At first glance, it just seems easier to continue operating in your existing legacy IT environment, doesn’t it? It’s what you’ve been doing. It’s what your employees know. You’ve put time and money into the band-aids and workarounds that keep your business systems running. “The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know,” and so on.
But there comes a time when, forgive another cliché, “push comes to shove” and you’re ready to modernize your ERP, CRM, and other business systems—and finally change the way you manage your data and processes. In other words, migrate them to the cloud.
Usually, this time comes after recognizing a few of these signs:
1. Your Business Systems Are Older Than Your Employees
Well, maybe they’re not that old. But if your software was developed and configured on in-house servers before web-based apps were ubiquitous and mobile connectivity was expected, chances are good that it’s not keeping up with today’s demands—or today’s employees.
Top talent in today’s job market (and most certainly in tomorrow’s job market) has a skill set borne from web-based technologies. They expect a certain user experience while working with their company’s business software, and that’s doesn’t include logging into VPNs, depending on the IT team to run reports, and waiting until tomorrow morning for insights they need right now. They want the convenience, speed, and access that’s only offered by today’s cloud-based business systems.
Don’t miss 5 Tips for Preparing Your Employees For a First-Time Cloud ERP System Implementation.
2. You’re Still Dealing With (Lots of) Paper
Yesterday’s systems were built to manage smaller volumes of data than you’re likely generating today—and they weren’t designed to process the various types of data that exist today. As a result, much of your data lives on paper. This means your employees are doing a lot of manual data entry, manual data manipulation, and manual report building. They’re probably signing off on paper expense reports and printing manual checks, too.
Cloud-based software can accommodate immense volumes of data from disparate sources. It enables processes to be automated and, coupled with its processing speed, results in real-time access to transactional, financial, and operational data and insights—usually from one screen.
3. Look Who’s (Not) Talking
As your company has introduced new business software for specialized functions over the years, you’ve probably had to have a developer customize code so the new system can “talk” to the legacy systems. This doesn’t usually result in seamless integrations: there are usually some manual steps involved in connecting the data or putting into a format that makes sense. Learn more in Are Data Silos Creating a Big Data Problem for Your Company?
Plus, sometimes disconnected systems and their disjointed workflows can make it difficult for employees to effectively collaborate. We take a deeper look into this issue in Why Technology is the Secret to Bridging the Marketing and Sales Gap.
Cloud-based business software suites are built on flexible, open platforms that make integrations easy. They also make adding new functionality easy, without costly and time-consuming custom development. This means all of your business data converges automatically—and is available for users viewing, reporting, sharing, and acting on.
Stay tuned for the next 3 signs its time to migrate your legacy IT environment to the cloud. In the meantime, contact us if you’re ready to assess your needs and consider the right cloud-based software for your business.
Additional Resources:
Checklist: What to Expect in a Cloud-Based ERP System
