Top 5 ERP News and articles: Week 2019-9: ERP On Cloud

Disclaimer: The articles in this blog post are those that I found interesting and relevant to the topic of ERP and technology in general. I have no commercial association with any of the entities mentioned in this article. I may be following a few of these entities on LinkedIn and even some of these entities may be on my LinkedIn or Social Media network. These articles are selected purely based on their relevance to the objective of this blog, to promote ERP. Finally, the summary is mine. While I stay close to the points in the articles, I also elaborate a few of them based on my understanding.

The theme for the week is ERP on Cloud

The Short URL for this post is https://goo.gl/fo2KDB

1. Cloud ERP and its top vendors: 

https://erpinnews.com/cloud-erp-and-its-top-vendors

Cloud ERP is Software as a Service which allows users to access their ERP Solutions over the internet within a secured network. The advantages include lower computing costs, quicker deployment and enables the use of solution anywhere, any time, from any device without worrying about VPN based desktop solutions. In addition, the emerging technologies like IoT, AI, ML, Natural Language Interfaces and Blockchain can be easily integrated with Cloud ERP.

There are three kinds of Cloud ERP Solutions. They are Public Cloud / SAAS, Hybrid Cloud and Private Cloud.

Top cloud based ERP Vendors include: (as per this article)

1. SAP Business ByDesign: This solution is offered in both Public and Private Cloud. Key aspect is its award winning Fiori Design with enhanced UX

2. Oracle Netsuite: Oracle acquired Netsuite in November 2016, bringing together Netsuite's mid market solutions with the breadth of Oracle's Enterprise Wide cloud solutions. Netsuite ERP is a developer hosted ERP platform offered as a SAAS service. It is the world's most deployed Cloud ERP solution with almost 40000 deployments.

3. Acumatica: The cloud based offerings for mid market companies run on Microsoft Azure OS and rely on SQL Azure.

4. Microsoft Dynamics365

5. Salesforce: World's #1 CRM platform. Major advantage is that it is very easy to setup. Salesforce CRM combines with Rootstock to provide ERP Solutions

6. Rootstock:

7. IQMS: Originated from shop floor and tailored for manufacturing companies. It combines manufacturing, MES and ERP software to deliver an integrated solution.

2. I don't know where cloud is going - Warren Buffett 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buffett-drew-lessons-ibm-entered-133849050.html

Warren Buffet has exited IBM and Oracle. He says when I invested I did not know the business, I read about it, still I did not understand the business, so I exited Oracle. I don't think I understand exactly where the cloud is going, he says. 

3. Transform your ERP deployment usage with managed cloud services - IBM Sponsored :

https://www.ibm.com/account/reg/us-en/signup?formid=urx-33226&cm_mmc=PSocial_Linkedin-_-Global%20Technology%20Services_GTS%20Cloud%20Managed%20Services-_-WW_IIS-_-26997201_%20Tracking%20Pixel_ov65219&cm_mmca1=000000XK&cm_mmca2=10000868&cm_mmca4=26997201&cm_mmca5=56399705&cm_mmca6=fc54d54e-283c-4902-8e09-d6c80b08e702

You have to create an account to download the report. It is cumbersome.

There are mainly six concerns when businesses think of moving to managed cloud services. One is about information security. Insufficient data security is the major concern. However research show that managed cloud services provide a higher level of application security than a company can do on its own. 

Two is about insufficient ROI. However the experienced Managed Services customers have generated RoI through three means - faster delivery of services to the business, ability to provide better customer service, ability to optimize ERP workloads. 

The third concern is that data migration to cloud will be hard. Businesses are afraid of data loss during cloud migration. Experienced Managed Cloud Services vendors have data migration tools and processes to achieve complete data migration. 

Fourth concern is that Lines of Business have increasing control over their workloads. IT is no longer the purview of only the IT departments. Even service lines are installing applications without approval from IT department. Such wrong practices can be prevented by using the stringent security features provided by Managed Services. 

The fifth concern is that businesses feel that they wont have any control over their data and whether they are still compliant. Many of the managed services vendors have country specific cloud offerings which keeps the data in the jurisdiction. 

The sixth and final concern is about finding the right partner. Many of the partners have tie ups with SAP and Oracle and can provide support for either of the applications.

In managed cloud services, the company outsources the management of its cloud applications to a managed service provider.The parameters to look for in a provider are Expertise in managing the company's applications, robust cloud infrastructure, deep security proficiency, migration expertise, ability to support enterprise applications, business and sales know how to provide value added insights and ability to develop value out of your data.

4. Comparison of SAP Hanna, Oracle Cloud and Microsoft Dynamics 365    

https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/comparison-of-sap-s-4hana-oracle-cloud-erp-and-microsoft-dynamics-365/

In memory performance of transactions, predictive analytics,machine learning and native integrations are some of the main benefits of S4/Hanna. 

Oracle Cloud is more fragmented, have great deal of functional flexibility and more versatile third party integration using Fusion Middleware. 

D365 is very flexible that it becomes a liability. The partner channels are fragmented, so the onus on the buyer becomes more rigorous.

Hanna is more mature than Oracle Cloud or Dynamics 365. Many functionality that is in On Premise version is still not available in Cloud Version

Scalability of solution: Ability to create a common platform across the multiple geographies to handle huge number of transactions, the easiest one is S4 Hanna. 365 is fast catching up

Flexibility of functionality: How easy it is to customize my application, D365 has an edge. The integration and customization tools are more user friendly in that application. SAP is the most rigid

Flexibility of technical integration: Oracle Cloud leads due to its Fusion Middleware, followed by D365. SAP is the weakest in that area. 

Employee Adoption: D365 is easier for Organization to learn, due to Microsoft Look and Feel. 

Long-term benefits like efficiency and effectiveness: S4/ Hanna leads the pack.However transition to Hanna is more difficult.

Ease of IT Adoption; The edge is D365, followed by Oracle Cloud and S4/Hanna. However over time the IT department adapts to the applications

D365 ties up well with Office 365 which means that the entire IT applications of the company can move to cloud easily.

5. Why Oracle Cloud ERP and eBusiness Suite is not among the top Digital Transformation Technologies 

https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/why-oracle-cloud-erp-and-ebusiness-suite-isnt-among-the-top-digital-transformation-technologies/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

Recently Third Stage Consulting produced a report on top ERP Systems for 2019. The surprise omissions were Oracle EBS and Oracle Cloud Suite of applications. This article explains the logic behind the omission.

1. Oracle Netsuite has more market traction than the other systems mentioned.

2. Oracle cloud ERP is not as mature as the competitors. The reason is that Oracle Cloud do not have all the robust functionalities that characterize its On-premise version of applications. The Oracle On-premise customer do not get a seamless migration experience. 

3. Oracle's product roadmap with Oracle Cloud ERP is not very clear. It is not yet clear when the support for On-premise applications will be withdrawn. Due to this lack of clarity, existing customers are still not moving to Oracle Cloud.

4.  Oracle's subscription pricing structure is complex. Many Oracle Customer complain of being 'Oracle-ized' after audit from the company. 

Given all of the above, many of the Oracle Cloud applications are in the 'Leader Quadrant' of Gartners Cloud ERP providers, sometimes they are the only one

Additional Reading

1. Strategies to implement Oracle ERP Better, Faster and Cheaper 

2. Selecting your cloud implementation partner