Evolution of Thinking about Cloud ERP Software

Gartner Research article shows reader interest and areas of thought.

Dennis Gaughan, Managing VP at Gartner Research recently published an article entitled Will Core ERP Move to the Cloud? In Dennis’s words, the topic of “ERP in the cloud generated a tremendous response, prompting a bunch of requests for more thoughts and opinions.” In his follow up, Re

Gartner Research article shows reader interest and areas of thought.

Dennis Gaughan, Managing VP at Gartner Research recently published an article entitled Will Core ERP Move to the Cloud? In Dennis’s words, the topic of “ERP in the cloud generated a tremendous response, prompting a bunch of requests for more thoughts and opinions.” In his follow up, Reader Response to ERP in the Cloud,” Dennis summarizes the discussion and makes some interesting points.

Several people that read Dennis’s article mentioned the following discussion points.

• Need for deployment flexibility. Not surprisingly, people wanted different deployment models.
• Concerns over pricing. Many are intrigued by SaaS, but are unsure that SaaS pricing will save them money in the long run.
• Cloud adoption varies by industry, company size, and application category.
• Collaborative business models are supported by the cloud and can add value above and beyond the applications.

For commentary about the discussion topics listed above, please read the article on Gartner’s blog.

Cloud ERP Discussion Remains Spirited

The key takeaway is that people are interested in the Cloud and how they can use it to improve their ERP software deployments.

The bullet points above reveal that the Cloud ERP discussion has moved to the next level. A couple years ago, people were primarily concerned about saving money and worried about security. Today, many customers, vendors, and resellers are asking and learning about deployment and collaboration. In the process, they are finding that the security issues are in fact not security issues, but risk and deployment issues. Also, many are understanding the differences between web-based software and traditional client-server despite the attempts of some vendors to confuse the issue.

Cloud ERP on the Right Track

Discussions about Cloud ERP are on the right track:
– First, many are interested.
– Second, people are thinking beyond the standard pricing and security issues.
– Third, people are thinking creatively about how to benefit from the technology.

As we move into 2011, expect more creativity and exciting case studies that describe how businesses are taking advantage of Cloud ERP software.