Not too long ago, the concept of moving your business to the “cloud” was a cautious and risky gamble. Nowadays, almost everyone is utilizing cloud technology. Like many current technological trends, how to take advantage of cloud services and how to do it right is just as important as actually moving forward with it. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are taking advantage of cloud migration to provide a better user experience for everyone involved in a company. Michael Bathon as Diginnomica explains how a person must understand the full range of cloud deployment, know where they want the direction of their business to go, and consider alternatives before deciding to put their company on that path. Bathon further shares 5 ways to leverage one’s ERP system in the cloud below:

1. Use SaaS where it makes sense – There are drawbacks to SaaS, but even if you won’t move the whole company, SaaS ERP might make sense for a division, a newly acquired company, or your distributed salesforce.
2. Lift and shift trusted applications – Those who don’t think their organization needs a heart transplant still may conclude it needs to build new muscles. They can begin running their existing ERPs (customizations and all) on cloud infrastructure and gradually weave in other cloud services.
3. Take advantage of world-class infrastructure – Unless you work for a Fortune 100 company that has made considerable investments in building cloud-like data centers, and they focused their new investment where it will drive competitive advantage and growth, you can’t hope to match the economies of scale and DevOps expertise that exist within companies such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. These are resources you could never hope to field on your own.
4. Access leading-edge cloud resources – Strategic use of the cloud allows you to begin asking questions and creating solutions that otherwise would have lingered forever out of reach because of cost and technical barriers. Taking advantage of advanced cloud services becomes much more practical when your applications and data are already there. Microsoft, Amazon and Google are investing billions in creating next generation data management tools – and you can take advantage of them for pennies on the dollar.
5. Earn your cloud cred – IT leaders of today who are not prepared to go all-in on the cloud as your modernization strategy must often be prepared to explain themselves because “everybody knows” the cloud is the future. You may indeed score points with company leaders by showing you are embracing that future.

You do not have to more everything to the cloud, and you should not rush the migration process either. Strategically mapping out what you can benefit from cloud technologies to better your business is the first step. Remember, Bathon suggests that it’s “about taking a ‘business first’ not a ‘cloud first’ approach.”

 

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In his latest Forbes post, Barrett Cordero, president of leading global speakers bureau BigSpeak, shares an interesting article for entrepreneurs on the process of installing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems as stress-free as possible. Cordero and his team have successfully implemented their CRM software and is already seeing immediate return on their investment. Of course, as with any implementation, they had their share of obstacles, though Cordero’s team managed to have an overall easy transaction. Below are some tips/guidelines on how his team did this smooth implementation.

• Set expectations super low. That way, when things go wrong, you’ll be expecting it — and it won’t put more stress on your team.
• Make sure the system meets minimum work integration requirements. Define the minimum work integration requirements you need the system to meet before you launch. Don’t be afraid to delay the launch by a few days or weeks if needed — it’s more important to hit your minimum requirements first.
• Let employee experts lead the way. Ask for employee volunteers from various departments to train with the vendor. That way, they’ll be on the lookout for what solutions are needed to solve specific issues in their respective departments.
• Overcommunicate until you annoy people. As a leader, you will need to go over the information several times and then check to see if people understood.
• Keep pushing until it’s right. If you think all the heavy lifting is done in preparation, think again. When you install a system, look forward to spending lots of quality time with your vendor to get it right.

Implementing a new CRM will greatly benefit your business. Though you must be prepared for all the hurdles that come with it. With the few tips that Cordero shared above, you will be on your way to a smoother installation process.

 

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There is no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is here to stay, and is revolutionizing the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) space. Mark Bowen at Intelligent CIO recently shared how the partnership of AI and ERP is going to affect the “very essence of the system-controlled business operations.” AI-integrate ERP systems can unlock the hidden potential of your business data.

Impact of AI on industries

• AI in manufacturing – AI technology help ensure faster production in less time. From planned preventative maintenance to every other operation performed in any manufacturing plant, AI would make them more efficient and less prone to errors.
• AI in retail –  Virtual reality functionalities in advertising, intelligent chatbot customer service and extensive customer behavior profiles are just a few areas where AI would thrive in the retail industry.

 

AI is transforming the way ERP functions

Integrating your ERP system with AI opens a world of opportunities and shed some light in your daily operations. With detecting customer behavior patterns and performing routine tasks, inclusion of AI in ERP systems can provide the following benefits:

• Identify the problems even before they occur
• Automates routine tasks with system intelligence
• Improves user experience through interaction

AI is still in its early stages, believe it or not. Though it is no doubt that AI will be a part of ERP systems moving forward. So be ready for this change if you want your business to remain competitive in the years to come.

 

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