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4 Reasons Why Your Food Business Should Go to the Cloud
A Microsoft study revealed that despite the increase in cloud productivity applications like Office 365, critical business applications like ERP solutions are often still located on premises. There still seems to be much confusion about the definition of ‘the cloud,’ how it operates together with the potential benefits of implementing it. Food businesses still keep their ERP software on-premise because of the tendency to “go with what you know” (status quo bias) despite being high in cost and difficult to maintain. Some still consider their invested time and money and tend to stick with the on-premise decision due to the previous commitment and the sensitivity to sunk costs. Finally, several companies still have (unnecessary) concerns about security. Here we will clear up some assumptions and provide clarification on why your food company should consider moving to the cloud.
How does the cloud work?
Traditionally, companies run programs from software downloaded on a physical computer or server system in their building. Companies can now access and store software, applications, databases online in the cloud. Instead of buying your own IT equipment, you rent capacity online from a cloud service provider.
1. Get started in the cloud: grow your profit
Compared to the traditional on-premise approach, a cloud-based subscription model removes the need for substantial up-front capital investment. Meaning your company can take on important projects without requiring a lot of direct expenses to get started. Payments for installing, setup, manage, and update the software and servers can be decreased to a great extent. Also, your company will not be facing boundaries to growth, as the cloud allows for a flexible way to grow and scale without hassle. Servers can be upgraded to handle increasing userbase and workload, without the need for continuous investment in physical hardware. Finally, the research found a 25% growth in revenue and over double the profit for SMBs that adopted the cloud. It has been a proven path to faster growth, which by itself should be reason enough to make a move.
2. Become more flexible by using the cloud
Through the usage of cloud software, companies can operate without being tied to one specific location. This ability to work wherever you are through your phone, tablet, or laptop allows for a flexible and often more responsive action to the constantly changing information and business needs. Ultimately resulting in happier customers.
3. The cloud ensures improved security
Cyber threats are a continuing danger, while often companies don’t have an adequate amount of people, money, or time available to deal with (upcoming) security issues continuously. However, a recent study by ComScore reported that 94% of businesses that made the transition from on-premise to cloud noted security benefits that were not available before. Similarly, the physical loss of items such as laptops and the stored data is no longer an issue when all data is stored and safely backed-up in the cloud. Microsoft uses the highest level of security standards for all cloud servers and continues to develop to stay ahead of new trends and challenges within security.
4. Higher Return on Investment
Cloud implementation offers a higher return on investment compared to classical on-premise software projects, especially for cloud ERP or CRM projects. Research analyzed the ROI of Microsoft Dynamics 365, the cloud-based ERP platform, and noted that companies using D365 have a $16,97 return for every dollar spent, which is notably higher than the average for cloud ERP/CRM applications.
Interested?
Curious to know more about the cloud? If you are interested about the possibilities of working in the cloud and would like to know more, don't hesitate to get in contact.
