Selecting an ERP Solution these days is no longer about whether you should or should not do it. Most businesses are now opting for ERP systems to help with a competitive edge and to ensure they implement a more digital and modern solution to help them run their business. The questions are now more around which software provider or partner you will select and how you will be running your ERP system.
Very few businesses these days are still opting for on-premise ERP solutions. It may still happen, but rarely. Most businesses opt for a cloud based or SaaS solution.
In this blog, we look at which is the best solution for your trade, retail or distribution business by exploring the main advantages and differences.
Cloud ERP
With a cloud ERP solution, your enterprise data sits in the cloud on remote servers as opposed to your physical local servers with an on-premise setup.
There is no need for additional server infrastructure and hardware, which means a cheaper upfront investment, no ongoing hardware maintenance and usually includes general cloud management and data security.
SaaS ERP
Software as a Service (SaaS) is still a cloud-based software solution so still online but it’s available as a service via a monthly fee, usually on a per-user subscription. Overall, it's safe to say that SaaS ERP considerably lowers IT and operational expenses as you typically pay for what you use hence the ‘software as a service’.
SaaS ERP has all the advantages of a cloud based ERP solution: easy data management, stability, shorter deployment times and lower IT costs. But in this case, your enterprise data is located and managed on the chosen vendor's own servers.
As with cloud ERP, you do not have to worry about IT management, maintenance, security and system updates. These fall under the vendor's responsibilities. Therefore, SaaS offers a fully vendor-managed ERP solution.
So, why and when choose SaaS over cloud ERP?
SaaS ERP enables access to the latest industry technology available with relatively low capital investment compared to the traditional on-premise systems.
The SaaS ERP solution is becoming more and more popular and is ideal if you need affordable access to a complete business management system platform. This becomes even better when you opt for an industry specific software partner as they will understand your business and their software will cater to your specific business requirements. Additionally, if you are planning on rapid growth and operational expansion, SaaS provides faster scalability with no extra infrastructure required. Your vendor can, of course, expand the solution further to meet future enterprise needs.
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