ERP in the Cloud

One of the major issues with ERP systems since they came in has been the fact that many large companies have numerous ERP systems in place. The whole point of ERP systems in the first place was to give the company a common platform for its major business functions and therefore have all its users working on the same page. However., ERP systems are very large and complex applications, and their implementation is famously expensive and rife with downside risk. So companies have been hesitant to implement ERP systems just to replace one ERP system with another, in order to get their companies all on the same system.

Of course, the existence of various ERP systems within a single company poses operational challenges for companies. Many of them are going to ERP systems in the cloud. This enables them to gain the benefits of ERP while snot having to go through the treacherous process of in-house implementation. Then the company can be on a single platform, and users can get used to having similar processes across the company.

"The latest BriefingsDirect podcast, from the 2012 Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA) LIVE Conference in Las Vegas, explores the latest in cloud-based collaborative commerce with Cox Enterprises, a US$15 billion communications, media, and automotive services company." This article summarizes some of the key points made about the Cox implementation and shows clearly the advantages of cloud based ERP implementation. Check it out.