data breaches. Evatt points out that according to Oracle, 33 percent of organizations worldwide have experienced a ransomware attack or breach and 57 percent of data breaches are attributed to poor patch management. While cybercriminal activity cannot be stopped once and for all, she notes, organizations can take extra measures in order to protect their data and discourage cyber attacks. Certain consultancy firms such as Rossera, who specialize in Oracle applications, offer ways to stay cyber secure with their own products to protect your ERP systems. Keeping your organization secure and free from cyber attacks doesn’t have to be difficult. Having the support of third party businesses can allow your own business to scale-up whilst keeping security and data protection at the forefront.

 

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Sanford Health Partners with Infor to Unify Critical Business Applications in the Cloud

Infor recently announced that Sanford Health, the largest rural health care system in the US, will implement a suite of Infor cloud-based applications designed for healthcare to streamline and modernize functions across its network. Partnering with Infor allows Sanford Health to better leverage data to break down silos across departments, streamline workflows, and gain real-time insights, freeing up caregivers to prioritize care. Per the press release, Sanford Health decided to partner with Infor because of its modern, cloud-based architecture, and ability to offer health care-specific finance and supply chain solutions that meet the organization’s requirements without extensive manual customization. Further, Infor’s solutions integrate seamlessly into Sanford’s current business needs and processes, providing leadership with real-time data. Thus, Infor was able to clearly demonstrate its commitment to health care, extensive product roadmap, and forward-thinking approach. Steve Fanning, senior vice president, Infor, says of the partnership, “We look forward to supporting Sanford Health in achieving greater operational efficiency and delivering exceptional health care services to the communities they serve.”

 

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IPA to automatically recover or kill jobs waiting queue

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Problem:           

You need the command for an Infor Process Automation (IPA) to automatically recover or kill jobs waiting queue.

 

Resolution:     

There is a simple solution for this. You will need to first create a Process Flow that checks Jobs and Recovers and Kills them (Note that Invalid Parameters Status jobs aren’t going to recover).

Next, add the jqaction token to a security class, as it’s not defaulted.

Next, try SysCmd Nodes using the jqstatus -wr to get the Job List, and then jqaction -r to recover a job and jqaction -k to kill a Job.

Now you are able to recover or kill jobs waiting in the queue.

Data security in times of increasing cyber attacks: Why backup alone is not enough

These days cyberattacks and ransomware attaches are becoming more frequent, prompting businesses to really focus on their data security. While many businesses will primarily focus on backup solutions, that simple isn’t enough. CSP GmbH & Co. KG, Germany based innovative software solutions company, shares an article on Open PR of the importance of data security practices that go beyond just backing up your data. Backups are typically designed for short-term data and recovery options. If you want to protect your company’s data long term, there is the option of archiving data. The article states that modern archiving systems offer effective solutions such as enabling data to be stored for several years or even decades and offer advantages such as the ability to search in time periods, reduce the load on the database and take partial database sections into account. Businesses should look for products that not only back up but protect your archived data and allow an easy way to access these storage systems. With these comprehensive functions, the article concludes, companies can not only archive their data securely, but also manage it efficiently and access it quickly when required.

 

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Updating Your Lawson License

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You need to update your license file if you exceed the maximum number of application users. All application users are also Infor Lawson Environment users.

The license and applications information is stored in the %LAWDIR%\system directory.

Note:  To update your license, you must first have received a new license file via e-mail from Infor.

Shut down the WebSphere application server. Use the instructions provided with your application server to stop the server you configured to run Infor Lawson. The person who shuts down the application server must be a member of the group for Infor.

Stop the Infor Lawson system.

At the command line, specify this information:

stoplaw

Optional. If you want to keep a copy of your existing license, make a backup copy.

Copy the license content you received in email to %LAWDIR%\system. At the prompt to overwrite the existing file, select yes.

Start the Infor Lawson system.

To start the Infor Lawson servers, at the command line, specify this information:

startlaw

Restart the application server. Use the instructions provided with your application server to start the server you configured to run Infor Lawson. The person who starts the application server must be a member of the group for Infor.

