SAP Business One: Why migrate to the cloud?

SAP Business One cloud solutions are attractive due to their ease of use and low initial capital investment. See why migrating to the cloud now can give your business the boost it needs

Cloud computing is currently one of the most debated topics in business. The adoption of cloud applications is expected to continue growing in the coming years and become the business standard . The adoption of SAP in the cloud is also part of this trend.

But what are the reasons why small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been migrating their SAP ERP systems to the cloud? What are the main steps in this process?

Interested? We have the answers to those questions. Take advantage and learn all about SAP Business One in the cloud !

Benefits of SAP B1 in the cloud

SAP is an ERP software that combines various business functions of your company. This includes key areas such as finance, operations, sales, inventory, and customer relationship management.

The software is quite different from all other ERP solutions available on the market, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. This is because it's a single application – which simplifies its use and helps to unify processes. But why use the cloud version and not the on-premises version hosted by the company?

Here are some of the reasons why many companies choose to migrate to the cloud or implement SAP directly in the cloud:

1. Reducing infrastructure costs

If you're always worrying about hardware and network upgrades, now is a great time to consider migrating to the cloud. Why reinvest in additional hardware and infrastructure when you can pay your SAP cloud provider monthly to eliminate the upfront cost and headaches?

Traditional ERP systems required a huge investment, as servers, switches, computers, and some unexpected costs were very high. These can be completely eliminated with a cloud-based ERP system.

The cloud system follows the "pay as you go" , which means you can eliminate all initial capital costs—because you only pay for what you consume.

Not only are hardware costs eliminated, but SAP in the cloud can also eradicate server maintenance costs, thus reducing the burden on IT.

2. Ongoing cost of ownership

Yes, if you migrate to the cloud, you will pay a fixed monthly price for access, licenses, backups, etc. This amount should be compared to the ongoing costs associated with upgrading your existing on-premise system and infrastructure.

Even for on-premise solutions, there is ongoing maintenance required—think hardware upgrades and support contracts, for example—which can cause your costs to vary greatly from month to month. With SAP in the cloud, on the other hand, costs are fixed and predictable throughout your contract.

3. Access to computing power

Migrating to the cloud will provide your company with access to computing power that was previously reserved only for large players. But what does this mean in practice? It's important to consider that technology is changing rapidly—mobility, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Business Intelligence. All of these are developing and becoming common practice in the workplace.

If you want to take advantage of these technological advances, you'll need additional computing power. That's what the cloud provides, giving small business owners the same kind of technology that large companies use.

4. A more agile environment

A cloud environment allows you to add and remove users as needed — like the "pay as you go" , you only pay for the cost of new users, and you don't have to worry about the increased infrastructure and network associated with an on-premise system.

Furthermore, cloud-based ERP systems are much more flexible than traditional ERP systems. Not only that, but the cloud also encourages innovation. It helps to replicate a development and production process faster, which facilitates research and innovation without disrupting the company's operations.

5. Increased security

Much has been published about cloud security . Choose the right cloud provider, such as AWS, Google, etc., for example, and your Cloud ERP environment will be as secure as an on-premise ERP implementation.

Security is even greater when we consider data recovery. In traditional ERP systems, there is always the risk of completely losing data and not having an efficient and/or adequate backup routine for the company's processes. Cloud-based ERP eliminates this problem because the systems have redundancy, meaning that the data is stored in two or more locations.

Therefore, if something is lost from one location, the data will be stored in another. This is also what allows you to access your system from any device, not just those connected to the company network.

SAP: Steps to take when migrating to the cloud

Now that we know the advantages of migrating to the cloud, let's analyze the steps to make the migration without encountering problems.

Checking compatibility

Different cloud-based platforms support disparate versions of SAP applications. You need to verify in advance whether your proposed cloud solution is compatible with the SAP system, operating system, and database software.

Choosing the right size

Cloud platforms offer various storage space sizes. To get the exact size of your migrated system, you should know the number of users, databases, and resource consumption required for each SAP system, or you can simply apply average utilization (this gives you the size you need at the moment and the ability to grow in the future).

Choosing the location

Cloud servers can be located anywhere in the world (Europe, North America, Asia, etc.). Choose the closest and most appropriate location for your system to migrate to the cloud, taking into account the costs of long-distance networks.

Choosing services

It is also necessary to choose the appropriate support for your SAP product. There are three classes of service: entry-level service (a minimum set, recommended for standalone projects), development service (supports the application from the beginning of its development until it is deployed), and full service (a complete set of support necessary for better system management).

Planning and budgeting

The next step is to determine what to move first and what strategy to follow to make the migration as smooth as possible. Assess the entire SAP Business One and, based on the data obtained, prepare your budget.

Testing SAP Business One in the cloud

Therefore, if your solutions are running on operating systems or databases that are unavailable in the cloud, they will need to be modified and retested. This point is significant because it can contribute to the migration schedule and final costs.

Cleaning

Before migration, the system should be cleaned of inconsistent and corrupted data, unreadable files, and other rarely used data. These can be archived and removed. This will greatly simplify the migration process.

Building such an application and migrating it to the cloud can be very time-consuming, especially for SMEs. Hiring skilled professionals, redesigning the system, coding and testing everything requires a significant investment.

However, these steps can be simplified by using a migration platform. It will take care of all the configurations and scale your application without you having to lift a finger – and best of all, in less than 24 hours.

Interested? Check out some of our case studies and see in practice how the process of migrating to the cloud can be simplified!

Written by Skyone