As Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications increase in popularity, IT departments need to understand both the challenges and the opportunities that the new software deployment model brings to the organization. For small and mid-sized businesses where IT resources are less readily available, this paradigm change is even more impactful.
The IT Budget For Cloud ERP
One area where this change is obvious is the IT budget. Before the cloud, items such as hardware purchases, software licenses and upgrades were the norm. Now, the new cloud-based applications do not have such expenses associated with them.
Training, setup fees and add-on modules are still relevant when a SaaS application is being utilized. IT staff therefore have to review the traditional IT budget and modify it to conform to the new cloud paradigm. This is also a good time to review existing investments and analyze which other services or applications would be good candidates for moving to cloud-based ERP solutions.
Interfaces and Integrations
If on-premise applications required constant maintenance when it came to program interfaces and integrations, cloud-based ERP systems have their own unique requirements. Understanding the integration points and how they are dealt with (license keys, tokens, etc.) and how the interfaces behave and how they can be customized become another important task for the IT group.
Suddenly new skills will have to be acquired. APIs will have to be understood. Service-level agreements will have to be reviewed. The good news is that cloud-based ERP are a smaller burden on the IT team since API’s and integration options are usually plentiful. Maintaining those integrations and ensuring new version updates don’t disrupt operations is now a task the cloud ERP vendor will deal with, allowing IT to focus on other important projects.
The Changing IT Landscape
SaaS applications are a major force in the IT world. Be prepared to adapt to the industry and prepare your company for the new standards for software delivery and usage.
If cloud-based ERP or SaaS applications are new to you and you would like to discuss how you can prepare yourself for what’s coming, then contact us today.
