NetSuite cloud-based ERP enables hybrid working

One of the legacies of the COVID pandemic is set to be the change in how we work. Indeed, working from home some of the time, spending some time in a local office and visiting head office on occasion will become "the norm" for many companies after the pandemic, according to global workspace provider IWG.

This prediction seems to be backed up by several recent announcements from companies including BP, Barclays and Nationwide who are allowing employees to split their time between home- and office-based working, as they choose. And although chancellor, Rishi Sunak has recently urged firms not to abandon the office altogether, he acknowledged that hybrid working could work for some businesses.

How NetSuite can enable hybrid working

Of course, a business cannot just decide to embrace hybrid working practises overnight, as the systems need to be in place to enable staff to work efficiently wherever they work from. That’s where a cloud-based ERP system such as NetSuite becomes invaluable.

A cloud ERP is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that runs on a vendor’s cloud platform as opposed to an on-premises network. A cloud-based ERP such as NetSuite allows an organisation to access its business systems over the internet.

NetSuite’s ERP software integrates and automates essential financial and operational business functions and provide a single source of data, including inventory, order and supply chain management and help with procurement, production, distribution and fulfilment.

As all of this information needs to be available wherever employees may be working, a cloud-based ERP delivered as a service is ideal, as access to it is achieved over the internet, so all that’s needed is a connection and a browser.

Benefits of a cloud-based ERP

As well as being an enabler of hybrid working practices, a cloud-based ERP system brings several other benefits. So, if hybrid-working is not the main driver, what else does a company stand to gain from a cloud-based ERP?

A 30% saving on on-premises ERP

One of the biggest benefits is an overall reduction in costs to the business, which begins at the implementation stage. With an on-premises ERP, a business will incur upfront costs including servers, database creation, initial implementation, consultants, IT staffing, security and backup. Once installed, these systems need to be maintained by specialist in-house or on-call resources, with the attendant upgrades and updates, and additional servers as the company grows.

A cloud-based ERP generally costs about 30% less as the vendor hosts and manages the software on its own servers, so businesses avoid both the upfront infrastructure costs as well as additional costs for IT staff, maintenance, security and updates.

Faster implementation

A large hurdle for many companies in the decision to adopt an ERP is the implementation time, which can directly affect business downtime and opportunity cost. A recent survey suggested that only 50% of implementations finished on-time. With a cloud-based system, a business can normally get up and running quicker as it does not require selecting and setting up hardware or hiring and training IT staff.

Single version of the truth

Cloud-based ERP users can access business information in real time, from anywhere and on any device. This ensures employees across the entire organisation are working with the same data, no matter the business unit or location, and can make decisions faster and more confidently.

Scaleability

With an on-premises solution, growing your ERP system becomes more challenging and costly as you need to factor in the costs of adding more servers for more users, locations or subsidiaries with the additional ancillary costs.

A cloud-based ERP solution make scaling up easier. A business can start with the basic, core functionality and add more as the business grows – without the need for additional infrastructure.

Customisation is easier

A cloud-based ERP is more agile and just as it can scale with an organisation, it can also be more easily customised to fit business needs, either from the start or over time, as a business grows and evolves. While on-premises ERP software can be customised, they are tied to the current software and may be difficult to reimplement with future versions. This is one of the main reasons some businesses avoid upgrading their on-premises ERP systems and continue running out-of-date technology.

No more upgrade paths as you’re always on the latest version

Updating or upgrading on-premises ERP systems requires more time and may even involve hiring contractors to manage the process. With a cloud-based ERP, all upgrades and updates happen on an ongoing basis, ensuring you are always using the most up-to-date technology.

A more secure, robust solution for peace of mind

Although on-premises ERP may seem more secure as it’s housed in your office, for most businesses a cloud-based ERP may offer better security and compliance than you could otherwise afford. A business can remain confident that its data is always backed up, and the vendor is armed with planned and practiced disaster recovery procedures.

Your data is safely stored on redundant systems

If on-premises hardware fails, a company could spend a considerable amount of time and money transferring data to a new storage system. With cloud-based ERP, data is housed in the vendor’s data centres, usually redundantly and geographically dispersed.

Which neatly brings us back to hybrid working. As your organisation’s data is based in the Cloud, it’s always available over the internet, an important consideration as more jobs and operations move online, and companies seek to streamline their business processes.

NetSuite is built for the cloud and serves businesses of all sizes, across all industries, offering real-time insights, better customer service and reduced supply chain costs by integrating and automating essential financial and operational functions.

If you’re interested in implementing hybrid working practices or are seeking any of the other benefits discussed, contact us to find out more.