Historically, businesses have chosen ERPs such as Microsoft Dynamics GP for the broad array of company-wide functions: Financial management from accounting to banking, inventory management from production management to vendor oversight, sales and service from contract to field resource, cross-functional business analysis, human resources from hiring to employee evaluation tools.
It’s because of these broad capabilities that Dynamics GP has been an ERP of choice among manufacturers, distributors, healthcare providers, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and restaurants.
Server vs. Cloud Based
However, one of the biggest challenges Dynamics GP clients face is that it has traditionally been an in-house server-based or DIY cloud-based ERP. While Dynamics GP has many attractive features, the client-server environment provides a number of challenges.
When we compare it to Acumatica, a cloud-based ERP designed for similar industries, the advantages of the cloud are clear. Acumatica provides coordination of all business activities, including high-level visibility of company-wide operations, project planning, financial management, customer management, and everything in-between – all in real-time.
Innovative Cloud Solutions conducted a study of our server-based clients and compared their reported challenges with the experience in a cloud-based environment. Responses included the following:
Difficulty Working Remotely
A server-based system makes working remotely very challenging. At best, you’re working with lagging data and cumbersome VPN connections. Cloud-based ERPs remove those barriers and allow you real-time access to your data from anywhere, via desktop or mobile.
Business Silos
Server-based efficiency challenges also include in-house sharing of data within your organization. By comparison, the real-time visibility of activity across all business functions prevents the siloing of information between departments and enables both interdepartmental collaboration and high level decision making whenever and wherever it’s needed.
Expired Maintenance Plan
Delays in regular system maintenance and software updates result in inefficiencies for your business. With a cloud based system, you no longer need to be concerned about expiring maintenance plans, as your Cloud Service Provider assumes the responsibility for monitoring and managing services once managed solely by the client either by an in-house server or DIY cloud, including:
- Database management and tuning
- Proactive collaboration with Dynamics partner
- Server operating system patches
- Security planning and VPN configuration
- Infrastructure planning and management
- Managing server and infrastructure usage costs
As well as:
- Scalable server infrastructure
- Broadband redundancy at DataCenters
- Geographic redundancy
- Electrical power redundancy
In addition, When compared to a client-based server, cloud-based Acumatica offers higher security, greater ability for customization, automatic back-ups, offsite data storage, and monthly fees vs. capital expense.
Ready to Make the Move to the Cloud?
Innovative Cloud Solutions is here to guide you through the process. To learn more about Acumatica and how Innovative Could Solutions can help you migrate from Dynamics GP, we invite you to watch our on demand presentation on moving your Dynamics GP to the Cloud.
