Why it’s worth integrating the ERP systems with the cloud

As the cloud takes many industry areas by the storm, no wonder that more and more manufacturing companies also consider integrating their ERP system with the cloud.  

There’s a range of advantages and business opportunities that cloud-based ERP systems offer:  

Real-time and predictive analytics  

With all data in one place and updated in real-time, you can always keep your finger on the pulse: make informed business decisions and ensure process optimization at all stages. 

Also, machine learning can be used for predictive analytics based on historical and real-time data to improve operational effectiveness and reduce risks. Failures can be foreseen and detected faster, so the negative impact and related costs are kept to a minimum. 

Scalability and customisation according to your company’s growth 

Cloud allows scaling the ERP system and tailoring it to the changing needs of your company. Scaling an on-premise infrastructure is a costly undergoing, so most companies usually scale too slowly compared to their needs and struggle with an infrastructure they’ve outgrown for too long, and this, in turn, hampers their growth. Cloud ERPs can be scaled as soon as there’s a need for increasing the number of users, storage space or additional functionalities, without bothering about the hardware and on-premise infrastructure. 

Streamlined, comprehensive management across the company 

A smooth flow of data in real time allows monitoring all processes and get detailed insights on manufacturing workflows. You get all the information you need at hand, consolidated in an easily accessible manner comparing to spreadsheets and lengthy printed reports.  

High data security 

The cloud providers have the highest security standards because they are very big organizations that have expert knowledge of and access to various, complex security solutions. For this reason, the cloud ERP can be in fact more secure than a traditional on-premise one.  

You also don’t have to worry about data backups – with a cloud ERP system you can retrieve any data any time, in a safe way as all files are encrypted and inaccessible by an unauthorized party. 

You can access data from any place, any time 

You can access the data stored in the cloud from any device connected to the internet. This flexibility is especially important for disaster recovery planning to ensure business continuity, for example in case there’s a power outage in your area.  

To sum up, cloud ERPs give small and medium-sized manufacturing companies the opportunity to grow faster thanks to their quick adaptability to the changing needs and deep insights based on consolidated data that the decision-makers can back their choices by. Data gathered, stored and processed by a cloud ERP helps optimise the processes for maximum efficiency that wouldn’t be possible with manual data analysis on paper.  

Let’s now take a look at a real-life example of a cloud-based solution implementation we’ve done for one of our clients – an expert in developing and producing machinery.  

Case study: Machine-to-Machine Communication System for the German industrial sector  

Our partner wanted to increase the precision and effectiveness of construction machinery and its operators, as well as optimise the construction time. Consequently, the company wanted to expand its business model and offer additional services with their products.  

Within those services, our partner can offer their customers a system that authorises communication between construction machines. The goal of this communication is to exchange information on their location, load, work mode, status, camera vision as well as physical values like pressure and temperature. The machines can also transfer the images from the cameras located on various elements of the machines (i.e. on the excavator’s shovel) between themselves. The solution helps with planning construction work, scheduling the order of activities, what machine settings and loads should be, as well as what materials and in which order should be delivered to the site. In short, the system allows for better construction site management.  

All of this is possible thanks to applying the IoT gateways to the machines, so they can connect to the cloud backend system. All newly produced machines of our partner are now being equipped with gateways, but they are also installed in machines that are already used across various construction sites in different locations. Ultimately, the whole fleet, consisting of tens of thousands of machines is able to communicate and exchange data.  

Looking for a reliable partner to help you integrate the ERP system with the cloud? 

If you’re planning cloud transformation visit our Cloud Engineering website and contact our experts.