ERP or CRM in the cloud?
These are the consequences for your data platform
More and more companies are switching from an on-premise ERP or CRM to a cloud solution. However, this switch has major consequences for your data infrastructure.
After all, data becomes part of the SaaS
solution. It is therefore important to think carefully about the reports you need before migrating your core business applications to the cloud.
Here is the most important take-away: involve your Analytics team right from the start, from the design phase of your
cloud architecture. Then you can take full advantage of the benefits and opportunities that a cloud-based data management platform offers.
Tip: analyse your requirements
The implementation of a cloud-based ERP or CRM system often means that processes are put under the microscope. What can be automated better and more efficiently? It is therefore the perfect opportunity to look again at your reporting or KPI needs and
definitions. What information do you really need to be able to manage on a strategic, tactical, and operational level?
The cloud demands a new vision on data and BI
Changing from an on-premise to a cloud
environment also means changing the
way of working, reporting, and controlling. You have different requirements for data management platforms. You expect it to be future proof, flexible and scalable.
Moreover, you want to avoid an information overload. As the amount of data increases, it is crucial that your insights and data analyses focus on relevant information that you really need.
In many companies, reports have been developed in the past from relatively limited reporting possibilities. The arrival of online SaaS solutions makes the role of data and BI a lot less operational. Our experience shows
that 80 to 90 per cent of traditional reporting is cancelled out by the standard reporting capabilities of cloud applications. In other words: the needs and possibilities of your BI policy change.
Moving to the cloud, what do you do with historical data?
In a cloud migration, the so-called historical and transactional data in particular play a role. Our advice is to migrate all historical data (including static data) to an online data platform so that you can implement a 'clean' new cloud application based on standards and best practices. After all, a cloud application is based on standards.
Most on-premise applications contain a lot of customisation, including 'customised' data, which cannot easily be secured and migrated to the new SaaS ERP/CRM application. In our opinion, it is cheaper and more logical to migrate this historical data to a modern data platform and to store it
there source-independently. Any need for customisation is solved with the low-code Power Platform, for example.