Note: The web server must be running in order for the Infor Lawson system to run, but you do not need to start it before you start the Infor Lawson system.

Infor Selects Amazon Bedrock to Power Generative AI Solutions

Today, Infor announces the selection of Amazon Bedrock, a service for building and scaling generative applications, to deploy GenAI solutions embedded within Infor CloudSuite designed to accelerate customer value. This further deepens Infor’s 11-year relationship with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the close collaboration and success the companies share after years of extending Infor solutions through AWS services. Per the press release, Infor has built industry-specific use cases on AWS technology that allows their customers to complete daily tasks faster with pre-trained models built on Amazon Bedrock. Infor CTO comments, “Infor is on a mission to democratize AI by making it accessible to all our customers, regardless of the size of their organization or the technical resources they employ. Our goal is to build products that deliver transformative technologies directly to those who benefit most – the front-line people using Infor solutions. At Infor, we believe that merely giving customers the tools to apply GenAI isn’t enough. Our Industry AI approach combines both the tools and deep industry capability and expertise to collaboratively work with customers to build and offer solutions that drive real value.” Furthermore, Infor has released hundreds of proven predictive and prescriptive AI solutions through its Augmented Intelligence Service, helping customers to drive operational efficiencies, grow revenue, enhance customer satisfaction and predict future demand, all built using AWS services such as Amazon SageMaker. With Amazon Bedrock at the core of its generative AI innovations, customers will now have access to 60 additional use cases by year end.

 

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Data governance never takes a vacation

Effective data management is a high priority necessity for any business. The type of vigilance needed for data management include continuous monitoring, strict access control and security protocols and unwavering data quality itself. Pragyansmita Nayak, chief data scientist for Hitachi Vantara Federal, shares an article on Federal News Network highlighting four key ways that agencies can enhance their data governance practices.

Strategic data collection and continuous monitoring. “Federal agencies should clearly define their data objectives to ensure purpose-driven gathering, while preventing the challenges of aimless accumulation. They should prioritize the development of comprehensive data strategies that define collection goals, establish priorities, and implement efficient data management systems. This ensures that only relevant and high-quality data is collected and processed. Implementing continuous monitoring is crucial in this context, acting as a vigilant supervisor that promptly identifies and addresses any anomalies or inefficiencies in data management.”

Prioritize data quality for effective governance. “Federal agencies must prioritize data quality as a core element of their data management strategies. Assigning data stewards to oversee specific datasets further strengthens data integrity. High standards for data accuracy and reliability, along with enforcement measures, are essential. This commitment to excellence in data management ensures that governance remains a top priority.”

Promoting a culture of vigilance. “It’s critical for agency leadership to set a clear tone, emphasizing the importance of data security and integrity throughout every level of the agency. Fostering a continuous improvement mindset cultivates a proactive approach to data governance.”

Safeguarding data for effective management. “The importance of effective data management transcends seasonal boundaries. As we embrace the digital future, let our commitment to data stewardship be as enduring as the changing seasons, ensuring a secure and prosperous tomorrow for all.”

 

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Edit the Install.cfg Encrypted Values

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Certain passwords in install.cfg are encrypted, and if those passwords change, you will want to update install.cfg before running patches.

To edit the file, first open a command line window with the environment set.  Then run the command

Java -cp %GENDIR%/java/thirdParty/installer.jar com.lawson.delivery.secure.PasswordAdministrator -s %LAWDIR%/system/install.cfg

First, you will be prompted to enter the password that was used to secure the Lawson system configuration.  If you don’t know this password, or if you need to change it, this is your opportunity.  Leave it blank and you will be prompted to enter a new password.  Then, you will need to rerun the command with the new password.

Once you enter the configuration passkey, you will be presented with a screen that contains all the encrypted passwords.  You can select the clear text radio button to show the passwords if desired.  Here, you can update ore view any of the passwords.

Click Finish and you’re done!